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Direct Line has been one of the biggest names in car insurance since it launched in 1985 as the first insurance provider to offer policies exclusively by phone.
It's part of Direct Line Group, along with Churchill and Privilege, and its policy is underwritten by UK Insurance Ltd. While its major brands remain, the Direct Line Group was acquired by Aviva in July 2025.
You can buy three policies – Comprehensive, Comprehensive and Essentials – direct. In addition, Direct Line's Premium Online, Standard Online and Essentials Online can be purchased via comparison websites.
We've reviewed all six of these Direct Line policies. We've also surveyed 170 Direct Line customers who've claimed on its policies.
Direct Line's policies cover drivers aged up to 84.
Please note that this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.
Although some of Direct Line's more premium policies earned high scores, underwhelming customer scores and complaints data stopped them from earning Best Buy status
74%
Policies
of 12 car insurers with a customer score
See how this compares with the best car insurance, or read more about how we rate car insurance.
We reviewed six Direct Line policies. Select a policy from our table to see what it offers and how it scored.
| Compare insurance providers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire excess | £200 | Check you're getting a great deal on car insurance using the service provided by Confused | |
| Theft excess | £200 | ||
| Accidental damage excess | £200 | ||
| Windscreen replacement excess (approved repairer) | £115-£180 | ||
| Is the policyholder's NCD affected if car is hit while parked | No | ||
| Is the policyholder's NCD affected by vandalism | Yes - can be reinstated if logged as crime | ||
| Windscreen damage - limit per claim (approved repairer/non-approved repairer) | Market value/£40 Repair, £125 replacement | ||
| Window damage - limit per claim (approved repairer/non-approved repairer) | Market value/£40 Repair, £125 replacement | ||
| Cancellation fee after cooling-off period | £54 | ||
| Repairs guarantee period | 5 years | ||
| Total loss courtesy car | Included | ||
| Replacement car provided during repairs following an accident | Included | ||
| Replacement car - guaranteed availability | Subject to availability | ||
| Misfuelling cover - what's covered | Included - engine damage only | ||
| Onward travel limit | Destination of choice | ||
| Driving other cars - level of cover | Third party |
Tables last updated January 2026. Next update January 2027. We recommend checking policies before buying.
Check Which? insurance ratings and compare deals using the service provided by Confused.com
Get a quoteDean Sobers, Which? car insurance expert, says:
Of the six Direct Line policies we reviewed, its Comprehensive Plus policy did best in our analysis. It was among the top 10 policies we reviewed, with a score of 69%.
Although we were impressed with its cover, Direct Line’s middling customer score and a higher-than-average complaints rate from claimants meant we didn’t award its products Best Buys.
However, its lack of admin fees for mid-term policy adjustments, personal accident cover of £10,000 and generous no-claims discount protections were highlights in our analysis.
It tended to get lower scores for its compulsory excesses, and we also noticed that drivers of hybrid or electric cars wouldn’t be offered courtesy cars of the same fuel type while their vehicle was under repair.
If you drive a new car, and it’s stolen or damaged beyond repair, Direct Line is one of many insurers that will offer to replace the car with an identical model as an alternative to making a cash settlement.
But how many drivers this will be useful to depends in part on how the insurer defines ‘new’. In most cases, the car must be under a year old. With Comprehensive Plus it’s 24 months. It’s less for its Comprehensive policy, and the cover isn’t offered at all for its Essentials policy.
Alongside Comprehensive Plus, Direct Line sells two other policies directly - Comprehensive and Essentials. These earned 67% and 55% respectively. The former was in the top half of our table, but the latter was in the bottom fifth.
Direct Line also sells three other policies through comparison websites. These are Premium Online (which scored 67%), Standard Online (65%) and Essentials Online (53%).
We asked Direct Line customers who have recently made a claim how they felt about their car insurance.
Direct Line earned a customer score of 74% which puts it in 9th place in our table of 12 car insurance providers. It also scored 74% when assessed specifically for its claims service (joint 8th out of 14). The average customer and claims scores were 76% and 75%.
One policyholder who rated Direct Line highly said it offered good customer support that's 'always available to solve any complaints'. However, another customer wasn't so satisfied, stating that they had to 'constantly chase information' about a claim.
Here's how customers rated Direct Line for various areas of service:
| How comprehensive the policy cover is | |
| How affordable the policies are | |
| How thorough the application process is | - |
| Clarity of policy | |
| Dealing with queries | |
| Fair treatment of long-standing customers | |
| Dealing with complaints | |
| Value for money |
Tables last updated in January 2026. Next update in January 2027. '-' represents where we have insufficient sample size (less than 40) to generate a star rating. Sample size: Customer score: 170. Claims score: 198.
You'll need to put a little work in to compare the prices of Direct Line car insurance policies, as only three of its six products are on these comparison websites:
The other three policies can be bought direct.
Direct Line offers a discount if you insure multiple cars with it, but the size of this discount varies. It also offers discounts to customers who buy car and home insurance.
The above information is correct as of December 2025.
Direct Line's customer score of 74% put it in 9th place in our customer satisfaction table, just slightly behind the AA, Admiral and Allianz with 75%. Its claims score of 74% means it shared 8th place with Admiral and Lloyds Bank, below the AA and LV with 75%.
With a policy score of 69%, Direct Line's Comprehensive Plus cover was just pipped by Aviva's Platinum and Gold policies (both earned 70%).
Two policies – Premium Online and Comprehensive – scored 67%, below the standard policies from Sheilas' Wheels, Co-op Insurance and First Alternative, as well as Aviva's Signature and Tesco's Gold cover (all with 68%).
The Standard Online policy, with its score of 65%, didn't fare quite as well as Churchill Comprehensive Plus, Quote Me Happy's Premier and Plus with Legal cover, Privilege's Comprehensive Plus policy and the standard cover from General Accident.
Direct Line's Essentials policy scored 55%, and its Essentials Online scored 53%.
If you need to make a claim with Direct Line car insurance, call 0345 246 0609 or you can start the process online.
You'll need your policy number and documents, your vehicle registration and your crime reference number, if applicable.
Maybe – we’re fans of the cover offered by its top policies, but we have some concerns about its service.
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