With the destinations we love to head to, and the multitude of things that can happen to ruin our best laid plans, most of us like to have an ace in our pocket, in the form of Roadside assistance. There are a multitude of Roadside assistance providers that offer “Australia wide” cover for ‘4WD’s, but as our previous article on this subject identified, a significant number of clauses exist in most policies that mean they may not come and get you if you are off-road at the time of the incident.

Did you know? Because we understand that 4X4’s are meant to get off the blacktop, every Club 4X4 4WD policy comes with up to $1,500.00 of Off-road recovery cover standard, which can be increased if you are going to be more remote to either $15,000 or even $30,000 of cover. The question you need to ask is when am I considered ‘Off-road’ by my roadside assistance provider?

What is the definition of off-road?

Some roadside assistance providers consider off-road to be directly off the bitumen – that is an unsealed road. Others are more vague in their definition, defining the service area as anywhere easily accessible for a 2WD tilt tray. However, most seem to consider getting bogged or stuck off-road (even if it is just next to a road) a specialist recovery, which may not be included in the towing benefit of the cover.

The point I’m trying to make here is that this is a murky space and there isn’t any common definition, which means that you really need to make an effort to understand the detail before you may need to use the cover to avoid disappointment.

How does Club 4X4 Manage this?

If you are a Club 4X4 customer, you can rest easy knowing that you automatically have up to $1,500.00 of that off-road recovery cover on any 4WD policy you hold with us, and you can use it as soon as you are off a sealed road. If you’ve taken Roadside with us too, then you’ve also got up to 50km of towing included if you breakdown on the blacktop, meaning that you’ve got cover whether something happens on-road or off it.

Great – So when is it Roadside assistance, and when is it an off-road recovery.

From a Club 4X4 point of view, we try to make it as black and white as we can. So for that reason:

Club 4X4 Roadside assistance (provided by Australia Wide Assist) is for when you are on the bitumen.

Club 4X4 Off-Road Recovery Cover is activated as soon as you get onto the dirt, whether it be a formed unsealed road, track, or forging your own path somewhere. Every 4X4 policy comes standard with up to $1,500.00 of cover, but you can choose to increase this to $15,000 or even $30,000 of cover if you are going to be more remote.

Off-road Recovery cover is for anything off the bitumen!

So how do you use them as a Club 4X4 Customer?

These products work differently:

• In the event you need Roadside assistance, you call Australia Wide Assist on the number we provide and then help is arranged.
• In the case of an off-road recovery, it is a reimbursement policy. Rather than limit you to a particular service, you are free to engage a licensed recovery provider of your choosing to get you back to the nearest black stuff or town. You submit a claim to us with a Tax Invoice, and we reimburse you for the cost of the tow covered under the policy, less any applicable excess.

The takeout

It is important that you read the terms and conditions of any cover you intend to take, and then speak to the provider about it to make sure you know exactly where you stand – there’s nothing worse that having an expectation that you are covered, and then finding out you’re not when you are in the hour of need.

Want to know more about our Off-road Recovery Cover?

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