Tracked Vehicle recovery / breakdown cover

[BRDM Driver]

Anyone have any info on this? Who provides it, how much?

 

Cheers!

[.303fan]

my google search came up with "the aa covers your tank" but it was about mis fueling.

however, i did email my contact at the AA and asked him if a vehicle like a FV432 or sherman battle tank be covered for home start and recovery at the roadside by lorry.

i will reply again when i know more.

cheers,

Arjan

[BRDM Driver]

my google search came up with "the aa covers your tank" but it was about mis fueling.

however, i did email my contact at the AA and asked him if a vehicle like a FV432 or sherman battle tank be covered for home start and recovery at the roadside by lorry.

i will reply again when i know more.

cheers,

Arjan

 

Pretty sure AA stop at 3.5 ton?

 

There was a company called Roadsure?

[robin craig]

Are you asking for someone who will for a small yearly fee provide you with recovery for tracked vehicles in case you breakdown? Is that really your question?

[militant-nick]

Try these http://www.bournetransport.co.uk/hgv-bus-recovery-dorset/hgv-recovery-dorset/

Note pay as you go service.

 

others like Crouch Recovery near Leicester have network contacts with similar companies UK & Europe wide with similar capabilities to themselves

[covjohn]

odd question, as i'm guessing most tracked vehicle owners know other owners who seemingly always know someone who can help.

are there a lot of owners of MV's who have no idea who to call in the event of an on road incident?

and how far do people actually take Sherman battle tanks/FV432's etc on the road?

i'm aware they can travel long distance but i'm guessing it's not economical for civilians.

 

forget the AA/RAC.

you'd need a commercial operator.

you will most likely know a lot more than any non reme mechanic that turns up if you're maintaining it.(I include myself in that statement).

[John Comber]

I don't know of any service offered for tracked vehicles as an insurance where you will be picked up and magically taken home , my advice is to do some research on local haulage operators or heavy recovery firms to the area you run in, to find out who has the right bit of kit to move you in the event of breakdown, if it's a non driver many normal low loader operators won't want the hassle, so worth asking if they would entertain such a job.

They will all want big £££ , best get buddy with a local preservationist who runs his own kit about to know you have a mate to assist in the event of a breakdown.

[Diana and Jackie]

Cherished Vehicle Insurance around £99 for max 6 recoveries per year.

 

Diana

 

Anyone have any info on this? Who provides it, how much?

 

Cheers!

[BRDM Driver]

Are you asking for someone who will for a small yearly fee provide you with recovery for tracked vehicles in case you breakdown? Is that really your question?

 

 

Errrm, yes, that is indeed what I'm asking... Is that odd? Paying a small fee every year on the off chance you need some expensive help is what the insurance is based upon, isn't it? Or am I missing something???

[BRDM Driver]

Cherished Vehicle Insurance around £99 for max 6 recoveries per year.

 

Diana

 

So they do!

 

They cover vehicles > 3.5t.

 

I'm insured with them too.

[covjohn]

ok,knowing what it actually costs to provide this service £99.00 is indeed a bargain to get a tracked vehicle recovered upto 6 times a year.

would that cover be applicable to vehicles like my foden 6x6?

 

has anybody used the service(for tracked vehicles)?

[militant-nick]

ok,knowing what it actually costs to provide this service £99.00 is indeed a bargain to get a tracked vehicle recovered upto 6 times a year.

would that cover be applicable to vehicles like my foden 6x6?

 

has anybody used the service(for tracked vehicles)?

 

added recovery to my insurance policy for £30 John, asked them three times if they knew what type of vehicle they were covering & they said 'yes'

[cosrec]

paulob1 was starting one dont know if it got anywhere

[ArtistsRifles]

When I had Little Maud the Stollie I used Autohome for recovery purposes. I know it's not tracked but - a Stolly cannot be towed due to the transmission so needs to be recovered on a low loader. That was around the £95 mark IIRC.

 

And before anyone says it - yes - I know REME could do it by removing the the hub gears in the rearmost wheel stations and fitting special spacers - but I don't recall it ever being a popular option!

[covjohn]

best money you've ever spent nick.

I can't get cover for that as i'm business use so would have to pay the rate.

interesting though.

[paulob1]

yes I tried hard but no one is ever interested enough, and autohome do it really cheap if you hjave just one vehicle, 175 a year I think at last count, they don't do the multiple policy anymore...

[ArtistsRifles]

yes I tried hard but no one is ever interested enough, and autohome do it really cheap if you hjave just one vehicle, 175 a year I think at last count, they don't do the multiple policy anymore...

 

I was quoted £105 for the Militant about 2 months ago Paul.

[datadawg]

I know I am in USA and you guys are talking about UK based services, but the economics of "recovery" -- the dollars and cents -- are not going to be much different. I cannot imagine how anyone would ever offer "insurance" that actually would cover a tracked vehicle recovery at 100 GBP per year -- and stay in business. The cost of a recovery by a bona fide commercial outfit is surely $500++ in the best case scenario. By best case, I mean the vehicle runs and can be driven onto the trailer, it is not off road, there is good access, no need for traffic control cost from police units, etc. If the vehicle is disabled and cannot move -- you'll need to winch it onto a flat bed. If you are offroad, the rig won't be able to get in or might get stuck, and you might be too wide for the trailer... bottom line, there is a huge amount of complexity to deal with, and that means added costs.

 

Most recovery trucks cost a hundred thousand dollars and possibly much more if they have specialized winches and booms. Sometimes, more than one truck is needed to actually do the job. The truck can do maybe 3 recoveries a day. The labor alone will run the truck owner who operates a recovery firm probably $300 a day, so by the time you factor in fully loaded costs (truck, fuel, insurance, overhead, labor, etc.), the owner has to get $400 for a simple tow just to break even. Couple this with the fact that the truck is probably idle most of the time and earns nothing, you can see why these outfits charge up to a thousand dollars to tow a large truck (and those have wheels!).

 

I spent $700 a few months ago moving a Saracen - it was a 100 mile move, but it was a bargain, as most transport companies quoted $2,000.

 

My point is that you best be absolutely sure you will have the coverage you think you are paying for. The insurance company has a contract with the tow service/recovery firm and they surely don't pay enough to cover tracked vehicle/armor. I suspect when you actually need the recovery, and the company shows up to do it, they will never provide the service. No insurance company collecting 100 GBP annual fee will be collecting enough to cover a bona fide recovery/towing bill.

Edited August 25, 2016 by datadawg

[datadawg]

Here's a recovery video from UK, titled, "7 days, 50 men, 2 cranes, one army truck" to recover a lorry. I wonder if the insurance would have paid the bill:nut:

 

[ArtistsRifles]

Surely this is the very nature of the insurance business?? I pay £200 for the fully comp insurance on a 1998 Range Rover. If I have an accident and they pay out the market value I would have to be insured for 10 years for them to break even.

So too with break down cover. Assume they charge a round £100.00 per year. If 100 users pay that figure then the company nets £10,000.00 per year Assume that it costs £1,000 to recover a vehicle then they would have to recover 10 vehicles a year to lose money and the reality is more like 1 or 2 vehicles. Reality is more like 200 or 300 users pay for the service and the breakdown recovery can more often than not be carried out with a wrecker thus reducing that £1,000. Oh - and insurance firms won't be charged the same rate you or I would pay as private individuals - they will have a negotiated rate at least a little lower in return for the contract.

 

When I had that accident in Little Maud in 2007 Autohome sent a low-loader out, no questions asked, and, apparently, the crew had no issues in recovering the Stolly onto the loadbed, i say apparently as I wasn't there by then being in hospital watching the blisters grow. But those who stayed back and helped out did not report any issues.

[andym]

I've discovered an interesting Catch-22 with Cherished Insurance's recovery insurance. The cover doesn't kick in until 48 hours after the policy starts, and they won't let you start cover until you take possession of the vehicle. So if you go off to collect it (as I will with the RB44) it isn't covered for breakdowns on the drive home - not helpful!

 

I've gone to Autohome instead, very slightly more expensive but it's breakdown as well as recovery, Cherished is recovery only.

 

Andy

[Diana and Jackie]

The delay between taking our breakdown cover and its actual implementation is normal on many breakdown insurances.

 

Diana

 

 

I've discovered an interesting Catch-22 with Cherished Insurance's recovery insurance. The cover doesn't kick in until 48 hours after the policy starts, and they won't let you start cover until you take possession of the vehicle. So if you go off to collect it (as I will with the RB44) it isn't covered for breakdowns on the drive home - not helpful!

 

I've gone to Autohome instead, very slightly more expensive but it's breakdown as well as recovery, Cherished is recovery only.

 

Andy

[datadawg]

Surely this is the very nature of the insurance business?? I pay £200 for the fully comp insurance on a 1998 Range Rover. If I have an accident and they pay out the market value I would have to be insured for 10 years for them to break even.

So too with break down cover. Assume they charge a round £100.00 per year. If 100 users pay that figure then the company nets £10,000.00 per year Assume that it costs £1,000 to recover a vehicle then they would have to recover 10 vehicles a year to lose money and the reality is more like 1 or 2 vehicles. Reality is more like 200 or 300 users pay for the service and the breakdown recovery can more often than not be carried out with a wrecker thus reducing that £1,000.

Neil, I agree with your conceptual analysis, however the big difference is the risk/probability of needing coverage. On a regular vehicle, you drive 12,000 miles a year (for sake of example) and the insurance company knows that, on average, you will have an accident once per (pick a number) 120,000 miles. Bottom line, the risk of triggering an insured claim -- an accident -- is very low.

 

Our vehicles, however, break down A LOT! Someone once quipped that the average drive between breakdowns on a Saracen is 20 miles (I might concur). So the chance of breaking down is vastly greater in a 30-60 year old military vehicle than the chance of having an accident in your daily driver. I just don't see how you can stay in business covering recovery for military vehicles, unless you charge an astronomical yearly rate.

 

That's my 2 cents.

[Diana and Jackie]

You've stated this before about it not being possible to be in business, however the fact remains that they are in business in The UK, with a limited 6 recoveries per year on tracked armour.

 

Of course the laws in the USA regarding insurance maybe and probably are different. Here an insurance policy has to be legally honoured or else The Regulator can get involved.

 

Diana

 

 

Neil, I agree with your conceptual analysis, however the big difference is the risk/probability of needing coverage. On a regular vehicle, you drive 12,000 miles a year (for sake of example) and the insurance company knows that, on average, you will have an accident once per (pick a number) 120,000 miles. Bottom line, the risk of triggering an insured claim -- an accident -- is very low.

 

Our vehicles, however, break down A LOT! Someone once quipped that the average drive between breakdowns on a Saracen is 20 miles (I might concur). So the chance of breaking down is vastly greater in a 30-60 year old military vehicle than the chance of having an accident in your daily driver. I just don't see how you can stay in business covering recovery for military vehicles, unless you charge an astronomical yearly rate.

 

That's my 2 cents.