Tom, when we looked into Coach Net about 6 years ago, we were told they didn't provide coverage in California. Because of my background in insurance I took that to mean they were an insurance company but no longer a licensed company in the state of California. Since you've been covered long before that, it looks like I may have been given some bad information. That or you were grandfathered in and for whatever reason were allowed to continue your coverage. In any event, whether or not they are an insurance company, there must be some document describing the terms and conditions under which you are able to obtain assistance. For example, if traveling in Mexico, and you had a breakdown, your coverage may not apply. If you had a document, you would be able to determine that one way or the other. Another example of when you would want a policy or document of some kind is when you might have coverage under more than one policy. Auto insurance policies often provide a towing benefit. When an insured has more than one policy, the duplication of benefits feature would come into play. When you have two dissimilar benefits, (one providing a fixed mileage benefit and the other unlimited mileage) it's possible you will not collect 100% of your loss.
