Churchill: car insurance, claims and cover

Churchill is an insurance brand best known for car cover, and it also sells home, travel and pet policies¹. Car insurance comes in three levels, and Churchill sells all three: third party, third party fire and theft, and comprehensive². The level you choose decides what is paid for when something goes wrong, and it is the single biggest thing shaping what a policy does for you.

Churchill no longer sells life insurance or personal loans. Policies and loans already in force are unaffected, but the firm you deal with for an older product may not be Churchill itself. The brand sits alongside Direct Line, Darwin, Green Flag and NIG under one insurer, which holds FCA reference 202810 and appears on the Bank of England's list of UK insurers authorised to carry out contracts of insurance¹. That firm has been active since it was incorporated on 6 August 1974 and carries company number 01179980⁴.

Because the firm you buy from is the firm that takes on the risk, claims, complaints and protection all sit with the same business rather than a separate underwriter behind the brand.

What Churchill sells today

The three car cover levels work in a fixed order. Third party is the legal minimum and covers damage or injury you cause to other people and their property. Third party fire and theft adds cover if your own car is stolen or damaged by fire. Comprehensive adds cover for damage to your own vehicle as well, and is the level most drivers buy².

The same three-level structure applies to classic car insurance, which is a separate market with its own policies and conditions⁷. If you run a classic or older vehicle, the cover levels look familiar but the valuation and repair arrangements often differ, so it is worth reading the policy schedule rather than assuming a standard car policy applies.

What drives the price is not the level alone. Your claims history, where the car is kept, who drives it and the vehicle itself all feed into the quote. Churchill sets its own prices and publishes its current figures on its own site, so the only reliable way to see what a policy would cost is to get a quote directly. For how the wider market works, including the difference between the cover levels and what each one excludes, see insurance.

Life insurance and personal loans are no longer offered

Churchill no longer sells life insurance or personal loans. That does not affect policies and loans already in force, but it does change who you deal with if you need to make a claim, change a detail or ask a question.

If you hold an older Churchill personal loan, the practical question is who administers it now. Shawbrook, which has also stopped offering personal loans to new customers, states that if you already have a personal loan with it there is no change to your agreement⁶. That is the pattern to expect: the loan continues on its original terms, and payments carry on as before. Check your paperwork or contact the administrator named on your statements if you are unsure where to send payments.

For protection cover such as life insurance or critical illness cover, the market has moved on since Churchill withdrew. Critical illness cover pays out if you develop a listed life-changing illness, usually sold alongside a life insurance policy, and gives you a lump sum⁵. Some policies cover more than 100 illnesses that disable you or prevent you working at full capacity⁵. Maximum cover levels vary widely by provider; Scottish Widows, for example, publishes a maximum of £3 million for critical illness cover and £12,000 a month for the increasing income protection version⁸. For how these products work and what they cost, see protection.

Managing your policy online, in the app and by phone

Insurers increasingly let customers manage cover without calling. Saffron Building Society, for example, lets customers manage an account online, on the mobile app, in branch, by post, by phone and on webchat⁹. Churchill's own service channels, including its app and any messaging service, are set out on its website, and that is where to check what you can do yourself and what needs a phone call.

What you can usually do online:

• View and download policy documents
• Update your address or vehicle details
• Make a payment

What usually needs a person:

• Changing the level of cover
• Adding or removing a driver
• Anything to do with a claim in progress

If you are switching to a new insurer, do not cancel the old policy until the new one starts, or you will have a gap in cover.

Making a claim with Churchill

Claims start with the same information whichever insurer you are with. You report what happened, give the policy and vehicle details, and the insurer arranges repair, replacement or payment depending on your cover. Churchill's own claims line and online claim form are the routes to use, and the policy documents set out what is covered and what you must do within a set time.

Two things catch people out. The first is the no-claims discount. Getting a small chip in a windscreen fixed does not affect a no-claims discount, according to Which?¹⁰. Weather damage is different: you could lose some or all of your no-claims discount, depending on your insurer's rules¹¹. So a claim that seems small can still cost you at renewal if it is not a glass-only claim.

The second is who supplies the work. Insurers often use approved repairers and glass suppliers. NFU Mutual, for comparison, uses Allscreens Nationwide, National Windscreens and Auto Windscreens for its approved glass repair and replacement¹². If you want a particular supplier, ask before work starts, because using a non-approved one can affect what is paid.

What to do after an accident

The law sets the basics. Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 section 170, if you are involved in an accident and you are the driver, you must stop and give your details¹³. If another person is injured, you must also produce your certificate of insurance to anyone at the scene with reasonable grounds to see it¹³. If details are not exchanged at the scene, you must report the accident at a police station or to a police officer as soon as you can, and in any case within 24 hours¹³.

Beyond the legal duty, the practical steps are well established. Do not admit liability. Take the name and address of the other driver, details of their insurance, and witness details, and call the police if anyone is injured¹⁴. The details to exchange include your vehicle registration number, your name, your address, and the name and address of the vehicle owner if different¹³.

Abroad, the advice changes slightly. Contact the police, do not admit any liability or sign any documents other than the European Accident Statement, and contact your insurer as soon as you can¹³. Whether you claim on your own policy or the other driver's is a decision with consequences for your no-claims discount, and Which? covers the trade-offs in its guide to accidents and insurance claims¹³.

Extra support for illness, job loss and money worries

Insurance customers sometimes need help that has nothing to do with the policy. If illness or disability makes money harder to manage, MoneyHelper's guidance covers making your money easier to manage yourself, including bank statements and other documents in Braille, large print and audio formats¹⁵. The Pensions Ombudsman offers documents in large print, Braille or audio format, British Sign Language video interpretation, Relay UK, plain language correspondence and named points of contact¹⁶.

For bills, the Paying Fair Guidelines say companies should offer customers with sight impairments large print or Braille bills where appropriate¹⁷. Energy suppliers can provide account and bill information in an accessible format such as larger print or Braille through the Priority Services Register¹⁸. If you are struggling with debt, StepChange's budget guide walks through how to make a budget¹⁹, and its emergency funding page explains what to do when money runs out²⁰. For benefits you may be entitled to, Turn2us covers how to claim Disability Living Allowance²¹, Universal Credit hardship payments²² and the Best Start Grant in Scotland²³, and NI Direct explains how to get extra help to make or maintain a Universal Credit claim²⁴.

Accessibility: BSL, screen readers and alternative formats

Access needs are a practical matter for insurance customers, and the standards are set out in public guidance. Banks provide bank statements and other documents in Braille, large print and audio formats¹⁵. The Pensions Ombudsman offers documents in large print, Braille or audio format, British Sign Language video interpretation, Relay UK, plain language correspondence and named points of contact¹⁶. The Paying Fair Guidelines expect companies to offer customers with sight impairments large print or Braille bills where appropriate¹⁷.

For British Sign Language users, several public services run video relay. The Disability Living Allowance helpline in England and Wales offers a Video Relay Service for BSL users²¹, and the Universal Credit Service Centre can be contacted using a BSL or Irish Sign Language video relay service²⁴. The Best Start Grant in Scotland can be accessed by BSL users through the Contact Scotland video relay service²³. The Timms Review call for evidence was published in accessible versions including British Sign Language, Easy Read, audio, Braille, large print and Welsh translation²⁵.

One limitation worth knowing: StepChange's budget template cannot be read by screen readers, and it asks users to contact it for help¹⁹. If you rely on a screen reader, ask for an alternative rather than struggling with a document that was not built for it.

Complaints and the Financial Ombudsman Service

Start with Churchill. Insurers have their own complaints process, and the Consumer Council's guidance on making a complaint sets out how a formal complaint is handled and the timescales involved²⁶. If the firm does not resolve it to your satisfaction, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free to consumers.

The ombudsman publishes data on the complaints it receives. In the year to 8 July 2024 it recorded 75 complaints about claims management²⁷. In the first half of 2024, the firm behind Churchill had 1,555 new cases opened with the ombudsman²⁸. Those figures give a sense of scale rather than a judgement on any individual case.

How Churchill policies are protected

Insurance policies in the UK are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the insurer fails. The scheme's protection is written into policy terms: Premier Guarantee's new homes policy, for example, states that policies issued on behalf of the underwriter are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme³⁰. The same principle applies across general insurance.

Because Churchill is one of the brands that sit under the same insurer, the firm that carries your risk is the one that appears on the FCA Register and on the Bank of England's list of UK insurers¹. If you want to check the position yourself, the FCA Register entry for reference 202810 lists Churchill among the current trading names, alongside Direct Line, Darwin, Green Flag and NIG, and lists Churchill Car Insurance, Churchill Home Insurance and Churchill Travel Insurance among previous names¹. Sister brands sit under the same licence, so cover bought under any of those names is provided by the same authorised firm.

For how protection works across the wider market, including what the scheme covers and where it stops, see consumer protection.