Review: John Lewis Finance Car Insurance

In Summary

John Lewis Finance is one of only 4 car insurance providers recommended by Which?, and is rated as gold-standard by Fairer Finance. John Lewis Finance Car Insurance has also been awarded 5 Stars by Defaqto, who regard it as "An excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits".

Car Insurance from John Lewis Finance comes with the following benefits:

• A courtesy car while your vehicle is being repaired
• Up to £100 towards travel or a hotel so you can complete your journey
• Up to 90 days of cover in Europe
• Up to £1,000 of replacement locks if your keys are ever lost or stolen
• A full drain-out and 10 litres of fuel if you accidentally use the wrong pump
• Safe driving rewarded year after year with a No Claims Discount

Terms, conditions, policy limitations, exclusions and excesses apply.

You can get a quote for car insurance at the John Lewis website.

Background to John Lewis Finance Car Insurance

As a brand, John Lewis is a British institution. Founded in 1864, the department store is well-known and widely respected around the country. However, not many people know John Lewis also offer financial services, including home, pet, travel and car insurance.

John Lewis is a partnership, which means it is owned by its employees rather than private shareholders. Its car insurance is underwritten by Ageas, who are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Overview of the cover provided by John Lewis Car Insurance policies

Like many car insurance companies, John Lewis Finance offers 3 levels of car insurance – Comprehensive; Third Party Fire & Theft; Third Party Only. It is well-reported that John Lewis Insurance aim to provide a high-quality product, so while they are not the cheapest provider their policies do come with a wide range of benefits.

The most benefits come with the Comprehensive policy which includes cover for your windscreen, personal accidents, belongings, using your car abroad and the provision of a replacement car (or covering the cost of taxis if a replacement car can’t be made available in time). In addition, there are then also a number of optional extras, such as legal protection (£24), car breakdown cover (from £40) and excess protection (£30).

Like most providers, John Lewis Finance like to reward claim-free drivers with a No Claims Bonus (NCB). Their programme allows up to 75% discount on their premium (with 9 years claim-free) and you can protect your bonus if you have at least 4 years of NCB built up.

John Lewis Finance is currently offering a discount of up to 15%, exclusive to new customers who purchase a car insurance policy online. You can obtain a quote by visiting their website.

How much does Car insurance from John Lewis Finance cost?

In order to provide a quote for car insurance, insurance providers need to assess a number of factors about you and your car. Because there many variables with car insurance, it’s difficult to generalise about the comparative value offered by different companies. Comparing quotes, however, has never been so easy, with a number of well-established websites providing this service.

As with any insurance product, however, it’s worth remembering that you often get what you pay for and factors such as reliability and customer service may be considerably more important than price. As mentioned above, John Lewis Fiannce prides itself on bringing John Lewis levels of customer service to the insurance market.

Get a quote tailored to your circumstances here.

What the Expert Reviews Say

In a review by Which? that looked at 30 car insurance providers, John Lewis Finance was rated 2nd overall, with an aggregated score of 76%. The Which? review aggregated Customer Score (78%) and Policy Score (78%).

Of the 30 companies reviewed, only five earned the ‘Which? Recommended Provider’ status. John Lewis Car Insurance was one of the five recommended providers.

Fairer Finance ranks insurers based on what their customers think of them, how good they are at handling complaints and how transparent they are. They ranked John Lewis car insurance 7th out of 51 providers. John Lewis was rated as gold-standard, with a score of 60%. Fairer Finance notes: “John Lewis qualifies for a gold Fairer Finance award in car insurance, and is well worth considering if it offers you a competitive price.”

This article on John Lewis Finance Car Insurance is part of a series of reviews we are featuring on different car insurance companies and the policies they offer. Have a look at our Top 10 Car Insurance article for all the information.