The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001

Breakdown insurance U.K.

12.—(1) There is excluded from article 10(1) or (2) the effecting or carrying out, by a person who does not otherwise carry on an activity of the kind specified by that article, of a contract of insurance which—

(a) is a contract under which the benefits provided by that person (“the provider") are exclusively or primarily benefits in kind in the event of accident to or breakdown of a vehicle; and

(b) contains the terms mentioned in paragraph (2).

(2) Those terms are that—

(a) the assistance takes either or both of the forms mentioned in paragraph (3)(a) and (b);

(b) the assistance is not available outside the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland except where it is provided without the payment of additional premium by a person in the country concerned with whom the provider has entered into a reciprocal agreement; and

(c) assistance provided in the case of an accident or breakdown occurring in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland is, in most circumstances, provided by the provider’s servants.

(3) The forms of assistance are—

(a) repairs to the relevant vehicle at the place where the accident or breakdown has occurred; this assistance may also include the delivery of parts, fuel, oil, water or keys to the relevant vehicle;

(b) removal of the relevant vehicle to the nearest or most appropriate place at which repairs may be carried out, or to—

(i) the home, point of departure or original destination within the United Kingdom of the driver and passengers, provided the accident or breakdown occurred within the United Kingdom;

(ii) the home, point of departure or original destination within the Republic of Ireland of the driver and passengers, provided the accident or breakdown occurred within the Republic of Ireland or within Northern Ireland;

(iii) the home, point of departure or original destination within Northern Ireland of the driver and passengers, provided the accident or breakdown occurred within the Republic of Ireland;

and this form of assistance may include the conveyance of the driver or passengers of the relevant vehicle, with the vehicle, or (where the vehicle is to be conveyed only to the nearest or most appropriate place at which repairs may be carried out) separately, to the nearest location from which they may continue their journey by other means.

(4) A contract does not fail to meet the condition in paragraph (1)(a) solely because the provider may reimburse the person entitled to the assistance for all or part of any sums paid by him in respect of assistance either because he failed to identify himself as a person entitled to the assistance or because he was unable to get in touch with the provider in order to claim the assistance.

(5) In this article—

• “the assistance" means the benefits to be provided under a contract of the kind mentioned in paragraph (1);

• “breakdown" means an event—

  (a)

  which causes the driver of the relevant vehicle to be unable to start a journey in the vehicle or involuntarily to bring the vehicle to a halt on a journey because of some malfunction of the vehicle or failure of it to function, and

  (b)

  after which the journey cannot reasonably be commenced or continued in the relevant vehicle;

• “the relevant vehicle" means the vehicle (including a trailer or caravan) in respect of which the assistance is required.