The UK’s best car insurance companies in 2024

We surveyed hundreds of customers and analysed 29 elements of comprehensive policies to find the best car insurance.

Top 10 car insurance companies See top 10 overall
See top providers by category Best car insurance

The best car insurance gives you the right cover at the right price and is there in your hour of need. As well as surveying hundreds of customers, we’ve given comprehensive policies a policy score for the level of cover they provide. And we’ve picked out policies that excel in specific categories like multi-car or for young drivers. Once you have your shortlist, you can save hundreds if you compare quotes to make sure you’re getting the best value.

Summary: Best car insurance companies in the UK 2024, by category

Top 10 car insurance companies in 2024, by comprehensive policy score

RankCompanyPolicy scoreCompare
1NFU Mutual83.2%Compare with Confused
2Aviva82.51%Compare with Confused
3Saga82.3%Compare with Confused
4M&S Bank81.47%Compare with Confused
5Direct Line80.84%Compare with Confused
6Sheilas' Wheels79.9%Compare with Confused
7Age Co79.57%Compare with Confused
8RIAS79.24%Compare with Confused
9AXA77.97%Compare with Confused
10Hastings Direct77.02%Compare with Confused

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

How did we rate car insurance companies?

Danny Butler
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.

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to car insurance, your priority might be finding a multi-car policy if you have more than one car to insure, if you’re a young driver a telematics policy which could cut your costs could be your goal, or if you’re on a tight budget the cost will be crucial. Whatever your policy needs are, always take the time to read the small print and check you fully understand what is (and isn’t) included with car insurance before you buy.”

Rebecca Goodman, financial journalist

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.

Image of a red car alongside the stat: £478 was the average cost for comprehensive car cover in the first 3 months of 2023, up 2% on the previous quarter

Car insurance customer satisfaction league table 2024

RankProviderOverall satisfactionCustomers who’d recommend
1Admiral★★★★★93%
2NFU Mutual★★★★★89%
3Aviva★★★★★84%
4The AA★★★★★80%
5LV=★★★★★84%
6Saga★★★★★76%
7Direct line★★★★★78%
8Hastings Direct★★★★★78%
9Diamond★★★★★83%
10Churchill★★★★★79%
11Swinton★★★★★63%

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

Customer satisfaction scores

In December 2023, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on insurance providers. We had 750 responses about car insurance providers.

The survey asked respondents how satisfied they were with their current insurance company (on a scale from 1 to 5, 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.

Car insurance scores

★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor

Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey.

To find out more, read our full methodology.

The offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of products we can track; we don't cover every product on the market...yet. Unless we've indicated otherwise, products are shown in no particular order or ranking. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations), aren't product ratings, although we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it; this is subject to our terms of use. When making a big financial decision, it's wise to consider getting independent financial advice, and always consider your own financial circumstances when comparing products so you get what's right for you.

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