Tesco

Tesco is best known as the UK's largest supermarket chain, but it also sells financial products under the Tesco Bank and Tesco Insurance names. Today that means insurance (home, car, life and travel), credit cards, savings and loans, plus the Clubcard loyalty scheme that links the grocery and money sides of the business. Tesco Bank's banking business has transferred to Barclays, which continues to use the Tesco Bank brand on existing banking products¹.

The insurance side is still sold under the Tesco name but is provided by a mix of firms behind the scenes. Tesco Insurance is the brand under which Tesco's insurance business sells policies, and it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority². Car and home policies are underwritten by Tesco's own underwriting business, while life, travel and other policies are provided by outside insurers. This page explains who provides what, how Clubcard pricing works, what the Barclays move means for banking customers, and where to get help with complaints, including old PPI policies.

Tesco at a glance

Tesco's money and insurance products sit alongside its grocery business, and the two are deliberately connected through Clubcard. The insurance side sells car, home, life and travel cover, and Tesco Bank branded products cover credit cards, savings and loans. Tesco Bank current accounts are closed, so the banking products you can hold today are savings, credit cards and loans³.

The scale is significant. Tesco Bank reported 1.5 million car and home insurance policies in force and 3.7 million banking accounts made up of savings, credit card and current account products⁵. On the insurance side, Tesco Underwriting, the business that underwrites Tesco's car and home policies, is an active UK company, incorporated on 20 July 2009, authorised by the FCA and listed by the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority as a UK insurer authorised to carry out contracts of insurance⁴.

The structure matters to a customer in two ways. First, when you buy a Tesco insurance policy, the firm that pays your claim is not always Tesco itself, so it is worth knowing who stands behind each policy. Second, the banking business now sits with Barclays, which changes who regulates and protects your money. Both points are covered in the sections below.

What Tesco offers: insurance, payments and Clubcard

Tesco's financial products fall into three broad groups: insurance, credit cards and savings, and the Clubcard scheme that runs across all of them.

Insurance. Tesco Insurance sells home, car, life and travel cover. Home insurance comes with a 10% Clubcard discount for members, whether buying new cover or renewing, and Tesco describes itself as a Which? Recommended Provider for Home Insurance⁶. Life insurance is term life insurance, covering you for a set term rather than for life, with two types of cover to choose from: Family Protection and Mortgage Protection⁹. Travel insurance includes specialist policies such as winter sports, cruise and senior travel cover, with a 10% Clubcard discount when you buy direct¹⁰. The full range of cover types is explained in our insurance guide and our protection insurance guide.

Credit cards and savings. Tesco Bank branded credit cards, including the Clubcard Credit Cards, let you collect Clubcard points as you spend and spread the cost of larger purchases¹³. Credit card agreements are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974¹⁴. Savings and loans sit under the same Tesco Bank brand, now run by Barclays. Our guides to credit cards, savings, loans and ISAs explain how each product type works.

Clubcard. Clubcard is the loyalty scheme that ties the shop and the money products together. It is free to join and offers price reductions in store as well as discounts on insurance. Clubcard points can also be converted into partner rewards: every Clubcard point can be turned into two Virgin Points, so £1.50 in Clubcard vouchers gets you 300 Virgin Points¹⁵. The Tesco Clubcard Plus Card page explains the subscription card that boosts points and discounts.

Tesco Insurance: who underwrites your policy

Tesco Insurance is the brand under which Tesco's insurance business acts as an intermediary: it sells and administers policies, but the company that actually insures you differs by product. Knowing who underwrites your policy matters because that is the firm that would pay your claim and the firm whose solvency your protection depends on.

Tesco Underwriting is the one insurer in the group that Tesco itself controls. It is authorised by the FCA, appears on the PRA's list of UK insurers, and holds permissions including accepting deposits⁴. Its Companies House record shows it as an active company incorporated in 2009⁸.

Life insurance works differently again. Tesco Life Insurance is provided, administered and underwritten by Aviva². Former Tesco Life customers with older policies have seen another change: Tesco Life previously offered insurance policies provided by Direct Line, and those customers' future letters and communications will now carry the Countrywide Assured name and logo¹⁷.

Travel insurance is arranged and administered by Rock Insurance Services, with the underwriter changing from Inter Partner Assistance to AWP P&C for policies bought or renewed on or after 4 September 2024¹⁰. If you hold an older travel policy, check your documents to see which underwriter applies to you. Whichever firm provides the cover, Tesco Insurance acts as the intermediary for the policy¹².

How Clubcard Prices work, and why they lack a unit price

Clubcard Prices is Tesco's loyalty pricing scheme: Clubcard members pay a lower price than non-members on selected goods and services. On the financial side, the discount is 10% on home insurance for Clubcard members, whether buying new cover or renewing⁶, and 10% on travel insurance when you buy direct, though the discount does not apply to add-ons¹¹. Tesco Life Insurance also offers an exclusive Clubcard Prices discount². The travel insurance discount is available both on price comparison websites and direct from Tesco Insurance, but the Clubcard must be in your name and you must give your Clubcard number if asked for it when you get your quote¹⁰.

On credit cards, Clubcard points are earned at different rates depending on where you spend: Tesco states a point for every £8 spent outside Tesco with a Clubcard credit card, and one point for every 2 litres bought on Tesco fuel with a Clubcard alone¹³. Which? reports the earning rates on Tesco's cards as 1 Clubcard point per £4 at Tesco and on Tesco fuel, and notes points can be converted at two Virgin Points per Clubcard point¹⁵. Points and vouchers have their own conversion value: £1.50 in Clubcard vouchers converts to 300 Virgin Points¹⁵.

One gap in the scheme has been highlighted by independent researchers: Tesco does not provide unit pricing for its Clubcard prices¹⁸. That means when a shelf edge shows both a standard price and a Clubcard price, you do not get the price per kilogram or litre for the Clubcard deal, making it harder to compare genuine value across pack sizes. Which?'s unit pricing report flagged this as a transparency issue¹⁸.

Clubcard membership also interacts with Tesco Mobile, which applies annual in-contract price rises of CPI plus 3.9%, with exceptions for specific Clubcard deals¹⁹. If you hold a Tesco Mobile deal tied to Clubcard, check whether your tariff is one of the exceptions before assuming the rise applies.

Tesco Bank's move to Barclays: what changes for customers

Tesco Bank's banking business has transferred to Barclays, and Barclays will continue to use the Tesco Bank brand on all existing Tesco Bank banking products through a long-term strategic partnership with Tesco¹. In practice, the products keep their familiar names and appearance, but the firm behind them is now Barclays, trading as Tesco Bank¹⁴.

For customers, the day-to-day position is that there are no immediate changes to how you use and manage your account¹. Savings, credit cards and loans continue under the Tesco Bank brand. Current accounts are the exception: Tesco Bank current accounts are closed³.

One consequence of the move affects deposit protection. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme limit applies to the total of deposits you hold with Barclays, Barclays Business Banking, Barclays Premier Banking, Barclays Wealth Management and Tesco Bank together³. In other words, money in a Tesco Bank savings account and money in a Barclays account count towards one shared limit, not separate ones. The protection section below explains how the scheme works.

If you are considering a Tesco Bank loan, the application and account management process runs on the same basis, with no immediate day-to-day changes for successful applicants¹. Our loans guide and savings guide explain how these products work in general, and Tesco Bank's own site carries today's rates and terms.

Paying at Tesco with contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay

Contactless payments in UK shops are not specific to Tesco: Apple Pay and Google Pay work at any shop that accepts contactless payments, including major retailers²⁰. Which? notes that both services work on the Transport for London network and at any contactless-accepting shop²⁰.

The practical difference between tapping a physical card and paying by phone is the amount. A contactless card is subject to the standard contactless limit, but the wallet apps can support larger payments where the shop's terminal, your bank and your card settings allow it. That means a large weekly shop paid with Apple Pay or Google Pay is normally accepted, because the transaction is treated as an online card payment rather than a simple contactless tap.

If a payment by phone is declined for a large amount, the usual causes are a shop terminal that does not support higher-value wallet payments or a setting in the wallet app. Paying with the physical card, or inserting it and entering your PIN, always works where cards are accepted. Our everyday money tasks guide covers setting up wallet apps, and the scams and fraud guide explains what to do if a payment goes wrong.

Tesco gift cards: five years from activation or last use

Tesco gift cards have a generous expiry rule compared with many rivals. A Tesco gift card and its balance expire five years after the date you activated the card, or five years after the date you last used it, whichever comes later²¹. Using the card therefore restarts the clock, so an active card in regular use does not expire.

That compares well with the wider market. Some vouchers expire after as little as 12 months, and others carry restrictions on where or how they can be spent²². Among other retailers' schemes, one bank's reward terms state that a gift card, voucher or code expires after 12 months of consecutive non-use with the balance deducted, Greggs eGift cards remain valid for 24 months from the last transaction, Morrisons e-gift cards expire 12 months from first use, and John Lewis Partnership eGift cards expire 24 months from issue or last use²³.

Tesco has also run promotions tied to gift cards, such as its life insurance gift card offer, which requires applying for a new Tesco Life Insurance plan within a set window and paying the first six consecutive monthly premiums, with one gift card per policy and one per person²¹. The e-gift card from that offer can be used in any UK Tesco store but not at Tesco petrol stations²¹. Tesco's own site carries the current terms and any amounts on offer.

If you find an old gift card or voucher, it is worth checking whether it has expired before assuming the money is gone, and forgotten balances can sometimes be tracked down²². Our consumer protection guide covers your rights when a voucher or gift card goes wrong.

Complaints, PPI and where to get help

Tesco Bank received 19,183 complaints between September 2023 and February 2024, of which 17,949 related to banking and insurance and 1,234 to lending⁵. Of the banking and credit card complaints closed in that period, 41% were upheld in the customer's favour; of the lending complaints, 52% were upheld⁵. The most common cause of lending complaints was general administration and customer service⁵.

For PPI, Tesco Bank has a dedicated complaints process. Tesco Payment Protection Insurance was only sold under the Tesco Bank and Tesco Personal Finance brands²⁴. You can complain by post or online, or by downloading a complaint form, writing to Tesco Bank, PPI Complaints, PO BOX 346, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE12 2GH²⁴. If you are unsure whether you ever had a PPI policy with Tesco, you can write to the same address with your full name, date of birth, phone number and current address to check²⁴. Relay UK contact options, braille and large text are available for customers who need them²⁴.

The general deadline for PPI complaints passed on 29 August 2019²⁵, but some routes remain open:

• You can complain if you had a live PPI policy on 29 August 2017 and had a claim on it after that date which was rejected for reasons related to the sale, such as eligibility, exclusions or limitations²⁴.
• If you complained about PPI before but did not get a refund, you might be able to complain again about commission²⁶.
• If you used your PPI policy, you can still complain, but any payout you received when you claimed will likely be taken off your compensation²⁶.

The Financial Ombudsman Service sets out what counts as mis-selling, including where "it wasn't made clear to you that you were taking out PPI, and you didn't actually want it"²⁷. Where a consumer was mis-sold a single-premium PPI policy and the policy remains in force, the ombudsman tells the business to cancel the policy²⁸. Where the consumer made a successful claim under a mis-sold policy, the business will usually be told to take away the value of that claim from the compensation, though a residual claim from one mis-sold policy would not usually be deducted from redress for another²⁹. The ombudsman's published case studies show complaints both upheld and not upheld depending on the circumstances of the sale³⁰. Many complainants cannot recall the precise details of the original transaction, and the ombudsman has a published approach for assessing whether a PPI policy was sold at all³¹.

If you are unhappy with Tesco Bank's answer, the Financial Ombudsman Service can review the complaint for free. Claims management companies will also pursue PPI claims, for a fee³², but you can complain yourself at no cost. Note that Age UK, its local partners and the Age UK Advice Line cannot offer assistance with PPI complaints³³. Our debt guide and consumer protection guide cover where to get free help with money problems more broadly.

How Tesco customers are protected

Protection for Tesco customers depends on which product you hold, because different rules cover banking, insurance and general purchases.

Banking and savings. Money held with Tesco Bank is money held with Barclays, which is authorised in the UK¹⁴. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's compensation scheme that protects customers of authorised financial services firms if they fail or stop trading³⁴, and it follows rules set by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority³⁵. Deposits held with Barclays, Barclays Business Banking, Barclays Premier Banking, Barclays Wealth Management and Tesco Bank count together towards one shared FSCS limit³, so if you hold savings with both brands, you do not get two separate protections.

Insurance. If your insurer is authorised to sell in the UK, your policy is protected by the FSCS, which covers 90% of outstanding claims if the insurer goes bust³⁶. Because Tesco's car and home policies are underwritten by Tesco Underwriting, an authorised UK insurer⁴, and its life and travel policies by other authorised insurers², the protection follows the underwriter, not the Tesco brand. The FSCS publishes eligibility rules explaining who counts as a protected policyholder³⁵.

Purchases and general rights. Beyond the financial schemes, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 protect you against unfair trading practices³⁷. On travel insurance specifically, it is worth knowing how policies behave in practice: Which? testing found that with Tesco travel insurance, cash stolen from a coat pocket in a locked Airbnb was covered³⁸. When you declare medical conditions on an individually underwritten policy, the insurer tells you whether those conditions are covered, and if not, you may be able to pay an additional premium to include them³⁹.

Independent reviews provide a check on service quality. Which?'s review of Tesco home insurance scored its contents policy at 70% and its buildings policy at 71%, with five stars for overall customer service during claims, based on a survey sample of 123 customers for the customer score and 129 for the claims score⁴⁰. Tesco's contents policy ranked 10th out of 72 policies in Which?'s table¹⁶. These are independent assessments rather than Tesco's own claims, and they reflect the position as of September 2026⁴⁰.

If something goes wrong, the route is the same whatever the product: complain to Tesco first, then take an unresolved dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free to use. The FCA Register lets you verify the authorisation of the firms behind Tesco Insurance and Tesco Underwriting yourself, using the register numbers in the key facts above².