Tip #59: Check whether your policy covers roadside help, and keep the receipt either way
Roadside or towing coverage on your auto policy, credit card or warranty often reimburses a tow you arrange yourself. Find out what you have before you need it, and keep the itemized receipt for every job.
Tip #59 in one line
Roadside or towing coverage on your auto policy, credit card or warranty often reimburses a tow you arrange yourself. Find out what you have before you need it, and keep the itemized receipt for every job.
Stuck right now? Skip the reading and call.
Call nowYou may already be covered
Roadside assistance or towing and labor coverage is a common add-on to an auto policy in New Jersey. Some credit cards, new-car warranties and manufacturer programs include it as a benefit. Many drivers have it and do not know, because it was a line on a declarations page they never read.
Coverage usually works one of two ways. Either you call the plan's own number and it sends a truck, or you call a company you choose, pay, and send the receipt in to be reimbursed up to the plan's limit. Many plans allow both.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowRead the limits now, not on the shoulder
Plans differ on the details. Some cover a set number of miles, some a set dollar amount, some a number of calls per year. Some cover only a tow to the nearest repair shop, others to the shop you choose. Some cover a jump start, a tire change, lockouts and fuel delivery; others cover only towing. Five minutes with your policy or a call to your agent tells you which you have.
Save the plan's phone number and your policy number in your phone. If the plan's wait time is long, you will know whether calling your own company and getting reimbursed is an option.
Check one more thing: whether the plan requires you to call it first for the tow to be covered. Some plans reimburse any tow; others only reimburse if their own line was busy or unavailable. Knowing which you have decides who you call from the shoulder.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowThe receipt is what gets you paid
Reimbursement depends on paperwork. Our itemized receipt arrives by text or email and lists the hook fee, the miles, the pickup and drop-off addresses, the time and the plate. That is the information an insurer or roadside plan reads before it pays. For a roadside job like a flat tire change or a car lockout, the receipt names the service and the flat price.
Keep the receipt with the car's papers until the money is in your account. We do not bill insurers directly; you pay us and claim it back. Call (908) 444-0129, and see roadside assistance for the jobs we handle.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowMore on accidents & insurance
Keep reading, or go back to every post on the blog.
- What to do after a car accident in New Jersey
- Tip #36: At a multi-car crash, get people safe before you think about the cars
- Tip #37: Take timestamped photos before the car moves an inch
- Tip #60: In New Jersey, your own PIP pays your medical bills first after a crash
- Tip #61: Your insurer will ask for a claim number, photos and the police report number
- Tip #66: You can usually choose your tow, but the police decide when safety requires it
- Tip #67: A roadside club and a local tow operator each have a place, so know when to use which
- Tip #69: Getting a tow reimbursed is four steps, and the first happens at the car
- All posts
Need towing and roadside assistance right now? One call, truck on the way.
Real dispatcher, 24 hours a day. Quoted price before we roll.