How do I find the best home insurance?
We scrutinised the standard contents insurance and buildings insurance policies of 37 providers and combined our analysis with feedback from thousands of customers.
Each policy is rated on the key aspects of its cover to produce a Which? policy score, while our customer score is based on how the insurers were rated by customers.
To qualify as a Which? Recommended Provider, an insurer must:
- Be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
- Be available to the general public
- Have received responses from 30 or more customers in our customer survey
- Have received an average or above policy score (see table for current average score) and a customer score of 70% or above
Click on the WRPs in the table below to see full details of its customer score and policy elements. Table last updated in September 2019. Next updated in February 2019.
With responding to a claim the acid test of any insurer we also rate providers on their claims handling in our section. For more information about individual policies read our home insurance reviews.
Best home insurance companies
| Provider |  | Buildings score | Contents score | Total score | Dealing with queries | Transparency of charges | Value for money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 78% | 77% | 80% | 78% | | | |
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| 72% | 76% | 75% | 74% | - | - | |
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| 64% | 83% | 82% | 73% | | | |
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| 71% | 76% | 72% | 73% | - | | |
|
| 72% | 74% | 72% | 73% | | | |
|
| 68% | 74% | 74% | 71% | | | |
|
| 69% | 74% | 71% | 71% | | | |
|
| 70% | 72% | 70% | 71% | | | |
|
| 71% | 72% | 68% | 71% | | | |
|
| 63% | 78% | 76% | 70% | | | |
|
| 69% | 70% | 69% | 69% | | | |
|
| 68% | 72% | 68% | 69% | | | |
|
| 67% | 72% | 70% | 69% | | | |
|
| 63% | 76% | 73% | 69% | | | |
|
| 61% | 78% | 75% | 69% | | | |
|
| 70% | 65% | 69% | 69% | | | |
|
| 66% | 71% | 70% | 68% | | | |
|
| 67% | 71% | 67% | 68% | | | |
|
| 60% | 76% | 72% | 70% | - | | |
|
| 63% | 72% | 70% | 67% | | | |
|
| 65% | 69% | 67% | 67% | | | |
|
| 64% | 68% | 67% | 66% | | | |
|
| 66% | 68% | 63% | 66% | | | |
|
| 65% | 65% | 67% | 66% | | | |
|
| 62% | 69% | 67% | 65% | | | |
|
| 63% | 67% | 66% | 65% | | | |
|
| 69% | 63% | 58% | 65% | | | |
|
| 64% | 65% | 65% | 65% | - | | |
|
| 64% | 65% | 65% | 65% | | | |
|
| 69% | 57% | 63% | 65% | - | - | - |
|
| 66% | 65% | 59% | 64% | - | | |
|
| 63% | 65% | 65% | 64% | | | |
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| 59% | 69% | 67% | 64% | - | - | |
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| 61% | 63% | 62% | 62% | | | |
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| 60% | 60% | 63% | 61% | | | |
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| 61% | 53% | 55% | 58% | - | | |
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| 61% | 56% | 46% | 56% | - | | |
Table notes: Customer score data based on a survey of 7,860 policyholders in May-June 2018. Customer score is calculated using a combination of overall satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the provider to a friend.
'-' represents where we have insufficient sample size (less than 30) to generate a star rating. Insurers must have a minimum sample size of 30 for inclusion in the table.
Average customer score is 66%, average buildings policy score is 69%, average contents policy score is 68%, average total score is 67%.
The following providers received customer scores but did not receive a policy score as they did not take part in our survey or are brokers offering a wide range of different policies: Policy Expert 64% (100) and Santander 65% (130)
Customer score sample size: Age UK (50), NFU Mutual (142), M&S Bank (122), Insure4Retirement (37), John Lewis (248), LV (412), Rias (158), Tesco Bank (347), Sainsbury's Bank (146), Aviva (609), Barclays (125), Endsleigh (50), Co-op Insurance (242), Saga (379), Direct Line (533), Churchill (295), More Than (329), Sheilas' Wheels (50), Privilege (120), AA (227), NatWest (98), esure (147), AXA (246), Post Office (106), Lloyds Bank (321), Zurich (99), Halifax (387), Admiral (195), Swiftcover (48), Nationwide (357), Bradford and Bingley (31), Swinton (193), Hastings Direct (97), HSBC (51), Ageas (65), Royal Bank of Scotland (51), Bank of Scotland (40)
The following providers received policy scores but did not receive a customer score as they did not achieve the minimum sample size in the survey: Budget (43% Buildings/49% Contents).
How we calculate our scores
Customer scores
The customer score is based on a survey of 7,860 general public respondents and are worked using a combination overall satisfaction and likelihood of recommending the provider.
If two or more brands show the same overall score, they are ranked to the next decimal place. Providers must receive a minimum sample size of 30 to be included.
Policy scores
The policy score is our assessment of the quality of standard cover comparing 35 elements of a buildings insurance policy and 49 elements of a contents insurance policy. Providers must receive a minimum sample size of 30 respondents to be included.
Total score
Total score is made up of 50% of the customer score and 25% each of buildings and contents policy scores
