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15 Feb 2024

Hastings Direct car insurance review

Name: Hastings Direct car insurance review
Item: Hastings Direct Insurance Policy
Rating: 64
Author: Maha Gadir

Read Which?'s expert review of Hastings Direct's car insurance. Find out how we rate its car insurance policies against 27 other providers

Maha GadirMarket analyst

In this article

What does Hastings Direct offer?
Does Hastings Direct offer the best car insurance?
How good are Hastings Direct's car insurance policies?
How did customers rate Hastings Direct's car insurance?
How can you save money on Hastings car insurance?
Hastings Direct: how can I claim?
Find out how Hastings Direct rates for other products

What does Hastings Direct offer?

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 Group, which also includes insurance brands Hastings Direct YouDrive, InsurePink and People's Choice. Its policies are underwritten by Advantage Insurance Company Limited.

Find out more: how to find cheap car insurance

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Does Hastings Direct offer the best car insurance?

Here's how Hastings Direct scored in our latest survey:

60% customer score, which was joint 22nd out of 27 car insurers we rated
64% policy score on its standard policy – 13th out of 28 providers we reviewed
59% claims score, placing it 23rd out of the 25 insurers we compared

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 are Hastings Direct's car insurance policies?

Its standard policy, Hastings Direct achieved a score of 64% in our analysis, which is exactly average.

It includes a generous £500 medical expenses cover for every passenger in the car if you're in an accident.

On the downside, there's no cover for misfuelling (damage caused by putting the wrong fuel in the tank) or for damage to your car's sunroof.

Low excess for fire, theft and accidental damage

A plus point is a very reasonable £45 compulsory excess payable in fire, theft and accidental damage claims. The average compulsory excess was £140 in the policies we looked at.

Essential and YouDrive

Hastings Direct's Essentials policy – which pares back various features including cover for your windscreens and windows – was the lowest-rated policy in our analysis, with a score of 44%.

YouDrive is a telematics ('black box') policy that uses a wireless tab and your smartphone to track your driving. It received the same 64% score as the standard policy, placing it in the middle of our table.

Hastings Direct: key cover areas rated

Select a table:

Hastings Direct policy


Fire excess	£45
Theft excess	£45
Accidental damage excess	£45
Windscreen replacement excess	£135
Is the policy holder's NCD affected if car is hit while parked	Yes
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 did customers rate Hastings Direct's car insurance?

We asked Hastings Direct customers who've recently made a claim how they felt about their car insurance.

Hastings Direct performed poorly in our satisfaction survey, earning the second-lowest score (60%) when we asked customers to rate their overall experience.

When we asked policyholders about their most recent claim, Hastings received a score of 59% – third from bottom out of 25 providers.

Here's how customers rated Hastings Direct in various areas of service:

Select a table:

Customer satisfaction


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 February 2024. Next update in January 2025. A dash '-' means we have insufficient sample size (fewer than 30) to generate a star rating.

How can you save money on Hastings car insurance?

Hastings' car insurance policies are sold via the following price comparison sites:

Compare the Market
Confused.com
Go Compare
MoneySuperMarket
Mustard
QuoteZone

Hastings Direct offers discounts for covering multiple cars and for taking out both car and home insurance with Hastings.

Above information correct as of December 2023.

Check you're getting a great deal and search for a new car insurance policy using the service provided by Confused.com. Get a quote now.

Hastings Direct: how can I claim?

If you need to make a claim with Hastings Direct car insurance, call 0333 321 9800.

You can also start your claim online or via email.

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

Find out how Hastings Direct rates for other products

Hastings Direct home insurance review

Hastings Direct car insurance review