Direct Line Car Insurance > Reviews (102)

Every year I trawl through insurance web sites getting quotes for car insurance, I have even been known to phone some of them for a quote, (I know, it’s an antiquated idea but I’m an old fashioned guy at heart) but for the last five years I have always came back to the one Insurance company, Direct Line.

I have two cars on the road, a small Mazda 121 and a nice Mitsubishi Carisma GDI sport, one I use for ferrying my wife and kids about and the small one for work and general run about use so I need a comprehensive cover that won’t make me cry when the premium is mentioned.

Direct Line has consistently come up with one of the cheapest quotes for insurance that suits my needs; I won’t say they were the absolute cheapest, just one of the cheapest.

Getting Insurance.

After receiving a quote online from DL you can either buy it online (usually with a small discount for buying online) or call them.
I prefer to call them as there is usually some questions I need to ask that are not covered by the online application.

Talking to someone from DL is easy, their call centre is manned completely by Direct Line staff, there is no touch tone sequences to go through before speaking to someone, you just call their number and hey presto! your actually talking to a real person!
Without exception, every time I have called them I have gotten through within seconds and received a courteous and friendly greeting, any questions I ask are dealt with easily and promptly and the whole process is pain free.
The DL employee taking your call will inform you of all your consumer rights and will give you detailed information on how to make a complaint, should you need to. You are also informed of the fourteen day cooling off period if you do indeed enter into an agreement for Insurance cover, they are the only insurance company I have spoken to who verbally do this, most expect you to either know about this consumer right, or they expect you to trawl through all the small print on your agreement when you receive it through the post.

My work necessitates the use of my vehicle at least once a day (I need my car to do some business for my employer) and they require a copy of my insurance certificate to verify that I am indeed covered for “business use”. DL added business use on one of my cars at no extra cost!

Performance.

If you are unlucky to be involved in an accident that is not your fault, then a quick call to DL’s hot line number will get things rolling, a replacement vehicle will be arranged while repairs are carried out and they will deal with any negotiations involving a third party, no fuss means less stress and gets you back on the road before you know it.

The same applies if you are at fault, DL will take care of all the legal stuff and all you have to worry about is your excess.

Cover.

When you phone for insurance cover your documents are sent out first class and are effective from when you made the call, unless you state when you want it to start.
They cover you to drive any vehicle not your own (with the owners consent, on a third party fire and theft basis) as a matter of course, so if your old dad asks you take his car to the garage you don’t need to phone for a cover note.

Break down cover.

In association with “Green Flag” Direct Line offer a competitive break down cover for you. I have both my cars covered for just £67. The break down cover also applies to the policy holder being the driver, or passenger in any other vehicle, so if I was taking my old dads car to the garage, and it broke down on the way, I can still call out Green Flag on my policy.

I am sure that there are probably cheaper quotes out there but for the moment I will stick to Direct Line, I like being able to speak to someone right away when I call, I think their customer service is excellent (though I can only speak for my own experiences with them) and they make everything very clear and don’t rush you through an agreement.

www.directline.com definitely worth a look if you want good service and competitive quotes.