A service contract is written with a place in mind. Some contracts describe a territory where coverage applies, and the words used to describe it vary from one document to the next. If your household drives across a border for weekend trips, a seasonal move, or work, that place matters more than the term length. The question is not whether the contract is good in general, but whether the car you drive on those trips is covered on those roads.
Find the territory wording first
Search the contract for the words territory, coverage area, or where the vehicle may be operated. Read the clause in full, including any definitions, because a term like country or region may be defined elsewhere in the document. Ask whether coverage applies when the car is driven in another country, and whether there is a limit on how long one trip abroad can last.
Decide what happens on a breakdown abroad
Ask three questions. Who do you call from another country, and is that number reachable from there? Does the contract require you to use a particular shop, or may you use any licensed repair facility? If you pay for a repair and file afterward, what paperwork is needed, and in what language and currency must the receipts be? Write the answers down, and keep the call number in your phone and in the glovebox.
Check the registration and the insurance
Some contracts expect the vehicle to be registered in the country where the owner lives. If the car is registered in one place and mostly driven in another, read that requirement carefully. Also check the separate motor insurance on the car. Roadside help or breakdown cover may already exist in that policy, and it may overlap with the service contract in some countries and not in others. Compare the two documents side by side rather than assuming one fills the gaps of the other.
Fit it to how the car actually travels
A car that crosses a border once a year is a different case from a car that crosses one every week. Name the trips on paper: how often, how far, which roads, how long each stay lasts, and whether the car is carrying a trailer or a load. If the trips are rare, ask whether the contract still covers them or whether coverage narrows to the home country. If the trips are regular, ask whether the provider's network of shops reaches those roads at all.
When you are comparing providers, the vehicle service contract companies compared, term by term page lets you read the wording side by side, rather than relying on the summary a sales desk gives you. Keep a note of the clause headings you find, because they are easier to point to later if a question comes up.