The best value car insurer in Britain

Find out which car insurer lovemoney.com readers voted the best value for money - and why.

We recently did a survey of lovemoney.com readers, asking you which car insurer provides the best overall value for money. We had a huge response - so thanks for taking part, if you did!

I won't beat around the bush. Here are the results:

Best value car insurer award winners

1. Swiftcover

2. Churchill

3. CIS

Let's talk about the winner, Swiftcover, why it was 'Most loved', and where it can improve.

Swiftcover

It's clear that, with voters urged to vote based on value for money, price would be an important factor in determining the winner. So no wonder that, during 2009, Swiftcover, a brand of AXA Insurance, was one of the cheapest car insurers, saving customers an average of £96.21 per policy.

Of course, this doesn't mean it was cheapest for all drivers, as it will depend on your profile. But if you're interested in getting a quote, the good news is, it will only take you 60 seconds. That's because believe it or not, Swiftcover's big USP is that it's, well, swift. It offers a full online service, which means no call centres, no waiting on the phone and fast, internet service.

What's more, by handling everything online, Swiftcover cuts its costs - hence the cheaper policies.

Handle your account online

I've no doubt that some of you like Swiftcover not only for the cost but also because you can do almost everything online via its 'My Swift Space' service, including viewing your certificate, making a claim, adding driving abroad cover, and making changes to your policy.

Obviously, this is more convenient to use to make changes to your policy at times when most car insurers would be closed or put you on hold in long phone queues. And again, this saves the insurer money, allowing them to offer cheaper quotes without necessarily losing any of the policy benefits.

Good value at the price

OK, so we know Swiftcover is competitive on price and that you like its approach to customer service. But how does it offer value for money? Here are the benefits offered by Swiftcover policies at a glance:

As you can see, Swiftcover offers an impressive five-year workmanship guarantee on all repairs, as standard. Just bear in mind you must use its approved repairers. (This could be a problem if you want to use a BMW or Mercedes repairer for warranty reasons.)

The standard free vehicle collection and delivery in the event of a claim, plus free car valeting after it's repaired is also worth noting, especially when you consider how cheap Swiftcover car insurance policies can be.

The ability to track a claim online is also handy, so you know exactly how quickly your claim is progressing, and can plan accordingly.

Just be aware that anything in the additional column may cost you extra to add onto your policy. If any of these benefits are particularly important to you, it's worth comparing more inclusive comprehensive policies carefully to see what the difference in price is.

Overall, there are plenty of reasons to love this insurer - which is why you gave it lovemoney.com's inaugural best value for money car insurance award. Congratulations, Swiftcover!

The runners-up

Depending on which review site you go to, Churchill is either amazing at claims-handling or one of the worst, showing that we can't blindly trust online forums. It is, however, often quite cheap. Strangely, you sometimes have to pay extra for a courtesy car but get breakdown cover for free.

CIS got your vote for a combination of reasons. People liked its personal service and find its website useful. However, even here, cutting the costs still seems to be by far the deciding factor when people choose insurance.

Better value, better terms and conditions!

Whether you just want cheap insurance or also want to scrutinise policy features, lovemoney.com's car insurance comparison tool makes it easy. You can also reduce your car bills with this goal: Cut your car costs.

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