16 Feb 2024

First Alternative car insurance review

Read Which?'s expert review of First Alternative car insurance. Find out how we rate its car insurance policy against 27 other providers

Dean SobersSenior researcher & writer

In this article

What does First Alternative offer?
Does First Alternative offer the best car insurance?
How good is First Alternative's car insurance policy?
How can you save money on First Alternative car insurance?
First Alternative: How can you claim?

What does First Alternative offer?

First Alternative is part of the Esure Group, which is one of the UK's 10 biggest insurers. It offers car insurance, alongside its well-known sister brands Esure and Sheilas' Wheels.

Its policy is underwritten by Esure Insurance Limited. We've rated the policy here, but haven't received feedback from enough of First Alternative's customers to rate its levels of service.

It will insure drivers between 19 and 90 years old.

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Does First Alternative offer the best car insurance?

Here's how First Alternative scored in our latest survey:

72% policy score on its standard policy, placing it joint 6th out of 28 providers we reviewed ‒ it is a Best Buy

See how this compares with the best car insurance.

We review a lot of policies - and our 'Best Buy' badge recognises the individual products that stood out as being the most comprehensive in our analysis. It doesn't reflect customer service. However, we won't give a provider a Best Buy badge where there's evidence - either from our surveys or from Financial Conduct Authority data - of poor service or a poorer-than-average record of paying claims.

Policies named as Best Buys must have a minimum policy score of 65%

Additionally, we look at how consistently good the cover is in policies. To make the cut, a policy needs to have scored at least three out of five points in two thirds of the areas we've rated.

Find out more: how we rate policies.

Lastly, all Best Buy policies must provide - either as standard or as an option - the following levels of cover as a minimum:

'Comprehensive' cover (meaning it covers third party claims, fire, theft and accidental damage to your car), a temporary courtesy car if yours is under repair or if it has been stolen or written off, a repairs guarantee period of at least 3 years, cover for damage to your windows or windscreen, legal expenses cover, liability cover of £20m or more and personal accident cover.

We analyse and rate 78 key elements of car insurance policies to come up with the overall policy score.

Initially, we score all of the product elements out of five, reflecting how competitive each provider is in this area compared with other insurers. We assess how important different policy elements are to drivers when choosing and using a car insurance, and weight different areas of cover accordingly to enhance/reduce their impact in the overall product score.

How good is First Alternative's car insurance policy?

First Alternative's one comprehensive policy was a Best Buy in our analysis.

It scored 72%, which placed it sixth of the 28 standard policies we compared and in the top fifth of all 61 policies we examined.

We liked that its limit of £100 for windscreen replacement is the same whether you use a repairer from its approved network or one of your own choosing. It also offers up to £500 for hotel expenses if you have to stay away from home because of an accident.

On the downside, the policy charges one of the highest cancellation fees ‒ £60 if you cancel in the first year, although this reduces to £35 in subsequent years.

Comprehensive courtesy car cover

Like most policies, First Alternative will cover the cost of a courtesy car while yours is being repaired. But unlike many policies, the availability of this car is guaranteed, and also extends to temporary use of a hire car if your vehicle is damaged beyond repair or stolen (you get up to 21 days).

First Alternative: key cover areas rated


Fire excess	£100
Theft excess	£250
Accidental damage excess	£250
Windscreen replacement excess	£100
Is the policy holder's NCD affected if car is hit while parked	Yes - but can be reinstated
Windscreen damage - limit per claim	Unlimited / £100
Window damage - limit per claim	Unlimited / £100

Tables last updated February 2024. Next update January 2025. We recommend checking policies before buying.

How can you save money on First Alternative car insurance?

First Alternative's policy can be bought directly or through Go Compare ‒ the policy will be the same price on both websites or if you call up instead.

It doesn't offer any of the following types of discount: multi-car discount, joint car and home discount, dash-cam or membership discounts.

We think you're best off using comparison sites to find quotes from other car insurers to compare with your offer from First Alternative. You could then mention what you've been quoted and use it to haggle the premium down.

Above information correct as of December 2023