Hastings Direct home insurance review

Hastings Direct was launched in 1997, originally as a broker for car insurance. Its product range has since expanded to include home, bike and van insurance.

It's part of Hastings Insurance Services Limited, which also includes insurance brands InsurePink, People’s Choice and Hastings SmartMiles, and its policies are underwritten by Advantage Insurance, AXA, Lloyds Bank, RSA, Integra and Prestige.

Hastings Direct offers the following levels of home insurance cover:

What does Hastings Direct home insurance cover?

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

Does Hastings Direct offer the best home insurance?

Here's how Hastings Direct's standard policy scored in our latest home insurance survey:

Home And Mobile Insurance

Hastings Direct 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.

Hastings Direct'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 Hastings Direct's home insurance rated

Buildings coverContents cover Additional cover Excesses & no claims discount (NCD)Payment, 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	Area covered
Most important	Standard level of compulsory  excess			Buildings
Most important	Standard level of compulsory excess			Contents
Most important	Escape of Water excess			Buildings
Most important	Escape of Water excess			Contents
Secondary	Subsidence excess			Buildings
Secondary	Personal possessions excess			Contents
Secondary	Replacement locks and keys excess			Buildings and contents
Other	NCD protection - included?			Buildings and contents
Other	NCD protection claims (number per year)			Buildings and contents

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 Hastings Direct offer different levels of cover?

Hastings also offers Premier home insurance, which features a higher level of cover, and Essential home insurance, which offers a lower level of cover.

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

How can you save money on Hastings Direct 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.

Hastings Direct home insurance can be bought online and over the phone, or on the following price comparison websites:

• Compare the Market
• Confused.com
• GoCompare
• MoneySuperMarket
• Quotezone

Find out more: how to get cheap home insurance quotes

What is Hastings Direct's claims number?

You can make a home insurance claim with Hastings Direct by submitting a claim form online or by calling one of the following numbers, depending on which insurer underwrites your policy:

• Axa and Advantage: 0345 873 4429
• Geo: 01708 777 454
• Integra: 01274 700 810
• Lloyds Banking Group: 0345 074 4826
• Prestige Underwriting Services Ltd: 0800 9177 292
• Royal Sun Alliance: 0330 041 6186

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