Churchill Auto Insurance Review

So you are looking for auto insurance. There are a ton of auto insurance companies, so shopping around is important. Hopefully this review of Churchill’s auto insurance services will help you decide if they are the right company for you. This review will cover the 3 most important aspects of an auto insurance company: services, price, and customer service. Let us compare auto insurance prices by using our Comparison Tool to find the best car insurance rates for your state!

General Information

Churchill started in 1989 in the UK as one of the first major direct car insurance companies. They are entirely based in the UK and are now owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland. They sell insurance entirely over the phone and the internet to help lower their costs. Since 1989 they have continually added to their list of products and services to cover:

• Cars
• Homes
• Travel
• Pets
• Breakdowns
• Vans
• Motorcycles
• Private health

Churchill offers 24/7 service, a “plain English” policy that is easy to understand, a 5% discount for buying over the internet, a discount for not having filed a claim in the last four years, and guaranteed service with a money back guarantee.

Features of Churchill’s Car Insurance Policies

The following are some features of Churchill’s Car Insurance Policies:

• Uninsured driver coverage: If you get hit by an uninsured driver through no fault of your own, Churchill will cover it.
• Repairs guaranteed for five years.
• You can receive a new replacement car if you insured new car is under a year old.
• Personal accident coverage for policy holder and spouse.
• Limited coverage for items in the car.

While this a relatively strong list of a features and services, keep in mind a lot of them require comprehensive auto insurance coverage, so it may get expensive if you want all of these features.

So they offer a variety of services, that should cover most normal needs. This leads us to the two other most important things when considering car insurance: price and customer service.

Pricing

Churchill claims that most of their customers pay less than £305 for car insurance. Keep in mind though that even they admit that “most” is actually 51%, and that this is based on new and repeat customers during a six month period (01/01/11 – 31/07/11). This means that this is weighted heavily towards new customers who probably receive a promotional rate.

Online car insurance reviews from longtime customers repeatedly complain about the price, saying Churchill likes to bump up their rates after a year. This is not unheard of in the auto insurance industry but it is disheartening to see so many complaints about the exact same issue. If you buy auto insurance from Churchill and want to keep it, be prepared for a price hike.

Customer Service

But if the products and customer service is excellent, the price may be worth it, so let’s talk about how they treat their customers. They claim to have a 24 hour hotline, and to have received several awards for customer satisfaction.

Sadly, this seems to be smoke and mirrors. They are roundly decried for having some of the worst customer service. Customers report having to fight tooth and nail just to receive the basic benefits they are entitled to under their policy, never mind the more expensive benefits they may have paid extra for. Many services also require an extra fee or you must go without.

Churchill rated poorly overall in:

• Customer satisfaction
• Price
• Speed of service

Final Thoughts on Churchill

Churchill seems to be another discount auto insurance company. If you want the bare minimum of coverage then they may save you a little money for a year or two, but then you may get a price hike or need actual customer service. Overall, they seem to rate poorly against other auto insurance companies. If you are looking to save money, enter your ZIP code below and start comparing car insurance companies! We will also help you find various auto insurance discounts!