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Hastings Direct: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 3.15 (646 reviews)

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3.09

Based on 646 reviews, last reviewed 21st Jun 2025

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

67% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

34%

20%

35%

Latest highest rating:

5

Great experience recently when renewing Great experience recently when renewing Reviewed on: 21st June 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

Ok until you actually have to use them. Ok until you actually have to use them. I was involved in a no fault hit and run where the other party accepted liability. They have severely under v... Read more Reviewed on: 13th June 2025

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About this product

Hastings Direct provide award-winning car insurance.

You can get a Hastings Direct car insurance quote online and manage your policy via the mobile app. There are three levels of cover, Essentials, Direct and Premier. They're available as an online product which is a lower cost, self-service policy that you manage yourself.

Hastings Direct car insurance reviews help you find out what it’s really like to be a customer. If you’ve used Hastings Direct before, you can also leave a review and share your experience.

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Hastings Direct Car insurance reviews (646)

Best quote I could find but hassle when coming to a claim

The best price I could find when comparing car insurance, but I had to make a claim on one occasion. This resulted in a lot of hassle on the phone, being passed about to different people who didn't know the answer to simple questions. At one point I had 2 claims open for just the one claim so there seems to be a lack of communication somewhere along the line. Reviewed on: 8th October 2016

useless when it comes to making a claim

AVOID they will do there best not to pay u out when it comes to making a claim, so much stress caused from this company Reviewed on: 26th September 2016

Reasonably priced- quick customer service

Good price on my renewal. Customer service very helpful and quick to reply. Reviewed on: 26th September 2016

poor customer service

I had to ring Hastings direct to change my renewal quote and to add on some friends and family discount. Sounds simple enough but the whole process took over an hour. My renewal quote was changed easy enough but when it came to adding friends an family discount onto my policy I was given the wrong number for the department twice and transferred to the wrong department three times, two of which were done as a blind transfer which meant that I had to go though my inquiry and security checks all over again. I dread to think of the amount of time I spent on hold and how much these calls must have cost me. I would recommend Hastings Direct because of its competitive prices but their customer service is appealing. Reviewed on: 26th September 2016

Good customer service

Whenever I had a query the customer service team were always very friendly and willing to help would definitely recommend to family and friends Reviewed on: 25th September 2016

Why do reviewers give 5*

Why do people review a service that they have not really used? When an accident occurs! Every thing will be OK if you have not to deal with a claim. BUT! Reviewed on: 25th September 2016

Straightforward

Not needed to use them yet but easy to get hold of to change details Reviewed on: 24th September 2016

Hastings Direct - Competitive Car Insurance

Very competitive prices - in fact for me it was 20% less than any other quote via a direct or comparison web site. Reviewed on: 24th September 2016

A Scam to increase the premium and poor service

I moved from LV to Hastings Direct recently. I got a quote and paid the full premium. I checked my documents online and thought all was well. Weeks later I received a request to 'validate' some documents which I sent to them. I heard nothing so phoned and was told all was in order. Weeks later I received a message to call them urgently. They now claim I had entered my purchase date wrongly e.g. 2015 and not 2016. and now want an EXTRA £97.00. I have explained that I had checked all was OK when I submitted the documents and I had been told all was OK. I had also checked my document so this had not been wrong. I therefore disputed this amount and was told someone would call me in 4 days - did NOT happen. Today I have received a letter saying I have to pay or they will cancel my insurance despite the fact I have paid in full premium they quoted. I phoned them and explained this was in dispute but they have told me I HAVE to pay or they will CANCEL my insurance. This must be extortion. The service is awful I am put on hold for ages. I have spent untold time trying to sort this out and am still no further forward. The CRD ( complaints Resolution department) apparently will take up to 8 weeks to call me - they must be very busy ! I wish I had never taken insurance out with this company who are just trying to increase the premium for no reason. I believe this is a scam to get more money as it is done after your have a right to cancel without charge. If I cancel now they want another £45 to cancel the policy. I will update the saga once I have spoken to the CRD. Im a very unhappy customer who is fed up with being ripped off ! Reviewed on: 23rd September 2016

Worst company I have had the misfortune of dealing with!

I had problems for the entire year of my policy and would not recommend this company to anyone. I ended up paying £100 more than I was quoted by simply informing them of the number of years my additional driver had held a license. On their website the option was "over 20 years" when they called and asked for a definitive number (25 years) this suddenly increased by £100. No matter how much I argued that 25 years is the same as "over 20 years" they were adamant the quote was no longer valid. Once the box was installed I had multiple issues as the box wasn't registering the correct time of day the car was in use and wasn't picking up the "breaking" data correctly. It took multiple calls and over two weeks for me to be put through to the maintenance team who informed me this was due to the box being a new installation and to give it 6 weeks to settle. During these 6 weeks I received numerous threats from the company regarding policy cancellation. I both emailed and called the Customer Service Team, they confirmed what the maintenance team said regarding the 6 week "settling in" period but still carried on with the cancellation threats. The telephone manner was absolutely disgusting and even after speaking to the manager I ended up placing a formal complaint with the head office. I only had a suitable response when I threatened to report the company to the Ombudsman. During the first two weeks of my policy I decided I would like to cancel my policy and move to a better company. Policy cancellation is supposed to be free in the first two weeks, they imposed £450 worth of charges which they refused to confirm; 1) what they were all for and 2) why this was not free as stated both online and in all the documents I received. I have had further issues since my policy has ended with the company refusing to remove the black box unless I pay £150, I was told upon setting up the policy that this was free after the first year. They have also still not sent out a copy of my No Claims Bonus, it has been almost two weeks since my policy has ended. I have emailed and called and still no certificate. I'm concerned this is going to affect my new policy as I need to provide proof within 28 days and Hastings are no help at all. UPDATE: I have since emailed the email address below along with sending further emails to the team that have been dealing with my NCB certificate issues. Twice I have been sent the certificate, both times with substantial errors. The first document stated the same number of years as when my policy started and also stated I was at fault in an accident a number of years ago. They resent the certificate, this time with the correct number of years but still stating I was at fault. I would like to say it's an error I made but seen as the policy was setup over the phone this is the result of (another) incompetent member of staff incapable of inputting correct data. Multiple emails have been sent and not one person has bothered responding. I have tried calling after work for the last 3 nights between 5pm and 8pm, each time I have spent in excess of 30 minutes on hold (which I'm being charged for!) and then the line seems to give up or my call is being knocked off because someone obviously wants to go home at 8pm on the dot. I will be contacting the FCA again as my new insurer cannot cover me much longer without valid NCB proof. I have never dealt with such an incompetent company. Customer service is non-existent and it's safe to say they would have better service if they employed wild animals. Reviewed on: 23rd September 2016

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