Compare 28+ UK insurance providers in one place
Independent reviews of every major UK insurance brand. From the four heavyweights (Aviva, AXA, Admiral, LV=) to bank channels, supermarkets, specialists and adventure-travel insurers.
28+
UK insurers reviewed
£60B
UK insurance premiums 2023 (ABI)
£622
Avg car insurance premium (ABI 2024)
£375
Avg home insurance premium (ABI 2024)
UK insurance is dominated by a handful of giants (Aviva, AXA, Admiral, Direct Line Group and Allianz) but sold under dozens of brand names. Behind a supermarket policy you might find Ageas. Behind a bank policy you might find Aviva. Knowing which insurer actually carries the risk on your policy is the first step to picking well.
Below you can browse every Selectra UK insurer review. Filter by the type of cover (home, car, travel or multi-line) to narrow the list, then click through to the in-depth profile with cover details, customer scores and our editor opinion.
The flagship insurers
The four UK insurers most households know
Between them, Aviva, AXA UK, Admiral and LV= write a sizeable share of UK home, car and travel premiums. Start your comparison here.
Aviva
UK's largest insurer
Britain's biggest insurer, covering home, car, travel, life, health and pensions. A full-spectrum provider with strong claims-paying reputation.
Read the full reviewAdmiral
Multi-car specialist
Cardiff-based motor heavyweight, also offering home and travel cover. Famous for the MultiCar discount that bundles up to five vehicles on one policy.
Read the full reviewAXA UK
Worldwide network
UK arm of the French AXA Group. Strong on home, car, travel and small-business cover, with one of the largest global assistance networks for travel claims.
Read the full reviewLV=
Long-established mutual
Formerly Liverpool Victoria, founded in 1843. Consistently scores high in Fairer Finance and Which? customer surveys for car, home and travel insurance.
Read the full reviewEvery UK insurer
Compare all 28 UK insurance providers
Filter by cover type to focus on home, car, travel or multi-line insurers.
Aviva
UK's largest insurer . Multi-line
Britain's biggest insurer, covering home, car, travel, life, health and pensions. A full-spectrum provider with strong claims-paying reputation.
Admiral
Multi-car specialist . Car focus
Cardiff-based motor heavyweight, also offering home and travel cover. Famous for the MultiCar discount that bundles up to five vehicles on one policy.
AXA UK
Worldwide network . Global
UK arm of the French AXA Group. Strong on home, car, travel and small-business cover, with one of the largest global assistance networks for travel claims.
LV=
Long-established mutual . Mutual
Formerly Liverpool Victoria, founded in 1843. Consistently scores high in Fairer Finance and Which? customer surveys for car, home and travel insurance.
The AA
Motoring + home . Breakdown
Best known for breakdown cover. Also writes car, home and travel insurance, with strong AA-member discounts when bundled with patrol services.
Age UK
Over-50s specialist . Over-50s
Charity-backed insurance designed specifically for over-50s, including travel cover with no upper age limit on many products.
Ageas
Broker network . Via brokers
Underwriter behind a long list of household names. Often the insurer behind supermarket and bank-branded car or home policies.
Allianz UK
Full range . Global
UK subsidiary of Germany's Allianz. Big in commercial lines and travel cover, with home and motor sold through brokers and partners.
Asda Insurance
Supermarket value . Value
Asda-branded policies underwritten by Aviva. Strong on car, home and travel for budget-conscious shoppers buying alongside groceries.
Barclays Insurance
Bank-tied . Bank channel
Home and travel cover sold to Barclays bank customers. Travel insurance often bundled with Barclays Premier or Travel Plus Pack accounts.
Covéa
White-label backer . Underwriter
French mutual that owns Provident Insurance and writes car and home cover behind several broker brands in the UK.
Debenhams Insurance
BISL-underwritten . Retail
Debenhams-branded car, home and travel insurance, administered by BISL on behalf of a panel of underwriters.
Elephant
Admiral group . Car focus
Online-only car-insurance brand from the Admiral Group. Quick quote flow and pricing aimed at price-comparison shoppers.
esure
Digital-first . Online
App-driven car and home insurance, owned by Bain Capital. Famous for its early sponsorship of Michael Owen and a streamlined online claim experience.
John Lewis
Premium home . Premium
John Lewis Home Insurance, underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance. Aimed at owner-occupiers wanting higher single-item limits and an upmarket claims service.
More Than
RSA group . Multi-line
Royal & Sun Alliance retail brand offering car, home, pet, life and travel insurance, with a strong focus on pet cover.
NatWest Insurance
Bank channel . Bancassurance
Insurance products distributed to NatWest current-account customers, including travel cover bundled with packaged accounts.
Zenith
Specialist . Niche
Specialist UK insurance broker placing risks for non-standard customers: convictions, modified cars and complex profiles other insurers decline.
Boots Insurance
Retail . Travel
Boots-branded travel insurance, sold alongside in-store healthcare and pharmacy products. Backed by a third-party underwriter.
Churchill
Direct Line group . Multi-line
Direct-to-consumer car, home and pet insurance from the DLG stable. The bulldog mascot has been a UK advertising fixture since 1989.
Co-op Insurance
Ethical brand . Ethical
Co-operative-owned insurance brand. Now mostly underwritten by Markerstudy after the 2020 sale, with a strong member-discount tradition.
Direct Line
No middle-man . Direct
The pioneer of selling insurance direct (no broker, no PCW). Strong on car and home cover, with a sister brand Churchill.
Endsleigh
Students . Specialist
NUS-recommended insurer for UK students. Specialist gadget, possessions and tenants cover for students in halls and off-campus.
Halifax
Bank channel . Bancassurance
Halifax bank insurance products: home, car and travel sold to current-account customers. Travel cover often included with Ultimate Reward accounts.
M&S Bank Insurance
Premium retailer . Premium
Marks & Spencer-branded home, car and travel insurance, distributed via M&S Bank. Often bundled with M&S Premium Club for extra perks.
Nationwide
Mutual building society . Bancassurance
Nationwide-branded home, car and travel insurance for FlexPlus and FlexAccount holders, including worldwide family travel cover with FlexPlus.
Thomas Cook Insurance
Travel agent legacy . Travel
Travel insurance under the Thomas Cook brand, relaunched after the 2019 collapse. Single-trip and annual policies aimed at package-holiday buyers.
World Nomads
Adventure travel . Backpackers
Australian-founded travel-insurance specialist for backpackers and adventure travellers. Covers 200+ activities standard, popular with long-haul nomads.
Insurers at a glance
Which insurer covers which line
A quick visual key to who underwrites what. Multi-line insurers run several products under one brand, others specialise.
Aviva
Admiral
AXA UK
LV=
The AA
Age UK
Ageas
Allianz UK
Asda Insurance
Barclays Insurance
Covéa
Debenhams Insurance
Elephant
esure
John Lewis
More Than
NatWest Insurance
Zenith
Boots Insurance
Churchill
Co-op Insurance
Direct Line
Endsleigh
Halifax
M&S Bank Insurance
Nationwide
Thomas Cook Insurance
World Nomads
Last updated: June 2026. Insurance brands change underwriter, ownership and product range. Always confirm the current cover and underwriter directly with the insurer before buying.
6 questions to ask
How to pick a UK insurance provider
Price matters, but it is not the only thing. Six checks that decide whether an insurer will actually look after you when you claim.
Who underwrites the policy?
A supermarket or bank brand often sits on top of an underwriter like Aviva, AXA or Ageas. Check the policy schedule. The underwriter is the company that actually pays the claim.
FCA authorisation
Every UK insurer must be FCA-authorised. Check the FCA Financial Services Register (free) for the firm reference number. Without it, the policy is not enforceable in the UK.
Customer service scores
Trustpilot, Fairer Finance ratings, Defaqto Star Ratings and Which? insurance scores all measure different things. Cross-check at least two before deciding.
Cover types under one roof
Multi-line insurers (Aviva, AXA UK, LV=) let you bundle home, car and travel with the same brand. Often cheaper than three separate policies, and easier at renewal.
Specialists for tricky risks
Convictions, modified cars, listed buildings, pre-existing health conditions: the cheap insurers usually decline these. Specialists like Zenith, Endsleigh and World Nomads exist for exactly that reason.
Read recent claim stories
Aggregator scores look at price; claim reviews look at reality. Search Reddit, MoneySavingExpert and Trustpilot for recent claim experiences with the insurer before you decide.
The UK market in 2026
How big is UK insurance?
The ABI reports UK insurers collected around £60 billion in premiums in 2023. Behind that figure sit four or five very large groups, plus dozens of brand names and specialist underwriters serving niche segments.
£60B
Total UK general-insurance premiums collected in 2023 (ABI)
£18B
Home insurance claims paid out in 2023 (ABI tracking)
£85k
FSCS protection per person per UK-authorised insurer in run-off
Figures sourced from ABI 2023-2024 reports and FSCS guidance. Always check the current limits at fscs.org.uk before relying on the protection level.
Keep exploring
More on UK insurance and money
Picked an insurer? Now find the right guide or branch out into the rest of the Selectra UK money library.
Guides
Insurance guides
Plain-English explainers across home, car and travel: jargon-busters, claims walk-throughs, switching tips and policy-type comparisons.
ExploreHub
Insurance home
The top of the Selectra UK insurance section. Editor picks, the latest articles and quick paths to every guide, insurer and explainer.
ExploreNext door
UK banks
Many banks now sell home and travel insurance to their current-account holders. See how the major UK banks rank on banking and bancassurance.
ExploreUK insurers FAQ
The Selectra expert answers your questions
Aviva is the largest UK insurance group by gross written premium and total assets, followed by Allianz UK, AXA UK and Direct Line Group. Together with Admiral Group, these five carry the majority of UK home and motor risk, either directly or as the underwriter behind supermarket and bank brands.
Use both. A price-comparison website (PCW) covers the bulk of UK insurers in five minutes. But some big names (Direct Line, NFU Mutual, USAA partners, Aviva direct rates) are not on every PCW, so always quote those direct as well. The cheapest deal often lives on one channel but not the other.
Not for standard risks. A broker earns their fee when your situation is unusual: convictions, modified vehicles, listed buildings, high-value art, complex commercial cover. Most household car and home buyers will get a better price going direct or through a PCW. Specialists like Zenith, Adrian Flux and Endsleigh exist precisely because the mass-market insurers decline tricky risks.
Yes. UK insurers must refund the unused months of premium when you cancel mid-policy, less a small admin fee (typically £25-£50). Some annual policies also deduct a percentage based on time on cover. Always read the cancellation section of your policy summary before paying for an annual policy upfront.
Yes. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers customers of FCA-authorised UK insurers if the firm enters run-off. For general insurance (home, car, travel, pet), the FSCS protects 90% of the claim with no upper limit for compulsory cover (e.g. motor third-party) and 100% for compulsory parts. For long-term insurance, the protection is 100% with no limit. Always check the firm is FCA-authorised before buying.
Find your insurer in 2026
Compare 28+ UK insurers in minutes
Open the insurer profile to see cover types, customer scores and our editor opinion. Pair that with one of our guides and you have everything you need to switch with confidence.