Dial Direct offers a number of highly rated comprehensive insurance packages with a wide range of benefits that come as standard.
Defaqto rating: 5/5 stars
Dial Direct has both its standard comprehensive car insurance and its premier car insurance products ranked with five stars on Defaqto, the independent financial research and review website.
Note: Not all Defaqto products with the same star ratings have the same covers and terms.
Trustpilot rating: 4.5/5 stars
Dial Direct customers on consumer review website Trustpilot are similarly impressed by the wide range of services available as standard and it has an average star rating of 4.5, reflecting a near-70% of reviewers giving it an 'excellent' rating.
Dial Direct is an insurance broker and its policies are underwritten by a broad panel of insurers.
Rated five stars on Defaqto, Moneyfacts and Fairer Finance for both its standard comprehensive car insurance and its premier car cover, Dial Direct is noted for offering an extensive range of features on its policies.
Indeed, it is one of few insurers where RAC breakdown cover is offered as standard.
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Dial Direct is owned by the BGL Group, which was founded as the Budget Insurance Company in Peterborough in 1992 by South African businessman Douw Steyn. The parent company now trades under the name BISL Limited.
BISL is home to a number of iconic brands – aside from Dial Direct the company is parent to Budget Insurance, Beagle Street and it launched price comparison website Comparethemarket.com in 2005.
As well as its car and premier car cover, Dial Direct also provides van and home insurance.
Dial Direct offers three types of car insurance.
Fully comprehensive
Third party fire & theft
Third party only
Dial Direct does not offer black box or telematics insurance.
Dial Direct does not offer multicar discounts. Taking out a multi-car insurance policy can help reduce your insurance costs:
if you own more than one car
if you’re a family with more than one driver
if you’re a couple with more than one vehicle
Dial Direct does not offer temporary insurance.
Compare a range of short-term insurance policies with Uswitch and money.co.uk*
Dial Direct scores well on ratings websites because it offers an extensive range of benefits provided as standard on its fully comprehensive policies.
Below is a list of what's covered.
Cover for any damage caused to the car, through vandalism, malicious damage, accident or fire.
Cover if the car is stolen.
Windscreens and other glass replacement cover.
If your vehicle is involved in an accident caused by an uninsured motorist, and excess you have to pay will be refunded.
Contribution of up to £300 per claim towards the cost of replacing a child's car seat.
Top-level breakdown cover comes as standard.
Cover for up to 60 days in any period of insurance.
Keeps you on the road while an approved repairer mends your car.
Up to £150 paid for replacement of personal belongings in the car.
Up to £200 in medical expenses for each person injured in the car.
Up to £5,000 paid out in event of death, loss of sight or limbs.
Cost of replacement of equipment fitted by the manufacturer.
While the company offers a wide range of features that come as standard on its fullycomprehensive policies, it also has a number of optional extras that can be added to your policy for an additional premium.
This provides legal expenses to help you and your passengers claim compensation for uninsured losses, including injury, in an accident that was not your fault, or to defend you if you are facing prosecution.
It covers up to £100,000 of legal expenses to pursue claims such as personal injury and loss of earnings following an accident, and up to £20,000 of legal expenses for your defence from prosecution.
If you are injured in an accident as a driver or passenger, this level of cover can pay to help support you and your family. This covers:
£30,000 for death or permanent disability as the result of an accident
£50 a day for up to 80 days for any hospitalisation
Up to £22,500 for severe injuries such as loss of sight or hearing
Up to £750 for whiplash injuries
A car of similar size will be made available for up to 60 days.
This provides £1,000 worth of cover for your car, home and business keys should they be lost, damaged or locked in. The cover also provides access to a national network of locksmiths.
Dial Direct stands out as being a provider of simple car insurance packed with benefits that come as standard. The company is a well-known brand and is highly rated by industry experts and consumers alike.
In summary, here’s what Dial Direct does best
Offers simple comprehensive, third party, fire and theft and third party only policies
RAC breakdown cover comes as standard on all Dial Direct policies
Customer services strongly rated on Trustpilot
Insurance policies underwritten by a leading panel of UK insurers
Dial Direct parent BGL Group was reported in July 2020 to be supporting the Charlie Gard Foundation, as part of its £1.5m campaign to help charities hit by the covid-19 pandemic. The Charlie Gard Foundation provides support to victims and families affected by mitochondrial disease.
The Financial Ombudsman Service received fewer than 10 car insurance complaints about Dial Direct, but the service is run by BISL, which received 76 complaints. To put that in context, 67 firms had 10 or more complaints each and those totalled 4,550 complaints. Nearly 200 firms had fewer than 10 each, sharing just 479 complaints between them.
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