LV= in 60 seconds
LV= Insurance at a glance (2026)
Not sure LV= is the cheapest for you?Compare LV= against every other major UK insurer in our up-to-date guide to insurance providers.
About LV= Insurance
LV= traces its origins to 1843, when the Liverpool Independent Legal Victoria Burial Society was founded to give working families an affordable way to pay for funerals. The society became the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, expanded across the UK and eventually grew into one of Britain's largest mutuals — owned by its members rather than shareholders.
In 2021 LV= Life Insurance was sold to Bain Capital for £530m. The general insurance arm (motor, home, pet, travel, breakdown) was then sold to Allianz Holdings plc, completing in January 2024 after the Allianz takeover offer of £530m was approved by the Prudential Regulation Authority. LV= continues to trade as a brand within the Allianz UK group.
Why the "=" in LV=?The equals sign was introduced as part of a 2007 rebrand to suggest "fairness", "equality" and "the same for everyone". It also distinguished the modern LV= brand from the historical Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society.
Ownership and group structure
LV= is part of Allianz Holdings plc, the UK arm of the German Allianz SE group, since January 2024. Allianz Holdings also owns Petplan, Allianz Insurance (commercial) and Animal Friends. LV= and Allianz UK each retain their own brand and product range, with LV= focused on personal lines for direct customers.
Strategy: stay direct, keep the service edge
LV=’s strategy under Allianz is to preserve the LV= service brand while benefiting from Allianz Group's scale on reinsurance, capital and technology. LV= still sells primarily direct to consumers (rather than only via aggregators) and continues to win the highest Trustpilot scores among large UK personal-lines insurers.
The Bournemouth-based customer-service team is the centrepiece of the LV= proposition and has not been merged into Allianz UK's contact centres.
LV= insurance: cover and prices in 2026
LV= focuses on a tight range of personal-lines products designed to score highly on cover quality rather than the cheapest possible aggregator quote. The headline products are below.
The LV= product range
LV= Car Insurance
Comprehensive, third-party fire and theft or third-party only. Multi-car discount, courtesy car included on Comprehensive and lifetime guarantee on LV= approved repairs.
- Multi-car discount available.
- Lifetime guarantee on approved repairs.
- Up to 90 days European cover included.
LV= Home Insurance
Combined buildings and contents or standalone. Three tiers (Bronze, Silver, Premier) with accidental damage and home emergency on Premier.
- Up to £1m buildings cover.
- Up to £75,000 contents cover.
- Premier includes home emergency.
LV= Pet Insurance
Lifetime, Maximum and Accident-Only tiers. Lifetime policies refill the annual vet-fee limit each year provided the policy is renewed without a break.
- Vet-fee limits up to £10,000 a year.
- Lifetime cover that refills at renewal.
- Optional dental and behavioural cover.
LV= Travel Insurance
Single-trip or annual multi-trip cover, with optional winter sports and cruise add-ons. Cover available for travellers up to age 84 on the standard policy.
- Emergency medical cover up to £10m.
- Cancellation cover up to £5,000.
- Winter sports and cruise add-ons available.
LV= Breakdown Cover
Roadside, home start and onward travel breakdown cover, in partnership with the AA. Open to LV= car insurance customers and to non-customers.
- Roadside cover at the roadside or at home.
- Onward travel for replacement car and accommodation.
- European breakdown cover available.
LV= Caravan Insurance
Specialist cover for touring and static caravans, including new-for-old replacement and contents cover for awnings, furniture and gas bottles.
- New-for-old replacement on most policies.
- Cover for awnings and contents.
- European cover available on touring caravans.
LV= is a Trustpilot leaderLV= consistently sits in the upper-mid 4.7/5 band on Trustpilot, well above Aviva, Direct Line and Admiral. The brand wins on service, claims handling and renewal communication rather than on aggregator pricing.
Making a claim with LV=
LV= claims are handled in-house from Bournemouth. Motor and home claims can be reported online, through the My LV= account or by phone 24 hours a day. LV= accepts around 98% of motor claims and 92% of home claims in its most recent published year.
For step-by-step instructions, visit the LV= help and support pages. Have your policy number and (for motor) the other driver's details ready when you call.
My LV=: app and online account
Every LV= customer can manage policies from the My LV= online account or the iOS/Android app. From the account you can view documents, change cover, renew or start a claim. Pet, travel and home policies all sit under the same login.
- Sign in: by registered email and password.
- Forgotten password: reset via the email on file with a secure link.
- Biometric login: Face ID, Touch ID and Android fingerprint supported.
- Two-factor authentication: SMS verification on sensitive changes such as adding a driver or updating bank details.
Single login across productsIf you hold an LV= motor policy, a Pet policy and Breakdown cover, all three appear in the same My LV= dashboard with one renewal calendar.
LV= customer service
LV= runs different lines depending on the policy and the type of enquiry (general service, motor and home claims, pet, travel, breakdown and complaints), and these numbers change from time to time. To avoid being given an out-of-date number, always take the line that matches your enquiry from an official LV= source rather than a third-party listing.
How to contact LV=
- The number on your policy documents: your certificate and policy schedule list the correct lines for quotes, mid-term changes, cancellations and the relevant 24/7 claims service; this is the most reliable source.
- Official contact page: every current LV= phone line and its opening hours, by product, are published at lv.com/insurance/contact-us.
- My LV=: log in to the app or web account to manage any policy, renew, cancel or report a claim without calling.
- On this site: see our LV= contact page for an overview of how to reach each department.
Contact LV= online
- My LV=: log in to the app or website for secure messaging and most policy changes.
- Live chat: available from the LV= help pages during UK business hours.
- X (Twitter): send a DM to @LV for general queries (never share policy or payment details).
- Email: sensitive issues should be raised through My LV= secure messaging rather than personal email.
LV= head office address
LV= General Insurance, County Gates, Bournemouth BH1 2NF. For policy correspondence and complaints, use the address on your policy schedule rather than the head office.
How to complain about LV=
Raise the issue first with LV= by phone, in My LV= or in writing. If LV= does not resolve the complaint within eight weeks, or you receive a final response you disagree with, you can escalate the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge.
Is LV= a good insurer? Reviews and ratings
LV= is the highest-rated of the large UK personal-lines insurers on Trustpilot, sitting at around 4.7/5 from more than 200,000 reviews — well ahead of Aviva (4.4), Direct Line and Admiral. Reviews highlight the speed of motor claims, the politeness of the Bournemouth contact-centre team and clear, jargon-free renewal letters.
Defaqto rates LV= Comprehensive Car at 5 Stars, with LV= Premier Home holding a 5 Star rating across most variants. Fairer Finance ranks LV= consistently in the upper quartile for transparency and complaints handling.
If price is your priority, run an LV= quote alongside our list of the best UK insurance providers before you renew.
LV= news 2024–2026
- January 2024: Allianz Holdings plc completes the £530m acquisition of LV= General Insurance, ending 181 years of LV= as a mutual.
- 2024: LV= retains its Bournemouth head office and customer-service team within the Allianz UK group.
- July 2025: Following the Aviva-Direct Line merger, Allianz UK (including LV=) becomes one of the three largest UK personal-lines insurers.
- 2026: LV= rolls out a refreshed My LV= app with biometric login and in-app claim notifications across motor, home and pet.
LV= timeline
- 1843: Liverpool Independent Legal Victoria Burial Society founded.
- 1907: Renamed Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society.
- 2007: Rebranded as LV= with the equals-sign motif.
- 2017: LV= sells half of its general insurance business to Allianz, retaining the LV= brand.
- 2019: Allianz completes the acquisition of the remaining half of LV= General Insurance.
- 2021: LV= Life Insurance sold to Bain Capital for £530m.
- January 2024: LV= General Insurance fully integrated into Allianz Holdings.
- 2025: Aviva-Direct Line merger reshapes the UK market; LV= remains an Allianz UK brand.
- 2026: Refreshed My LV= app launched.
LV= FAQ
No. LV= General Insurance was sold to Allianz Holdings plc in stages between 2017 and 2024 and is now part of the German Allianz SE group's UK arm. LV= Life Insurance was sold separately to Bain Capital in 2021.
LV= is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and PRA, with the additional financial strength of being part of Allianz Group. Policyholders are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which covers 90% of an insurance claim with no upper limit on most general insurance products.
LV= is rarely the cheapest aggregator quote, but it is rarely the most expensive either. The brand competes on cover quality, claims handling and customer service rather than the lowest possible introductory price. Many customers find LV= competitive at renewal because LV= is one of the few large insurers that does not push aggressive new-customer-only pricing.
You have a 14-day cooling-off period in which you can cancel any new LV= policy and receive a full refund minus a small admin fee. After the cooling-off period you can still cancel but LV= will keep the portion of premium covering the time on risk plus an admin fee.
Yes. Allianz has committed to retain the LV= brand for personal-lines (motor, home, pet, travel, breakdown) customers. The Bournemouth head office, customer-service team and product range continue under the LV= name within the Allianz UK group.