BMW vs Allstate/RV Roadhelp Comparo

[Michael B]

Although there have been several discussions about roadside assistance, I offer the following in hopes it helps someone make a decision on who to go with.

 

I just lost my BMW 36 month warranty. Within days I received a letter from BMW offering roadside assistance. I compared this with Allstate's Motor Club/RV Roadhelp and found a large difference:

 

BMW's annual cost was $99. Allstate's first year was $74.96, and around $110 afterwards.

 

BMW's trip interruption was $750. Allstate's (for accidents only) was $1,500

 

BMW's towing was up to 100 miles. Allstate's was "Unlimited to nearest service provider." I asked Allstate what that meant. It was to a motorcycle repair facility that could fix the problem, but if that facility couldn't, Allstate would tow me to the next facility that could.

 

Other coverages (car rental discounts, hotel discounts, etc.) about the same.

 

Allstate did add two interesting items:

 

Arrest Bond: $2,000 and Legal Defense: $1,500. Not sure who that was aimed at.

 

Between the two, Allstate looked the best to me, so I went with them.

 

Just an FYI

[marcopolo]

Interesting price you're quoting for Allstate. I just signed up a couple of weeks ago for Allstate's RV ROADHELP Plan and it was $99 for the first year.

[johnlt]

I've had Allstate and it worked as advertised. I blew a driveshaft on the Devil's Highway (old 666 now 191) in extreme eastern AZ. They towed me over 250 miles to Tucson, no problem. The three nearest dealers were Phoenix, Tucson and Albuquerque. I live in Tucson so obvious choice. Excellent service.

[smiller]

A 100-mile limit can be useless in the west. That alone would disqualify the BMW plan for me.

[Bigfish]

I went with Allstate too. I believe they even cover a car that you may be traveling in.

Any vehicle also. I've know too many people with AAA who need a simple tow and it cost them $400+.

 

Have had for 4 years and not needed it yet. Good to know it's there though.

 

+1 for Allstate.

[Twisties]

Allstate has produced mixed results for us. On two occasions where we were in our truck, near communities, on paved routes, knew where we were precisely, and where we wanted to go it worked fine.

 

The third time, which could have been serious with remote location and weather conditions, two hours on the phone (lucky to have been on a ridge and had a signal) resulted in a dead phone battery and no service, no follow-up, left for dead. We still have it, but with reservations and reduced expectations.

 

You need to know precisely where you are (No, not coordinates, they don't speak that language. Street name and address and nearest cross street, yeah right!) and precisely where you want to go. They won't tow you to the next town. They need an exact address in that town. So, instead of going to the next town we ask to go to the nearest BMW dealer, because we have the address in the Zumo. That was too far. Oh yes, they do have limits. They just don't admit them until you need them. Also, they exclude Alaska, IIRC.

 

 

 

 

[CVA-42]

I went with Allstate too. I believe they even cover a car that you may be traveling in.

Any vehicle also. I've know too many people with AAA who need a simple tow and it cost them $400+.

 

Have had for 4 years and not needed it yet. Good to know it's there though.

 

+1 for Allstate.

 

AAA has several levels of membership which come with tow distances varying from 5 to 200 miles. If one has the lowest level of coverage and needs a long tow, it's going to cost. My wife was on the road last year in her Toyota when her sister filled the tank with diesel fuel. The resultant long tow through AAA was quick and flawless. However, I'll look into Allstate towing based on the comments here.

[smiller]

In order to get motorcycle coverage and a 200-mile limit with AAA you have to buy their Premier plan, which is more expensive than RV Roadhelp's unlimited mileage coverage which includes just about any non-commercial vehicle you might own (car, motorcycle, RV, trailer). Plus AAA excludes utility trailers and charges extra for additional members of the household (Roadhelp covers your entire household.) Reviewing the fine print AAA seems to be full of stipulations/limitations everywhere you look. No matter how I look at it I can't make any AAA plan come out to be comparable to Roadhelp in terms of pricing or services.

[Bud]

I called Allstate. They will tow you to the nearest BMW dealer. The don't sell the policy in Canada but it works in Canada.

[marcopolo]

In order to get motorcycle coverage and a 200-mile limit with AAA you have to buy their Premier plan, which is more expensive than RV Roadhelp's unlimited mileage coverage which includes just about any non-commercial vehicle you might own (car, motorcycle, RV, trailer). Plus AAA excludes utility trailers and charges extra for additional members of the household (Roadhelp covers your entire household.) Reviewing the fine print AAA seems to be full of stipulations/limitations everywhere you look. No matter how I look at it I can't make any AAA plan come out to be comparable to Roadhelp in terms of pricing or services.

 

I looked at AAA as well and reached the same conclusions. I went with Allstate RV ROADHELP Plan.

[CVA-42]

AAA is not charging extra for a two-card Premier membership, i.e., my wife and I. They would charge extra for additional family members beyond that but that's not a concern for us. Before I switched, I would have to compare benefits beyond just towing...things like vehicle locksmith service, travel accident insurance, rental car reimbursement, medical assistance, various emergency services, meals/lodging/alternate transportation reimbursement, extrication/winching, flat tire service, emergency starting, fuel delivery, vehicle return, and things of that nature. Some of these are of varying concern if I'm driving but are of bigger concern to me when my wife is driving alone, perhaps far from home and/or maybe while I'm off somewhere on a motorcycle trip. Allstate and others may be as good or better in these categories, I would just want to compare apples to apples.

[Bud]

Just got off the phone with Progressive to discuss roadside assistance.

 

I'm planning on going to Newfoundland in August.

 

I asked: 1. Am I covered in Canada? YES

 

2. Will you tow me to the nearest BMW dealer not some "repair facility" that works on any kind of bikes? YES to the closest BMW dealer!!!!!!!

 

Love Progressive.

[Ron_B]

I had Allstate for 7 years, when I broke down on the way to Torrey last fall. Here is where I was, about 80 miles east of Albuquerque:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/U1dWj

 

Albuquerque has a BMW shop, and I hoped to have the bike taken there.

 

As you can see, there are only 2 buildings at this exit. I was at the gas station on the frontage road northeast of the exit. Although this location was easy to explain, the fact that the station had no official address had the rep I was talking to completely confused. Actually, it was worse than that. Three times in a 30 minute phone call, she said:

 

“And you’re in…Mexico?”

 

“No, I’m at exit 243 on I-40 in NEW Mexico.”

 

Finally, she figured out where I was. At that point, she said she could send a truck, but that I would have to pay for it. I asked: “Don’t I have unlimited towing?” She said “well, yes, but…blah blah blah blah…” I honestly couldn’t understand her explanation as to why I would have to pay for the tow. I said: “forget it” and hung up the phone.

 

The folks who run the station suggested a towing business about 30 miles away. When I called, I found out that they are also a U-haul dealer, so I decided to rent a truck and complete the trip. They sent the truck with two guys to help me put the bike in the back.

 

Now, I’m willing to consider that my experience may have been a fluke. In addition to the above satisfied replies, I have several friends and acquaintances who have Allstate, have used it, and have great things to say about the service they received. For me, they were worse than useless. I told them that when I called to cancel.

 

[Kitsap]

two hours on the phone resulted in a dead phone battery and no service, no follow-up, left for dead.

 

My exact experience. Treated like shite, no longer their customer.

[CVA-42]

two hours on the phone resulted in a dead phone battery and no service, no follow-up, left for dead.

 

My exact experience. Treated like shite, no longer their customer.

 

Hmmmm...doesn't sound good. The other side of the Allstate coin? Does anyone have any on-road experience with the MOA roadside assistance plan? I've carried it for several years but have never used it.

[chrisolson]

My only experience with RV ROADHELP was quite positive. No problem on the phone, truck came in time stated and tied down appropriately. I paid the driver and submitted for reimbursement. I had the bike towed home as I knew what the problem was and didn't need to go to a repair shop.

 

However, my house was farther away than either of the two BMW dealers in Phoenix metro area. I explained my reasoning in my reimbursement request and offered to accept a lower payment based on the "contract" tow distance. They paid my full cost. I was surprised and continue to have my membership.

[smiller]

As demonstrated by the above comments, virtually every towing service provider thread is populated by various anecdotal experiences both good and bad. It's difficult to take much away from these because they are usually all over the map so about the best one can do is compare pricing and service options and pick the best value. Over the years I've used them all (AAA, Allstate, Good Sam, etc.) and have had good and less than great experiences will each. The harsh reality is that when you finally call them 5 years from now the experience is likely to be a crapshoot no matter who you choose, it's just the nature of the beast.

[Ewell D.]

My experience with Allstate was very similar to Ron-_B's. Had a dead battery in a campground which was basically within the city limits of Lincoln City, Oregon on the Oregon coast. After a lengthy cellphone battery depleting phone call trying to get them to understand where I was at I was told no towing company was willing to go into a State Campground. Bull&*&^! I called a Les Schwab tire center less than a mile away and they came right away and installed a new battery.

 

I am glad I didn't discover their level of service while on the road in the middle of nowhere.

 

Needless to say, no longer an Allstate customer.

[Dundee387]

Progressive motorcycle insurance, $7 more in my premium, for the year, for towing. Unlimited miles to authorized service center. Never had yo use it, and hopefully never will!

 

I called and asked about authorized service and confirmed it was brand dealer. Also works in Canada, which is a plus as we travel there yearly.

 

[bmw_rider]

My experience with Allstate last summer has me rethinking their offering. Blew a rear tire at 630 am on the north side of the Columbia river valley. Called ALLSTATE who I had just switched l vehicle and HO to. Long discussion with agent regarding Motorcycle coverage as that had been with progressive for years. Finally decided to move to single agent / company. Towing on all vehicles was purchased and documented on policy and declaration pages. So flat tire, call the emergency contact number provided. Hung up on three times. Fourth try on hold for 15 minutes waiting to speak to a customer service rep to report issue. Give them the relevant facts. They respond with 'you are not covered'. Explained I have documention showing covered. That goes nowhere. Finally ask them to give me the providers name that they would use for where I am at. On hold for 25 minutes. They finly come back with a tow agent 70 miles away. Told them I'd arrange own tow And resolve with agent at home. Called another dtow company that was there in 10 minutes called the local Harley dealer to see if they had afire that would fit, they did. Tow completed and back on the road in 90 minutes. Day and trip salvaved.

Back home go see agent. Confirms coverage was purchased , no explanation of why when service needed that it wasn't of record. They did 2 momths later reimburse me for the cost of the tow.

[marcopolo]

My experience with Allstate last summer has me rethinking their offering. Blew a rear tire at 630 am on the north side of the Columbia river valley. Called ALLSTATE who I had just switched l vehicle and HO to. Long discussion with agent regarding Motorcycle coverage as that had been with progressive for years. Finally decided to move to single agent / company. Towing on all vehicles was purchased and documented on policy and declaration pages. So flat tire, call the emergency contact number provided. Hung up on three times. Fourth try on hold for 15 minutes waiting to speak to a customer service rep to report issue. Give them the relevant facts. They respond with 'you are not covered'. Explained I have documention showing covered. That goes nowhere. Finally ask them to give me the providers name that they would use for where I am at. On hold for 25 minutes. They finly come back with a tow agent 70 miles away. Told them I'd arrange own tow And resolve with agent at home. Called another dtow company that was there in 10 minutes called the local Harley dealer to see if they had afire that would fit, they did. Tow completed and back on the road in 90 minutes. Day and trip salvaved.

Back home go see agent. Confirms coverage was purchased , no explanation of why when service needed that it wasn't of record. They did 2 momths later reimburse me for the cost of the tow.

 

Is towing coverage under an Allstate insurance policy the same as purchasing roadside assistance plans from Allstate Motor Club?