Esure car insurance review

Esure was founded by insurance entrepreneur Sir Peter Wood, who also launched Direct Line. Esure Group's brands also include Sheilas' Wheels and First Alternative. 

It offers car, home and travel insurance. You can buy these policies direct or through comparison websites.

We've reviewed two Esure car insurance policies: its standard policy named Esure and also Essentials. We've also surveyed 40 Esure customers about their recent claims experience.

Esure's policies are underwritten by Esure Insurance Services and cover drivers aged between 18 and 90.

Please note that the information in 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.

Does Esure offer the best car insurance?

See how this compares with the best car insurance, or read more about how we rate car insurance.

What does Esure car insurance cover?

We reviewed two Esure policies. Select a policy from our table to see what it offers and what we scored it.

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'A strong policy, but we have some concerns'

Dean Sobers, Which? car insurance expert, says:

Esure’s standard policy scored 69%, which placed it in the top 10 of 66 policies reviewed. 

Unfortunately Esure's complaints record with the Financial Ombudsman Service kept us from naming its policies as Best Buys. 

We were impressed by its low compulsory excesses for accidental damage (£50) and fire damage (£100), and by its no-claims discount protection add-on ‒ which shields your discount against an unlimited number of claims.

We were less impressed by the fact you need to have 20 years worth of no-claims discount accrued before you’re entitled to its maximum no-claims discount. And if you don't use an approved repairer to fix damage, you'll pay a £200 excess.

Electric car cover

Like a lot of policies we reviewed, Esure covers electric and hybrid vehicles, including damage to the battery, charging cable and charging adaptors. 

However, Esure's policies also provide an electric or hybrid replacement for use while yours is under repair (though this is subject to availability). Only a tenth of policies we examined offer this. 

Essentials

Esure complements its standard cover with an Essentials policy, which strips out features such as misfuelling cover and personal belongings cover, and has higher excesses. It scored 53%, placing it in the bottom fifth of our table.

How did customers rate Esure's car insurance?

We asked Esure customers who have recently made a claim how they felt about their car insurance.

Esure scored 77% when assessed specifically for its claims service (4th out of 14). The average claims score was 75%.

One customer who rated Esure highly said they found the insurer to be 'more empathetic and helpful than I expected', with another stating they 'sorted my claim quickly and provided a hire car as per the policy'.

Here's how customers rated Esure in various areas of service:

How can you save money on Esure car insurance?

You can buy Esure policies directly from its website, or from the following comparison websites:

• Compare the Market
• Confused.com
• Go.Compare
• MoneySuperMarket

Esure offers discounts to drivers insuring multiple vehicles, but you must purchase directly to benefit from this and meet certain criteria.

Shop around using multiple comparison sites, and consider haggling if you think the price offered is too high.

Want to pay monthly?

You can choose to pay your premium in one go or in monthly instalments. Paying monthly usually costs more overall. This is because paying by instalments is usually provided as a form of credit – with interest or other charges applied.

When we reviewed Esure's policies, its rate for paying in monthly instalments was 26.5% APR. This is higher than the average rate (20.49% APR) charged among providers that told us their rates.

It can be cheaper to pay annually and spread the cost with an interest-free purchase credit card.

Above information correct as of December 2025.

How does Esure compare with other providers?

Esure's claims score of 77% put it in 4th place in our claims satisfaction table, just slightly behind Axa with 78%. 

With a policy score of 69%, Esure's standard car insurance is just behind two policies from Aviva – its Premium and Online cover, which both scored 70%.

Esure's Essentials scored 53%, slightly short of the 55% policy score of Direct Line's Essentials cover.

Esure: how can I claim?

If you need to make a claim with Esure car insurance, call 0345 603 1373 or start a claim online.

• Find out more: is it worth claiming on your car insurance?

Should you buy Esure car insurance?

If the quote you're being offered is competitive, Esure's impressive standard policy is worth considering. However, don't ignore the worrying complaint numbers that prevented us from making it a Best Buy.

How we rate car insurance 

Find out how Esure rates for other products

• Esure home insurance review