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Selectra
Updated May 2026

Compare UK insurance for home, car & travel

Provider reviews, policy guides and claim how-tos for every kind of UK cover. Find the right policy, dodge the small-print traps and save money on your next renewal.

Independent reviews. Plain-English guides. Updated for 2026.

3

Insurance verticals

38

Guides & reviews

30+

UK insurers covered

£0

Cost — totally free advice

Between household names, insurers that date back to the Great Fire of London, brokers and disruptive newcomers, working out who actually offers the best policy is hard. Selectra strips it back to what each cover does, who it suits and what the small print really means.

Pick a vertical below — home, travel or car — or jump into our directory of UK insurers. Every guide is plain-English, independent and updated for 2026.

Every guide we publish

Explore all 38 insurance guides

Filter by what you actually need — a home cover topic, a travel destination, a car policy type, a provider review or the latest news.

Hub

Home insurance

Cover your home

Compare buildings, contents and combined home cover. Understand excess, claim limits and the small print before you switch.

Read the guide
Hub

Travel insurance

Cover your trip

Single-trip, annual or backpacker — find a travel policy that matches your destination, age and any pre-existing condition.

Read the guide
Hub

Car insurance

Cover your car

How car insurance works in the UK, the no-claims bonus, black-box policies and cheaper cover for young, learner and business drivers.

Read the guide
Hub

Insurance providers

30+ insurers

In-depth reviews of UK insurers — Aviva, AXA, Direct Line, Admiral, LV, John Lewis and more — with policy, price and service breakdowns.

Read the guide

Contents insurance

Home

What contents cover protects, replacement vs use value, and how to value everything you own.

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Buildings insurance

Home

Cover for the bricks, roof and fittings of your home — rebuilding cost, not market value.

Read the guide

Tenants insurance

Home

Protect your own possessions in a rented flat or room, plus tenant liability cover.

Read the guide

Buy-to-let insurance

Home

Landlord cover for the building, optional contents and loss of rent if the property cannot be rented out.

Read the guide

Holiday home insurance

Home

Extended unoccupancy cover, travel to the property in emergencies, and an option to insure when you rent it out.

Read the guide

Home insurance claims

Home

How to claim, what evidence you need and how loss adjusters value damage — step by step.

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What is not covered

Home

The common exclusions — wear and tear, gradual damage, unoccupied periods — that catch policyholders out.

Read the guide

Switching home insurance

Home

When to switch, cancellation fees, mid-term changes and how to avoid being penalised for auto-renewal.

Read the guide

Single trip insurance

Travel

One trip, one policy — usually the best value if you travel once or twice a year.

Read the guide

Annual travel insurance

Travel

Multi-trip cover for a whole year. Cheaper than three single-trip policies — but check trip-duration caps.

Read the guide

Backpacker insurance

Travel

Long-stay cover for gap years and round-the-world trips, with options for high-risk activities.

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Family travel insurance

Travel

One policy for the whole family — children typically included free or at a discount.

Read the guide

Ski travel insurance

Travel

Winter sports cover — off-piste, equipment hire, piste closure and emergency mountain rescue.

Read the guide

Cruise insurance

Travel

Missed port departures, cabin confinement and medical evacuation at sea — what to look for.

Read the guide

Pre-existing conditions

Travel

How to declare medical conditions and find specialist insurers who will still cover you fairly.

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Gadget cover

Travel

Phone, laptop, camera — when standard baggage limits are not enough and you need specialist gadget cover.

Read the guide

Travel insurance vs EHIC

Travel

Why the GHIC card alone is not enough — and what travel insurance covers that it does not.

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Travel insurance claims

Travel

How to claim for lost luggage, cancellation, medical bills and missed departures — evidence and deadlines.

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Europe travel cover

Destination

The cheapest zone for travel cover — but still essential beyond the GHIC.

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USA travel cover

Destination

High medical costs mean higher policy limits — what counts as adequate cover for a US trip.

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Canada travel cover

Destination

Skiing, hiking and road trips — making sure activities and equipment are covered.

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Worldwide travel cover

Destination

Multi-continent cover for long trips, with options that include or exclude the US and Caribbean.

Read the guide

Asia travel cover

Destination

From Thailand to Japan — medical, baggage and natural-disaster cover for an Asian trip.

Read the guide

Caribbean travel cover

Destination

Hurricane-season cover, cruise add-ons and high-value gadget extensions for the islands.

Read the guide

How car insurance works

Car

Third party, third party fire and theft, fully comprehensive — what each level actually covers.

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No claims bonus

Car

How NCBs are built, protected and transferred — and what it costs to keep yours after a claim.

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Young driver insurance

Car

Cheaper cover for 17–25-year-olds — telematics, named drivers and Pass Plus discounts.

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Black box insurance

Car

How telematics policies track your driving and can cut premiums sharply — or lift them.

Read the guide

Learner driver insurance

Car

Short-term cover while you learn, plus how to avoid wrecking a parent or friend's NCB.

Read the guide

Classic car insurance

Car

Agreed-value cover for classics — mileage limits, club discounts and what counts as a classic.

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Business car insurance

Car

When SDP cover is not enough — class 1, 2 and 3 business use explained.

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Market news

News

Mergers, regulatory shake-ups and the FCA pricing rules reshaping UK insurance.

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Car insurance news

News

Premium trends, the Ogden discount rate and the latest cost-of-cover analysis.

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Travel insurance news

News

Airline insolvency, government travel advice changes and the state of post-Brexit travel cover.

Read the guide

3 steps

How to compare insurance properly

Comparing on price alone is the fastest way to end up with the wrong cover. Here is the order we recommend for every kind of policy.

1

Match the cover to your life

Renting a flat? You need contents, not buildings. Going skiing? Standard travel cover will not touch off-piste injuries. Start with what you actually own and do.

2

Read the exclusions first

Every policy looks great until you hit the exclusions list. Unoccupied homes, pre-existing conditions, alcohol, valuables left in cars — these are the gotchas.

3

Compare like for like

Same excess. Same single-item claim limit. Same optional extras included. Only then does the price tell you which policy is genuinely cheaper.

UK insurers we review

30+ providers in one place

Every major UK insurer covered — household names and specialists alike. Tap a logo to read the full review and policy breakdown.

Insurance FAQ

The Selectra expert answers your questions

We publish guides and provider reviews for the three policies most UK households need: home insurance (buildings, contents and combined), travel insurance (single-trip, annual, backpacker, ski, family and cruise) and car insurance (comprehensive, third-party, telematics and specialist).

Yes. Every guide is written by our editorial team and reviewed before publishing. We list the strengths and weaknesses of each insurer openly — including the ones we do not partner with.

Three things move the needle: shop around at renewal (auto-renewal almost always costs more than a new quote), tweak your excess (a higher voluntary excess cuts the premium), and drop cover you do not need (gadget cover when you have no gadgets, accidental damage when you live alone).

Use both. Comparison sites give you a quick price benchmark across dozens of insurers. Going direct lets you negotiate the small print — excess, claim limits, optional extras — which comparison sites rarely surface. Our provider guides tell you what each insurer is willing to flex on.

For home and car insurance, start shopping 21 to 26 days before renewal — insurers reserve their cheapest quotes for that window. For travel insurance, buy as soon as you book the trip so the cancellation cover kicks in straight away.

No. All our guides and provider reviews are completely free to read. We make no money from the insurer when you click through — we are independent.

Ready to switch?

Pick the cover, skip the small-print traps

Whether you are insuring your home, your car or your next trip, start with the guide that fits — then read the insurer review before you click buy.