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Hastings Direct: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 3.14 (642 reviews)

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3.10

Based on 642 reviews, last reviewed 29th Jan 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

20% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

34%

20%

34%

Latest highest rating:

5

Sensible approach to black box (You Drive) policy. I had a black box (You Drive) policy. My car needed repairs which took several weeks and meant I wasn't driving it. Hastings Direct contacted me askin... Read more Reviewed on: 20th October 2024

Latest lowest rating:

1

DO NOT USE HASTINGS PLEASE Terrible - my car gets stolen and they refuse the claim for a key discrepancy issue and THEN LOSE THAT key! Car has been found by the police and Hasti... Read more Reviewed on: 29th January 2025

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About this product

Looking for your new car insurance provider? Check out the Hastings Direct car insurance reviews on Smart Money People, left by genuine customers to help you make an informed decision when choosing your next provider.

Founded in 1997, Hastings Direct offers car, van, bike and home insurance, providing flexible policies with a wide range of optional extras. Its car insurance policies come with varying levels of cover, alongside a telematics policy, YouDrive, which rewards good driving with lower renewal rates.

What factors do you consider to be most important when choosing a car insurance provider? Are you looking for a telematics policy that can save you money? Perhaps you require breakdown cover or courtesy car cover? What about windscreen cover, or protection from vandalism? Whatever your needs, check out our Hastings Direct car insurance reviews to see how existing customers rate their policies.

Have you had a Hastings Direct car insurance policy? Share your experience with the Smart Money People community to help us increase trust and transparency in financial services. Tell us how satisfied you were with the price of the premium, and whether you managed to find cover for all of your needs? If you’ve had a YouDrive policy, did you find the scoring of your driving fair, and did you find a noticeable discount on your renewal? Leave a Hastings Direct car insurance review today and help other drivers.

Hastings Direct Car Insurance reviews (642)

Review of the Hastings Direct, Car Insurance:

CheekyCharges Campaigner

Well i had already been with them a year, and they sent my quote for the next year and it was over 50% more than the previous year even though i was in double figures for no-claims and there were no changes from last year. So I decided to used a comparison website and inputting the same details as on the quote, the same company came up as the cheapest insurers on the comparison website, at over 50% less than their quote. So i called them and asked why i had 2 quotes with such different prices and they couldn't answer me, they also tried to quote me a price that was between my two other quotes and when i said it would be cheaper for me to leave them now, and then re-join them with my online quote their answer was 'So why did you bother calling then?' I was simply amazed at that! So the Golden rule should always be- NEVER accept the quote from your current insurers without looking around first, it will save you a fortune! Reviewed on: 6th March 2016

Horrid company

On the 12th October 21 My car was damaged by a car in the next parking bay catching fire . Today the 16 Dec 21 Ive just been told that the fire to the other persons car was not due to faulty work or criminal act . So its classed as an act of god and i will now loose my excess fees and it will go against future insurance premiums so its classed as my fault !!!!!! I've been lied to over this and treated disgustingly from the very start . So please everyone beware that this company will rely on the small print and claims its the industry standards to avoid honouring there end . They say oh we are fixing your car !!! Yes of course but at my cost in terms of excess and future insurance costs .. i ask whats the point of Paying full comp insurance when this rubbish lot wont protect you or me as there customer . How on earth can a car fire if not arson not be a mechanical fault on the other car . There were no lightning bolts that night !!!! So please save yourselves check small print ask questions and don't use Hastings Direct Reviewed on: 21st December 2021

Horrid experience

Dreadful rules

Blackmailers !! My son is insured with Hastings "brickwall" direct. He pays for car insurance by direct debit as young driver insurance is inexplicably high. How does any insurance company know me or my driving history etc at first? But I'm 54 so my quote is £300 a year but my sons is £4100 !!!!! Utterly ridiculous. Anyway......... He was involved in an accident that was not his fault. His car was smashed into by a big van and it rammed him into another car. HD agreed completely that he was in the clear and he would receive a payout for the written off car. He got the call this week assuring him that he would have the money Friday or following Monday with which he plans to buy the new car he is looking at today, Saturday. HD then called to say, unless He puts a new car on to his insurance, they will take the rest of the years monthly dd premiums from the total of his payout. This works out at £2859.45 and his payout is £3000.00. So, his custom to HD, his trust in them to look after him in the event of an accident, which as Ive said and HD agreed was not his fault, ..... has now ended up with him possibly getting the princely sum of £150 !!!!! We have both been on the phone with different people at HD who just don't even try to listen or help in any way whatsoever! They say its purely because he has paid by dd. He is 20 yrs old which means , highly unfairly, that his insurance is extremely expensive. There is no way he can pay a year up front so he is immediately forced down the dd route. I've tried to reason with them all but they just can't understand that it's a blackmail technique that they are using. Do something or we take your money !!! They say its in the t's & c's so that's it!! Like I said, brickwall. I asked all 3 I spoke to what their mobile phone contract says is the international call rate as that is in their t's and c's and guess what? None of them knew. As I said, no-one spends all day reading all the small print , especially younger people, and that is exactly where HD explain this little blackmail trap they foist on the young drivers. I looked on their website at the faq section about making a claim. Guess what? No explanation of this blackmail trap anywhere !!! Well they wouldn't have customer if they did explain it !!! No one at HD was even prepared to even try and sort out some kind of arrangement to help him out. He needs the money from the payout to buy this new car which HD are insisting he has put on the insurance so that they dont take his money !?!? I know, stupid isn't it? Anyway, a complaint has been lodged which I already know will be ignored "because its in the t's & c's!!!!" My advice, don't use Hastings Direct for anything ever. They are not there to help you, they just take your money. Awful company. Look out for the HD reply to this as well because you will see no offer of resolution from HD . This is going on to as many public forums as I can get it on to hopefully make others aware of young driver dd blackmail trap. Well done Hastings Direct. A lot of possible customers now lost as I will be advising many family , friends etc to steer clear of you !! Reviewed on: 18th December 2021

Worst Insurance company ever

I have had nothing but issues with Hastings, there was an issue with the black box and despite calling and emailing many times, there was no positive outcome. Trying to speak to anyone was an issue and even when that was possible there was no real advice given only the same old instructions. There was obviously a fault with the tab but nothing was ever done. I would never use them again and I would advise against using them. Reviewed on: 14th November 2021

Felt ripped off

I have used Hastings regularly, but do keep an eye on the other prices out there. I had a car insurance running and moved area from Yorkshire to Merseyside which seemed to double my monthly premium. I left the insurance as it was as I assumed that if I cancelled, they would sting me with some fee. Ive got a good driving history and drive a Hyudaii i10, so very basic. On renewal, the premium was around the £470 mark. I rang to cancel and the assistant (as they do) went off and came back with a figure of £35 a month and said shall we put this in place now. I said no, you need to tell me what the whole premium is, i.e. over 10 or 12 months etc. So they had managed to knock over a £100 pounds off what was a high price. I said no and told her thatI felt that they had ripped me off over the last year. I had found a policy through Saga for around £270, but went through topcashbackand got it for £235 and with a £30 cash back (although still waiting for this) so great result - less than half of Hastings price! Reviewed on: 8th November 2021

theft of money

Refused to give me all of my money back when they cancelled my insurance took £20 and the policy hadn't even started avoid Reviewed on: 4th November 2021

AVOID

Wrote off my car and Gave me a pathetic amount , well short of the ‘real world ‘ going rate. Took no notice of the significant work Id done to my vehicle before someone crashed in to the back of me Had the cheek to then charge me £27 to change detaiks after it was them that wrote my car off Reviewed on: 12th October 2021

Easy, quick, great app

Since purchasing my policy with HastingsDirect, it has been nothing short of brilliant. The only time I’ve spoke to someone was about my claim which they handled as best as they could. Other than that I used their brilliant app for everything! Reviewed on: 7th October 2021

Shocking

HastingsDirect bumped up my insurance to £230 per month without telling me, (apparently I clicked auto renew)so once I cancelled within my cooling of period they returned the payment which was fine… they have since taken another payment of £230 per month and are refusing to pay it back stating I owe them. A complete mess that’s pushed me into an overdraft when I followed the correct procedure. Reviewed on: 21st September 2021

Rubbish

Roderick Hood 218 Pinewood Park Farnbrough Hampshire GU14 9LG To Mr Tobias Van DEr Meer conquest house, 34 Collington Ave, Bexhill-on-Sea TN39 3LW Dear Sir I am writing again as I do not seem to be getting through to your company I started a complaint with your company, and they failed to resolver, so I have been to resolver it get it sorted out . My problems started in 22/04.2021 when I could not access my detail as they had the policy number you can see this from the resolver case file. When I emailed for help, this fell upon deaf ears, so I tried calling on the telephone I was pushed round your systems put on hold and in the end just dropped . I needed to contact you to tell you I have sold the car and now have another, believe me I tried and tried but to no avail So I went to one call for my insurance, they were only too happy to help I was left with the problem of your company not talking to me. The resolver case run to end as no answers were made by your company and the case has now been passed to the insurance ombudsman I am now thinking I will contact Financial Conduct Authority via ABI your regulator as I can not let this continue. I now find you have renewed my insurance without checking with me and taken money from my account and I did write to you and told you could not access my data as I want nothing more to do with you your company however does what it wants . I contacted the Police, they seemed not very interested in my case, I will however will push it. I will be posting this to you as a mater of curtsey I will list the details I will be pressing for 1 failed to deal with any aspect of my complaint 2 I was unable to use your system because you have not put the right details in it 3 You have not refunded any money as you have sold me goods not fit for service 4 you have taken money from my account Stolen I use that term as I sill have a active complaint with you and the insurance ombudsman so why would I renew any policy with you. 5 You did not check I was still entitled to drive when you took the money I may have been disqualified or had heath issues that means you have not paid due diligence All I wanted was to get rid of your rubbish service now I am faced with taken legal redress in the small claims court and social media. When I complained about the money taken from my account you answer was unacceptable, I shall be posting you and I hope you want to avoid me taking acction in the courts Roderick Hood Reviewed on: 13th September 2021

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