Co-op car insurance review

Co-op Insurance is part of the well-known Co-op Group, which is owned by millions of members. It sells various kinds of insurance, including car, home, travel, pet insurance.

Its car insurance is underwritten by a panel of insurers –  Ageas, Axa, Covea, Sabre and Tradex.

It offers two policies – a standard policy and an Essentials alternative. Both cover drivers aged between 17 and 99.

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.

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Does Co-op Insurance offer the best car insurance?

Here’s how Co-op Insurance scored in our latest survey:

• 68% policy score on its standard policy – joint 6th out of 31 insurers we compared
• We didn't get enough respondents to our claimants survey to rate the Co-op's customer and claims service 

See how this compares with the best car insurance.

What does Co-op Insurance offer?

How good is Co-op Insurance's policy?

The Co-op's standard policy – which isn't available on comparison sites – impressed in our analysis.

With a policy score of 68%, Co-op Insurance’s car insurance was one of the top 10 policies we reviewed, coming ninth out of 76.

Unfortunately, it missed out on Best Buy status because of Co-op's poor complaints record.

Impressively, the policy guarantees the repairs it organises for the lifetime of the car. It also lays on £500 for ‘onward travel’ – to get you to your destination if an accident disrupts your trip.

On the flipside, we noticed the policy had a comparatively low level of cover for damage caused by misfuelling (putting the wrong fuel into your car) – £250. With other insurers there often isn’t a cover limit. 

And while it offers £100,000 motor legal expenses cover, this can’t be used to pursue costs from drivers who turned out to be uninsured.

Named driver NCD

Named drivers on Co-op policies can earn their own no-claims discount. With most other insurers' policies, named drivers can't build up a discount reflective of their time covered on your policy.

There’s a catch, though – the discount earned can only be applied to future Co-op policies and isn’t transferable to other insurers.

Essentials cover off 

Co-op's Essentials policy (which is available on comparison sites) strips out various elements of cover and has some lower limits. Features given the chop include misfuelling cover, cover for child car seats, and a temporary replacement car if yours is stolen or written off.

Overall, this policy managed a score of 49%, among the bottom 10 of the 76 we reviewed. 

How can you save money on Co-op Car Insurance?

The Co-op's standard policy is only available directly, not through comparison websites. Its Essentials policy, on the other hand, can only be bought through the following comparison sites:

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

Co-op members may get a discount off their premium.

You're best off using comparison sites to find quotes from other car insurers before getting in touch with Co-op Insurance. You could then mention what you've been quoted and use it to haggle the premium down.

Above information correct as of December 2024.

How does Co-op compare with other providers?

Co-op Car Insurance scored 68% in their policy, placing it in front of Esure (67%) and behind providers such as NFU Mutual (75%) and Allianz (77%). 

Co-op also scored a solid five stars on windscreen damage repair.

Co-op Insurance: how can you claim?

If you need to make a claim with Co-op Insurance, call 0345 999 8888 or you can register a claim online.

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

Find out how Co-op Insurance rates for other products

• Co-op Insurance travel insurance review
• Co-op pet insurance review