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Direct Line home insurance review

Read Which?'s expert review of Direct Line's home insurance policies, find out how we rate Direct Line's contents and buildings insurance and how it compares to dozens of other home insurance companies.

Jo Langenhan
Last updated: Apr 2018
In this article
Direct Line home insurance overview Direct Line home insurance overview Direct Line’s home insurance policy: is it good or bad?

Direct Line home insurance overview

Direct Line's big selling point is that it's not on price comparison sites - so you have to contact the insurer 'direct' to get a quote. It's part of the same group as Churchill, Privilege and Green Flag.

Direct Line's home insurance policies are underwritten by UK Insurance Limited. 

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

  • Legal expenses covered as standard up to £100,000
  • Charges a cancellation fee of £43.68
  • Burst pipes covered as standard

Members can log in to see the results of our analysis. If you’re not already a member, you can sign up to a two month trial for Which? Money for just £1 to access this review and enjoy the benefits of a Which? membership.

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Direct Line’s home insurance policy: is it good or bad?

We analyse and rate 57 of the most important elements of standard home insurance policies to come up with the overall policy score. We assess how important each individual element is when choosing and using a home 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 to other insurers. Weightings are then applied to the higher and lower element scores to enhance/reduce their impact in the overall product score.

Members can log in to see the results of our analysis. If you’re not already a member, you can sign up to a two month trial for Which? Money for just £1 to access this review and enjoy the benefits of a Which? membership.

Table last updated in February 2018. Next updated in August 2018.

Most important policy elements
Policy element Details Rating Area covered
Interest charged on payment by instalments (APR) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Renewal fee (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Home Emergency cover - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Home Emergency cover (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Owner's/Occupier's liability (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Accidental damage cover - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Subsidence - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings only
Alternative accommodation (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings only
Burst pipes - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings only
Blockage of sewer pipe - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings only
Single item limit for valuables (max limit) (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Contents in the open (within home boundary i.e. garden) (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Contents in outbuildings including garages (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Theft from outbuildings (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Personal Possessions - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Personal Possessions limit within a car (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Pedal cycles - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Mobile phones - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Does cover for phone include calls? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Secondary policy elements
Policy element Details Rating Area covered
Insurer pay switching fees? (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Adjustment fee (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Cancellation fee (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Duplicate document fee (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Standard level of excess (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Subsidence excess (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings only
24 hour (emergency) helpline - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Are repairs guaranteed? (Home Emergency cover) (Yes/No) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Gradual build up of ground water covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Garden Cover - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Storm damage to fences? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buldings only
Trace and Access limit (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buldings only
Pedal cycle away from home (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
TV or video accidental damage covered as standard? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Is money covered - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Money in the home (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Money away from home (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Digital information in the home (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Students contents in digs covered - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Home removal insurance - standard, optional not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Cover level for loss of keys (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buldings only
Cover level for loss of keys (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Cover for theft of keys (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buldings only
Cover for theft of keys (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Other policy elements
Policy element Details Rating Area covered
Payment default fee (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Unoccupancy period Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Legal expenses - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Legal expenses cover (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Garden contents cover? (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
No claims discount (NCD) protection? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Students cover limit? (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Minimum level of excess (£) Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Discount for buying buildings and contents insurance? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings and Contents
Business/office equipment covered - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Loss of keys - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings only
Loss of keys - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only
Theft of keys - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Buildings only
Theft of keys - standard, optional, not covered? Subscriber only content Subscriber only content Contents only

 

 

 

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