Which Insurance should we choose?

This is a useful review for Direct Line comes from http://www.ciao.co.uk/Direct_Line_Insurance_plc__Review_5468683
written by Andy0304

Every year that time comes when I have to phone around to find out who wants to charge me what to re-insure my car for another 12 months. Every year I try all the top companies and all the little ones, I have had insurance with various different companies including the likes of Endsliegh, Tesco Insurance but keep coming back to one company, Direct Line.

Since being with Direct Line I have had 3 different cars and with every car they come back with the cheapest insurance quote, and they allow me to pay it monthly. This is a bit of bonus as there is no way I could afford to pay out them amounts in one go.
Although this year they were only just the cheapest, by about £30, this year with Tesco coming in a close second. Having had insurance with both these companies I knew pretty much about there insurance policies and felt that out of the two Direct Line was the better company. To get my insurance quote I visited their website as they actually give you a 5% discount for buying online. However you can also get quotes by calling them as well.

This year was my second year in a row with them without changing companies in between time and the renewal with them could not have been easier. All I had to do was precisely nothing! They sent me a letter two or three weeks before my insurance was due to expire and this letter contained all the information about renewing my policy. Including the part everyone wants to know, the cost!
To renew my insurance with them all I had to do was sit and wait. The letter quite clearly explained that if I decide to keep my insurance with them for another year then there was no need to get in contact with them as they will renew it automatically for me. I only needed to contact them if I had a desire to cancel my insurance and move it elsewhere. As part of this they also would continue to use my direct debit instructions from last year and just amend the amount they were taking out to reflect this year’s policy. How easy is that!

One of the main reasons that I had always favoured Direct Line was that when I had previously been with them I was unfortunate enough to have an accident. Well I had 3 to be precise in my first 18 months of driving, all not my fault though I may add! The accident I am talking about was again the fault of the other driver but unfortunately had left my car is an un-drivable state.
So I gave Direct Line a call on their 24 hour claims line and they took all the details of the accident down whilst I was on the phone and everything was still fresh in my mind. This would save me the job of having to do this later on. They also at that point took the details of the other driver involved and their insurance details. Once we had completed all this they noted all the details of the present state of my car and said not to worry someone would be along to recover it. Sure enough within 45 minutes of my phone call to them a recovery truck turned up and took my car to a local garage about half an hour drive away.

OK, so they had taken my car, but what now? I was definitely not a fan of walking! So the following day I gave Direct Line a call from work and asked them what the process was reference a courtesy car, once again a very helpful response. They arranged for one from the garage my car had gone to, to be delivered within 2 days at my workplace. If I remember rightly it was a nearly brand new Fiat Punto, not my favourite car but it would do and have to admit was rather nice to drive.
Through the post they had sent me an accident claim form which detailed all the details of the accident that I had reported over the phone. All I had to do was to draw a picture of the accident scene, write a statement a sign it to confirm that all the details were correct and send it back.

It took a while for the work to be done on my car as the whole front of the car was battered. But during this time the garage and Direct Line were in constant contact informing me of what was happening and when and kept me informed of how much longer they expected things to take. Once my car was ready the garage called me and I went to them to hand back the courtesy car and pick up my own one and it was as good as new they had done a great job.
Direct Line fought the case on my behalf and I had t do nothing else other then let them get on with it. To this day now I still have a full no claims bonus so they obviously did a good job.

With their car insurance you can add some extras to the insurance all at a small fee. No Claims Discount Protection, this allows you to protect your no claims bonus after 4 years so that in the event a one accident or claim your NCD is not affected. Guaranteed Hire Car means that they guarantee you will receive a hire car even if yours is written off, damaged or stolen.
Optional Legal Protection which again for a small fee means that on your behalf Direct Line will instruct a legal team on your behalf to fight for costs such as personal injury, loss of earnings and excess fees. However this is only applicable in claims that are not you fault.

Voluntary Excess allows you to opt to pay more excess, although this sounds completely crazy its not. For the sake of an extra say £50 excess this could significantly reduce your insurance premium. Be careful though not to go too high with the excess just to get you a lower premium as f in the worst case and you do have an accident then you will have to pay out this excess.
There is various types of cover that you can take out on your car, the first being Third Party Liability, this is the cheapest type of insurance but only covers you against injury to third party. For example if you injure someone then they will be paid out by your insurance company. It is a legal requirement that you must have third party cover as a minimum.

The next is Fire and Theft, which basically covers you car for exactly what is says, fire and theft. For example if you car is burnt out or stolen then you will be paid out by the insurance company. Most people combine the above 2 insurance covers and opt for what is known as Third Party, Fire and Theft as this covers you against all three of the above incidents.
The next level of cover is what is known as Fully Comprehensive, and although this is the most expensive type of cover it also covers you for pretty much everything. This includes any accidents that are your fault and damage your car, under the previous two types of cover your own car is not covered if the accident is deemed to be your fault.

Most types of insurance also cover Windscreen damage and what this covers is your windscreen. However be prepared to pay an excess fee though as to have your windscreen replaced is very expensive and so an excess of £50 is worth paying though. Under Direct Lines windscreen cover it also covers any scratching to your body work that has occurred as a result of the windscreen damage.
If you are planning a trip to France or other country then make sure that your car is covered for foreign use. A lot of companies do not add this as standard and you will have to ask them to quote you for this, but if you are taking your car abroad then this has to be a must.

On Direct Lines website you can view a full policy booklet with the use of Adobe Reader, which they also have a link for you to download this reader if you do not already have it. To find this policy if you go into the Motor Insurance section of their website there is a link on the left hand side titled The Policy and this policy booklet can be found here.
On the website of Direct Line you are able to set up your own section called ‘My Direct Line,’ within this section you are able to save any quotes you may wish. As well as accessing any details of current policies you may have, or even obtain further quotes on other Direct Line products without having to re-enter all of your details again and again. If you wish to do this and already have a policy with them just click the register link and follow the instructions and when your pass word arrives through the post from them you will be able to see and manage the details of your current policy.

When I have changed cars or moved address during my policy I have phoned them to make the relevant changes to my insurance and have to say that their staffs are always more than helpful. Not only are they very polite they actually make you feel like they want to help you and are not just there because they have to be and I have to say for an insurance company this appears to be quite a rare occurrence.
As far as their car insurance goes they are definitely worth getting a quote from, and if you find that they are around the cheapest then consider the service you will receive as well because not many companies provide the level of service they do.

As well as car insurance they also provide other types of cover for your car, this includes breakdown cover, specific European breakdown cover, loans and specific car buying loans via one of their other websites www.jamjar.com which have quite competitive rates.
Other than cover for your car Direct Line can be a one stop finance company if you want them to be. They now offer all sorts of finance and insurance packages.

Insurance:
Car Insurance
Home Insurance
Travel Insurance
Pet Insurance
Life Insurance
Critical Illness Cover

As well as insurance though they also offer:
Loans
Mortgages
Breakdown and European Breakdown Cover
Pensions
Home Security Systems
Car Buying Loans (jamjar.com)
Business Services including Telephone services giving you a 0845 number
Savings Accounts
ISA Accounts

Direct Line is also a member of the General Insurance Standards Council or GISC, what this means for you is because they are a member of this Watchdog for insurance companies they are fully regulated and allows you to buy from companies with confidence.
The Direct Line Group of companies is actually part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Some of the other companies that form part of the Direct Line group are Jamjar.com, Green Flag Assistance as well as Privilege Insurance.

For more information on Direct Line you can visit their websites at;
www.directline.com
www.jamjar.com for car loans
www.greenflag.com for motor breakdown cover
www.rbs.co.uk The Royal Bank of Scotland

Or write to them at the following addresses:
Direct Line Insurance plc
3 Edridge Road, Croydon, Surrey CR9 1AG

Direct Line Financial Services Limited
250 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5SH
Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited
14-18 Cadogan Street, Glasgow G2 6QN

All of the various departments under Direct Line have various different phone numbers you can call all of which can be found on their website under the Contact Us button or under the relevant headings such as Travel Insurance etc. But for car insurance you can call 0845 246 8706.