How do I find the best car insurance?
Car insurance can be expensive - but you don't want to sacrifice great cover just to get the cheapest price.
Which? is here to help. Not only do we rate dozens of elements of a car insurance policy, we also ask thousands of real customers how they rate each insurer in our analysis to help you find top-quality cover with a great customer experience.
Our video explains how to find a great car insurance policy in three easy steps.
Best and worst car insurance companies
This review reveals which insurers came out best for cover and customer service, and which scored the worst.
To be a Which? Recommended Provider, an insurer must:
- Be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- Be available to the general public
- Have received responses from 30 or more customers in our survey
- Must achieve high scores in both our Customer Score and Claims Satisfaction surveys.
- Must also achieve an average or above Policy Score
For more information about individual policies read our car insurance reviews or click on the links in the table.
Members can log in to see the results of our analysis. If you’re not already a member, you can sign up to a one month trial for Which? Money for just £1 to access this review and enjoy the benefits of a Which? membership.
| Provider |  | Policy Score | Total Score | Minimum/maximum age | Clarity of Policy | Dealing with queries | Transparency of charges/penalties | Value for money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84% | 84% | 84% | 21-80 | | | | |
|
| 76% | 78% | 77% | 50-No limit | | | | |
|
| 77% | 74% | 75% | 17-No limit | | | | |
|
| 78% | 71% | 75% | 17-96 | | - | | |
|
| 74% | 73% | 73% | 17-99 | | | | |
|
| 73% | 72% | 73% | 16-96 | | | | |
|
| 71% | 73% | 72% | 25-No limit | | | | |
|
| 72% | 70% | 71% | 16-96 | | | | |
|
| 69% | 72% | 71% | 18-No limit | | | | |
|
| 67% | 74% | 71% | 17-No limit | - | - | - | - |
|
| 71% | 69% | 70% | 17-75 | | | | |
|
| 69% | 71% | 70% | 17-99 | | | | |
|
| 72% | 67% | 70% | 17-84 | | | | |
|
| 66% | 72% | 69% | 25-No limit | | | | |
|
| 70% | 68% | 69% | 17-99 | | | | |
|
| 72% | 65% | 68% | 21-99 | | | | |
|
| 71% | 65% | 68% | 17-99 | | | | |
|
| 75% | 61% | 68% | 17-No limit | | | | |
|
| 68% | 68% | 68% | 16-96 | | | | |
|
| 69% | 67% | 68% | 21-90 | | | | |
|
| 73% | 62% | 68% | 21-75 | | | | |
|
| 72% | 63% | 67% | Underwriter dependent | | - | | |
|
| 68% | 65% | 67% | 18-No limit | | | | |
|
| 67% | 66% | 66% | 21-90 | | | | |
|
| 69% | 63% | 66% | 17-90 | | | | |
|
| 67% | 64% | 66% | 18-No limit | | - | | |
|
| 73% | 58% | 65% | Underwriter dependent | ||||
|
| 67% | 64% | 65% | 17-90 | ||||
|
| 65% | 64% | 64% | 17-90 | | | | |
|
| 64% | 62% | 63% | 17-99 | | - | - | |
Table notes: Customer score data based on a survey of 4,739 policyholders in November 2018. Policy scores are based on the provider's standard policy. All policies are available to the general public. Customer score is calculated using a combination of overall satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the provider.
Average customer score is 71%. Average policy score is 68%. Average total score is 70%
'-' represents where we have insufficient sample size (less than 30) to generate a star rating. Insurers must have a minimum sample size of 30 for inclusion in the table.
Mercedes-Benz (73%) received a policy score but did not receive a customer score as they did not achieve the minimum sample size in the survey.
Customer score sample size: NFU Mutual (99), Age Co (30), John Lewis (62), LV (206), Rias (100), Direct Line (205), Saga (195), M&S Bank (101), AA (189), Aviva (192), Churchill (193), Esure (194), Hastings Direct (202), More Than (124), Sheilas' Wheels (99), AXA (195), Sainsbury's Bank (54), Swiftcover (40), Tesco Bank (200), Co-op Insurance (100), Privilege (102), Swinton (133), Admiral (193), Elephant (39), Diamond (56), RAC (98), Quote Me Happy (104), Post Office (43), Ageas (86), Budget (34).
Who are the car insurance Recommended Providers?
Find out more details on who we've crowned as our Recommended Providers for car insurance in 2019. Which? members can login to see the results.
If you're not a Which? member, sign up to a one month trial for Which? Money for just £1 to get access to thousands of our reviews today.
How we find the best car insurers
Customer scores
The customer score is based on a survey of 4,739 general public respondents and are worked out using a combination of overall satisfaction and likelihood of recommending the provider. If two or more brands show the same overall score, they are ranked to the next decimal place. Providers must receive a minimum sample size of 30 to be included.
Policy scores
The policy score is our assessment of the quality of standard cover comparing 58 elements of a car insurance policy.
Policy analysis includes rating personal belongings limit, renewal fees and interest charged on payment by installments. Providers must receive a minimum sample size of 30 respondents to be included.
We carry this analysis out every 12 months. The next update will be in January 2020.
Total score
Total score is made up of 50% of the customer score, and 50% of the car insurance policy score.
