What Is Roadside Assistance?

Roadside assistance is optional coverage that can help you overcome common car problems and get you safely on your way. In the final installment of our five-part series on understanding auto insurance, learn how having roadside assistance coverage can safeguard you and provide a much-needed, skilled helping hand when challenges arise.

Get help where and when you need it

Roadside assistance can provide on-the-spot assistance should you experience car issues that prevent you from getting where you need to go, or to a service station. This optional coverage may be available on some car insurance policies. Most carriers offer some form of roadside assistance coverage, whether it’s through a third party or providing the service themselves.

The Amica Roadside Assistance Program is available to all customers who have our Towing and Labor endorsement. Customers who don’t have that endorsement can also take advantage of roadside assistance at cost.

Quick takeaway: Roadside assistance is designed for common, on-the-spot vehicle problems like a dead battery, flat tire or lockout. It’s different from coverages that apply after a covered accident or other insured loss.

What does roadside assistance cover?

Generally speaking, an Amica Towing and Labor endorsement can provide roadside assistance for towing, gas delivery, unlocking your car, changing flat tires, jump-starting dead batteries and more. It covers all of these situations up to the amount listed on your policy, typically $100 per disablement, which is usually enough to get you to the nearest service station for more help. You may also be covered if you’re driving a vehicle you don’t own, and no other coverage is available. Exactly what’s covered can vary by your insurance company or provider, so it’s important to check before signing up.

You may already have some form of this coverage through your credit card, automotive association or car manufacturer. However, it may be best to consider adding this coverage to your auto policy in order to bundle your coverages and not have to keep up another membership.

What makes roadside assistance different from other coverage?

Simply put, a covered loss doesn’t need to occur in order for this coverage to be used. For example, if your car runs out of gas, that isn’t a covered loss that falls under any of the other policy coverages. With roadside assistance, you can get the help you need by either getting a tow or having gas brought to you. The same goes for towing: If you’re in a collision and your car needs to be towed, that tow would fall under your collision coverage. However, if your car simply broke down on the highway, a covered loss hasn’t occurred, and therefore, you’d need roadside assistance coverage in order to have the tow paid for.

That distinction matters when you’re deciding what belongs on your policy. Roadside assistance supports minor breakdown events, while other car insurance coverages may apply after vehicle damage, injuries or other covered losses.

Want to compare roadside assistance with other auto options? You might want to review “Types of Car Insurance Options” and “How Much Car Insurance Do I Need?”

Why is roadside assistance important?

Life happens — at some point, it’s possible you’ll run out of gas or get a flat tire. And if you’re wondering, “How much does roadside assistance cost?” you may be surprised by the answer. With Amica, this coverage costs less than $20 per year on average.

While Amica has relationships with many reputable service companies, you always have the option to choose your own provider. You’re not obligated to use the tow service provided through Amica’s Roadside Assistance Program. If your car broke down and you had a preferred tow truck in the area that you wanted to use, you could pay that person out of pocket and just submit the bill for reimbursement up to your policy limit.

Amica even offers access to our roadside assistance partners to customers who haven’t purchased this policy feature. After calling 866-286-9968, you can simply pay out of pocket for the services provided.

With affordable protection and the flexibility to tailor the service as you wish, adding roadside assistance to your auto policy can be a good value overall. It can also add peace of mind if you commute often, drive longer distances or simply want help available when unexpected car trouble happens.

Building a plan for roadside emergencies? You may also want to keep a car emergency kit in your vehicle and review what to do after a car accident.

With an understanding of roadside assistance, you’ve now completed our auto coverage series. Consider enhancing your knowledge of other essential coverages. Whether revisiting the specifics of medical payments to better manage potential accident-related expenses or starting over at the beginning with the fundamentals of auto insurance liability coverage, each article in our series is designed to help you make informed insurance decisions.