Direct Line car insurance review

The insurer has been the market leader for car insurance since being launched by Peter Wood as the first telephone insurance provider in 1985. It floated on the stock market in October 2012.

What you need to know about Direct Line's car insurance:

• Unlimited cover for windscreens, windows and sunroofs
• No adjustment or setup fees
• Total loss courtesy car cover as standard

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Car Insurance

Direct Line review

Overall Which? score

Our total score score combines both the Which? Customer Score, ratings from real customers of the provider, and our expert analysis of the provider's policies. The total score is made up of 50% of the Customer Score and 50% of the car insurance policy score.

Which? customer score

Which?'s rating for customer satisfaction, based on feedback from real customers. The score is made up of a customer's overall satisfaction with the brand, and how likely they are to recommend that brand.

Policy score

Which?'s rating of the quality of this company's car insurance policy. We analysed 58 features of its cover to calculate the policy score.

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Direct Line's car insurance policy: is it good or bad?

We analyse and rate the 58 most important elements of standard car insurance policies to come up with the overall policy score. We assess how important each individual element is to drivers when choosing and using a car insurance policy, and weight it accordingly when calculating our total policy score. 

Initially, we score all of the product elements out of five, reflecting how competitive each provider is in this area compared with other insurers. Weightings are then applied to the higher and lower element scores to enhance/reduce their impact in the overall product score.

Table last updated in July 2018. Next updated in January 2019.

Most important policy elementsSecondary policy elementsOther policy elements

Policy element	Details	Rating
Interest charged on payment by instalments (APR)
No fault no claims discount (NCD) benefit?
Uninsured driver NCD benefit?
Renewal fee
NCD protection claims (number per year)
Theft of keys limit
Fire excess (standard compulsory)
Theft excess (standard compulsory)
Accidental damage excess (standard compulsory)

 

Policy element	Details	Rating
Personal belongings limit
Medical expenses limit
Legal Expenses - limit
Legal Expenses - Deadline to make a claim
Legal Expenses - Covered if Driver Uninsured?
Keys in car exclusion
Adjustment fee
Duplicate documents fee
Cancellation fee within cooling off period
Cancellation fee after cooling off period
Windscreen limit
Windows limit
Sunroof limit
Loss of keys limit
Liability limit for property damage (including legal expenses)
Uninsured driver excess liability
Courtesy car
Courtesy car - guaranteed availability
Courtesy car limit
Windscreen replacement excess (standard compulsory)
Driver under 21 excess (standard compulsory)
Driver 21-24 excess (standard compulsory)
Repairs guarantee period
Vandalism promise

 

Policy element	Details	Rating
Legal expenses cover
Notice if insurer cancels
Audio limit - manufacturer
Sat Nav limit - manufacturer
Child car seat cover
New car replacement - damage
New car replacement - period
Total loss courtesy car
Total loss courtesy car period
Windscreen repair excess (standard compulsory)
24 hour emergency helpline
24 hour windscreen helpline
24 hour legal advice helpline
Misfuelling cover
Driving other cars extension
Driving other cars - emergency cover only?
Driving other cars - only covers main policyholder?
Driving other cars - cover in Europe?
Windscreen damage - claim affect NCD?
Windows damage - claim affect NCD?
Sunroof damage - claim affect NCD?
Driving abroad - courtesy car cover?
Driving abroad - days per trip comprehensive cover available
Driving abroad - days per year comprehensive cover available
Contact number