The UK’s best car insurance companies in 2023

The best car insurance gives you the right cover at the right price and is there in your hour of need. We’ve given comprehensive policies a policy score for the level of cover they provide, and surveyed customers to give a customer satisfaction rating. We’ve also picked out policies that excel in specific categories like multi-car or for young drivers. That being said, it’s always a good idea to compare quotes from a range of providers to make sure you’re getting the right cover at the right price.

Best for

Cheaper rates

Best for

Multi-car

Best for

Temporary insurance

Best for

Convicted drivers

Summary: Best car insurance companies in the UK 2023, by category

• LV=: Best for cheaper rates
• Admiral: Best for customer service
• Admiral: Best for multi-car
• Saga: Best for over-50s
• Tempcover: Best for temporary insurance
• Hastings Direct: Best for young drivers
• Swinton: Best for convicted drivers
• Churchill: Best for black box cover

Top 10 car insurance companies in 2023, by comprehensive policy score

For all results, including customer satisfaction ratings, skip to our full table.

How did we rate car insurance companies?

Finder insurance expert Danny Butler shares our research

To come up with the league table, our team looked at 29 different elements of a car insurance policy from 35 providers across the industry. Those at the top have the most comprehensive cover, in our view.

We looked at the range of ages they cover, cover limits, whether essential benefits are included as standard, the payment options, the ease of claim and whether you can manage your policy online. For essential benefits, such as courtesy car, old for new car replacement and key cover, if they weren’t included as standard, we judged them on how much extra you had to pay to add these benefits to your policy.

With other benefits, such as driving in the EU and continuing your journey if your car’s out of action, insurers lost points if they impose restrictions on cover, like the number of days and distance from home.

Some elements got extra weighting, based on how important they are to drivers. In a couple of cases, two insurers received the exact same score, and so they share the same spot on our list. We also feature the results of our satisfaction survey of 1,654 customers, so you can hear what companies are like from the people who matter most.

Below, we picked out policies we think are outstanding in certain categories, such as great rates or multi-car. Choose which benefits are important to you in the next section. Insurance is highly personal and rates change often, so these picks are just a steer.

How to find the best car insurance company for you

Car insurance premiums are highly personalised – a tweak to your job role, or the amount of excess you’re happy to pay can make a big difference to your premiums. We explain more in our guide how premiums are calculated. The key is the get the right cover level, plus good service at the cheapest price. This is why we survey customers. All our best picks are at least 3-star rated for service.

1. Compare policies. Different insurers can offer the same level of cover for very different prices. Shop around and compare car insurance quotes with as many providers as you can to make sure you’re getting the best deal for you. Comprehensive cover can sometimes work out cheaper than third party, so compare all options.
2. If your quotes are too high, consider a higher excess. An excess is the amount you would contribute to any claim before your insurer will pay out. If you voluntarily increase your excess, your insurance company see you as less likely to make a claim, which will help to bring down the cost of your premium (but always make sure you can actually afford to pay it should you have an accident).
3. Consider different options, such as pay-as-you-go cover. Some providers, like By Miles, offer pay-as-you-go cover. This is good for people who don’t drive very often and don’t want to pay for annual cover.
4. Review your provider’s quote every year. When renewal time rolls around, it’s crucial to shop around a few weeks before your policy starts. Consider switching as you’re likely to save – some people save hundreds of pounds. If you do want to stick with your insurer, you can try haggling, as that’s common and usually effective.

Car insurance customer satisfaction league table 2023

Bottom line

The algorithms that insurers use to calculate their premiums are a dark art and are all different, so it will always pay to get a range of quotes from different providers each year. Then consider the extra benefits a policy might offer you, and check our ratings to see what customers think of any brand you haven’t tried but are considering.

Frequently asked questions

• Which are the best and worst cars to insure?

  Generally, the more expensive a car is, the more it’s likely to cost to insure it. If you’re thinking high performance and sports cars will be expensive to insure, then you’d be right as they tend to cost more to buy and are unfortunately more appealing to thieves.

  Every new car in the UK is given a car insurance group rating, which helps insurers understand which cars will cost more to insure and which cars will cost less. Sports cars and high performance models have some of the highest group ratings out there. On the other end of the rating scale are the smaller and safer cars – these usually cost less to buy and repair, which is likely to result in lower premiums.

  If you have your heart set on a particular car, do your research before making the purchase to assess whether you can afford the insurance premiums that will follow.

• What is the best way to save on my car insurance?

  Tips for saving on your car insurance

  • Increasing security. If your car is not currently fitted with an alarm, think about adding one to reduce your premium.
  • Having a secure location to park your car. Cars kept in a garage or on a secure driveway are usually cheaper to insure.
  • Reduce mileage. If you start working part-time or your long commute becomes much shorter, letting your insurer know about a reduction in your mileage could result in cheaper car insurance.
  • Limit optional extras if you don’t need them. Think carefully about which optional extras you really want as adding extra protection to your policy will generally push the price up too.
  • Advanced driving skills. You could be in line for a discount with certain providers by taking an advanced driving course such as those offered by the Pass Plus scheme.
  • Fewer drivers. Only add drivers to your policy that regularly drive your car.
  • Consider telematics insurance. Having a “black box” fitted to your car to monitor your driving could result in discounts if you drive safely.
  • Larger excess. Agreeing to pay a bigger voluntary excess could make your overall premium cheaper. But remember that your insurer won’t pay out for a claim that costs less than your excess. So be careful about making it too high, as it could leave you out of pocket if damage occurs.

• How do I get the best car insurance rates?

  Firstly, it’s important to work out exactly what you want from your car insurance by deciding on the level of cover. Shop around and compare your options from the insurers willing to cover you and your car. Price will likely be a big factor for you but it shouldn’t be the only detail you look at. Check out the policy benefits as well as the price. Keep in mind that the cheapest policies don’t always work out to be best when something goes wrong. Continue to build your no claims bonus to keep your premium low. You may also want to consider multi-car insurance if you own more than one car, which could see a discount added to your premium.

• How can I cut costs and still get the best level of cover?

  There are several ways in which you can cut the cost of your premium without limiting your cover. Consider some of the following:

  • Enhance your car’s security with an alarm and think about where you park your car at night. Keeping your car on your driveway or locked up in your garage should mean lower premiums.
  • Reducing your mileage could lower your costs as you’ll physically be on the roads less.
  • Increasing your excess should reduce your premium but be sure you can cover the costs if you make your excess very high as an insurer won’t cover any claims that cost less than this amount.
  • If you can, try to pay for your insurance upfront for the year, as paying monthly could see interest being added to your premium.
  • If you’re a safe and careful driver, telematics insurance, which records your driving and braking habits could lower your premium.
  • If you know you’re classed as a high-risk driver because of your age or driving history, adding an older and experienced driver onto your cover could bring the premium down.
  • Insurers may offer you a discount for participating in advanced driving skills courses. Not only should premiums reduce but you may even become a safer driver.
  • If you can, select a safe and small car to driver rather than a sporty high-performance model.
  • Finally, always shop around and compare your options.

• When is the best time to renew car insurance?

  There is no definitive answer to this. However, most agree that renewing before the last minute can save you a lot of money.

  Savings estimates vary, but recent studies have found that renewing your car insurance at least a couple of weeks before your existing policy expires could save you anywhere between 17% and 42%, compared with leaving it until the day it expires.

• What features should I look for to get the best car insurance policy?

  What you need out of a car insurance policy may be very different to what someone else needs. With this in mind, do you research to look at what a policy actually offers compared to other similar policies out there on the market. While comprehensive policies may share several cover features, such as accidental damage and a courtesy car, there will be other features that differ and may actually cost you more if a particular insurer classes the protection as an optional extra.

  Think about the optional extras that are on offer to enhance your cover and check to see if there are other insurers that include what you need as part of their standard policies. If you think you do need one or more of the optional extras, weigh up the extra cost with the peace of mind it might give you. Do you really need breakdown cover, European cover or enhanced legal protection? Extra protection will come at an extra cost so only add cover that you really want.

Customer satisfaction ratings methodology

In December 2022, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on insurance providers. We had 1,654 responses about car insurance providers.

The survey asked respondents how satisfied they were with their current insurance company (on a scale from one to five, and also whether they would recommend the brand to a friend or not). We turned the results into star ratings and shortlisted the top-performing brands for our awards. If there was a draw, we used the recommendation score (that is, the percentage of customers who said they would recommend the brand to a friend) as a tie-breaker.

Full details of our star ratings for this sector are on the insurance ratings methodology page.