5 Which? Recommended Insurance Providers

The largest consumer body in the UK, Which?, does annual comparisons across a range of market sectors, from utilities providers to electronics. It also covers insurance, and this year it has identified the best home insurance providers on the market for UK customers. So, if you are looking to get the best buildings and contents cover available on the home insurance market, here is a rundown of the top 5 Which? Recommended Insurance Providers, and why they are considered to be the best:

• Hiscox were voted Which? Recommended Insurance Providers 2012, receiving a total score of 82% and the highest Which? Content policy score of 89%. Promising to be “as good as our word”, Hiscox has also been rated as a five star service by independent researchers, Defaqto, seven years running. Current home insurance offers include a 10% discount on a first year premium, for new customers when buying online.

• John Lewis Home Insurance also received an overall Which? score of 82% and was ranked the highest score of 85% for their buildings cover. John Lewis Home Insurance promises to “give your home and possessions the protection they deserve” and offers unlimited buildings and contents cover, whilst covering valuables up to £30,000 and offering personal possessions cover worldwide for up to £25,000. Customers are also given the choice to add an optional 24 hour emergency home service and John Lewis even cover customers for accidental damage, including DIY mishaps and spilled red wine!

• Receiving the highest Which? customer satisfaction score of 83%, NFU Mutual Home Insurance is the third Which? Recommended Insurance Provider to make the top five list; receiving a total score of 81%. Offering a “personal service” to their customers, NFU Mutual specialize in “high value home insurance” to protect “luxury lifestyles”. One happy NFU Mutual customer writes on their website: “NFU demonstrate the benefits of mutuality – They look after their members!”

• Coming in at number four is Marks and Spencer Money, who has been awarded 78% as a Which? Recommended Insurance Provider. M&S Home Insurance offers full cover for both homes and gardens, giving customers two choices of insurance cover: standard or premier. Offering “cover you can rely on”, holders of an M&S card receive 1,000 extra M&S points for opening a new home insurance policy and currently new customers can receive a 20% discount when buying their policy online.

• The fifth Which? Recommended Insurance Provider is Ecclesiastical Home Insurance, receiving a total score of 74%. Benefits of their contents insurance include up to £75,000 standard contents cover, included emergency home cover, and up to £2,500 cover per claim for garden contents, including garden furniture and ornaments. Ecclesiastical also currently offer a 20% discount for new customers online and a further saving of 15% when both buildings and contents insurance is purchased together.

To select Which? Recommended Insurance Providers, Which? combined the very best of their latest customer satisfaction scores for home insurance products (taken from a survey of 13,843 Which? online community members in December 2011 and April 2012), with their own assessment of each home insurance provider’s standard building and contents policy.

Written by Dan Richard, a home insurance professional and experienced blogger