Direct Line home insurance review

Direct Line Insurance belongs to the Direct Line Group which also owns Churchill and Privilege and its home insurance is underwritten by U K Insurance Ltd.

Direct Line offers the following levels of home insurance cover:

What does Direct Line Home insurance cover?

Elements marked with a ✓ are covered as standard, those marked with a ✘ are not. Elements marked with a £ can be added to a policy as optional extras for an additional cost.

Does Direct Line offer the best home insurance?

Here's how Direct Line scored in our latest home insurance survey:

Home And Mobile Insurance

Direct Line review

Overall Which? score

%

Our total score score combines ratings from real customers of the provider, and our expert analysis of the provider's policies. The total score is made up of 50% of the Customer Score and 25% each of Buildings and Contents policy scores.

Which? Customer Score

%

Which?'s rating for customer satisfaction, based on feedback from real customers who have recently made a claim. The score is made up of a customer's overall satisfaction with the brand, and how likely they are to recommend that brand.

Buildings policy score

%

Which?'s rating of the quality of this company's buildings insurance policy. We analysed 47 features of its cover to calculate the policy score.

Contents policy score

%

Which?'s rating of the quality of this company's contents insurance policy. We analysed 66 features of its cover to calculate the policy score.

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To help you find the best home insurance policy, Which? goes the extra mile to sort the best from the worst.

Direct Line’s Home Insurance policy: is it good or bad?

We've rated hundreds of policy details and picked out the best and worst elements of this cover.

Members can log in to read our full policy analysis. If you're not already a member, join Which? and get full access to these results and all our reviews.

In detail: every part of Direct Line's Home insurance rated

Buildings cover Contents cover Additional coverExcessesPayment, fees & admin

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating
Most important	Alternative accommodation (£)
Most important	Owner's / Occupier's liability (£)
Most important	Repairs guarantee
Other	Unoccupancy period
Most important	Trace and access  (£)
Most important	Burst pipes - included?
Most important	Blockage of sewer pipe - included?
Secondary	Gradual build-up of groundwater - included?
Secondary	Subsidence - included?
Secondary	Damage to underground services - included?
Secondary	Flood and storm damage - included?
Secondary	Flood and storm damage to outbuildings - included?
Secondary	Storm damage to fences - included?
Other	Theft of keys - included?
Secondary	Theft of keys (£)
Other	Loss of keys - included?
Secondary	Loss of keys (£)

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating
Most important	Alternative accommodation (£)
Most important	Owner's / Occupier's liability (£)
Other	Special event cover increase (e.g. wedding)
Other	Unoccupancy period
Other	Matching sets cover - included?
Other	Damage by domestic pets covered?
Most important	Single item limit for valuables (unspecified) - max limit (£)
Most important	Contents in the open - within home boundary i.e. garden (£)
Most important	Contents in outbuildings - including garages (£)
Most important	Theft from outbuildings (£)
Secondary	Gradual build-up of groundwater - included?
Other	Garden cover - included?
Other	Garden contents cover - plants (£)
Secondary	Money in the home (£)
Secondary	Money away from the home (£)
Secondary	Credit cards in the home (£)
Secondary	Credit cards away from the home (£)
Secondary	Digital information in the home (£)
Secondary	Items temporarily removed from home (£)
Secondary	Business / Office equipment (£)
Other	Freezer contents (£)
Other	Guests belongings (£)
Other	Student contents (£)
Other	Nursing home contents (£)
Other	Moving house cover  - included?
Other	Theft of keys - included?
Secondary	Theft of keys (£)
Other	Loss of keys - included?
Secondary	Loss of keys (£)

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Most important	Accidental damage cover - included?			Buildings
Most important	Accidental damage cover - included?			Contents
Most important	Home emergency cover - included?			Buildings and contents
Most important	Home emergency - limit per call-out (£)			Buildings and contents
Other	Home emergency - emergency accommodation			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Boiler cover - included?			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Boiler repair (£)			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Boiler replacement (£)			Buildings and contents
Other	Boiler covered if not annually serviced?			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Legal expenses cover - included?			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Legal expenses cover (£)			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Personal possessions cover - included?			Contents
Secondary	Personal possessions away from home - Unspecified single item limit (£)			Contents
Secondary	Personal Possessions limit within a car (£)			Contents
Secondary	Mobile phones (away from home) - included?			Contents
Secondary	Mobile phones away from home - unspecified (£)			Contents
Other	Unspecified bicycles away from home - included?			Contents
Other	Specified bicycle away from home - included?			Contents

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating
Most important	Fire excess (standard compulsory)
Most important	Theft excess (standard compulsory)
Most important	Accidental damage excess (standard compulsory)
Secondary	Non-approved repairer excess (standard compulsory)
Secondary	Windscreen repair excess (standard compulsory)
Secondary	Windscreen replacement excess (standard compulsory)
Secondary	Driver under 21 excess (standard compulsory)
Secondary	Driver 21-24 excess (standard compulsory)

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Most important	Interest charged on payment by instalments (APR)			Buildings and contents
Most important	Renewal Fee			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Adjustment Fee			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Duplicate Documents Fee			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Cancellation fee within cooling off period			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Cancellation fee after cooling off period			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Payment Default Fee			Buildings and contents
Other	Emergency helpline			Buildings and contents
Other	Claims helpline			Buildings and contents
Other	Legal advice helpline			Buildings and contents
Other	Discount for buying buildings and contents insurance?			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Insurer pays switching fees			Buildings and contents
Other	Notice if insurer cancels			Buildings and contents

Table last updated in March 2022. Next update in March 2023.

Does Direct Line offer different levels of home insurance cover?

Direct Line also offers Home Plus home insurance, which features a higher level of cover, generally for a higher premium. Log in to see how we rated it.

To see how Direct Line's home insurance compares to other policies check out our guide to the best and worst home insurance.

How did customers rate Direct line's home insurance?

As well as looking at how Direct Line's home insurance policy stacks up against others, we've also analysed how customers who have recently made a claim feel about it too.

Members can log in to see our range of customer service star ratings and read about individual customers' experiences. If you're not already a member, join Which? and get full access to these results and all our reviews.

Direct Line home insurance customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction element	Which? customer rating
Application process
Clarity of policy
Dealing with queries
Ease of managing your policy online
Fair treatment of longstanding customers
Dealing with complaints
Value for money

Table last updated in March 2022. Next update in March 2023.

"-' represents where we have insufficient sample size (less than 30) to generate a star rating

How can you save money on Direct Line home insurance?

The first offer an insurer makes isn’t necessarily the best they’re able to provide. So, before coughing up your cash, check what other insurers are offering for comparable cover and ask if your current insurer can better it.

Carefully consider what’s optionally included in the quote. You may want the confidence of an all-singing, all-dancing policy - but certain add-ons might not be for you, or could duplicate cover you already have separately.

Where you buy your cover can sometimes make a difference to what you’ll end up paying, which is why we recommend checking prices through multiple comparison sites (where available) as well as trying them direct.

Direct Line home insurance can be purchased online and over the phone. It is not available on price comparison websites.

• Find out more: how to get cheap home insurance

What is Direct Line's claims number?

If you need to make a claim with Direct Line home insurance call 0345 246 8412.

Find out more about claiming successfully in our guide to making a home insurance claim.