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Established in 2000, Esure has grown rapidly and now provides more than 2.3 million customers with a range of products, including car and home insurance. Its insurance protection for homes offers separate buildings and contents insurance, a combined policy and a broad range of optional add-ons to create tailored cover.
Esure’s founder, Sir Peter Wood, had successfully launched Direct Line 15 years earlier, specialising in providing insurance policies over the phone. With Esure he said wanted to streamline things further. Featuring straightforward, comprehensible policies, Esure delivers a wide range of online services, as does its sister company Sheilas’ Wheels. In 2021, both providers entered a new partnership with Legal & General.
Esure home insurance provides one level of cover, which offers buildings, contents and a combined policy package. There are also several optional extras, including family legal protection and home emergency cover.
The online claims form is simple and quick to complete, and we received replies in around two to three hours. We also found customer services answered our calls promptly.
This review compares Esure with five leading home insurance providers, analysing their products, claims processes, customer reviews and Defaqto ratings. Taking everything into account, we conclude that Esure offers competitively priced policies, a broad range of cover, and a responsive customer experience.
Our researchers and writers are dedicated to bringing you accurate and up-to-date information so you can make an informed decision when it comes to comparing and buying home insurance.
We will only endorse home insurance products after hundreds of hours of research, policy comparisons and mystery shopping, and after taking into account verified customer feedback and reviews, and the opinions of industry experts.
To write our articles, we’ve compared (and continue to compare) hundreds of insurance policies from dozens of the UK’s insurers – big and small. We focus our research on:
All of our articles are verified by industry experts, including regulatory compliance specialists, and the policy data verified by the insurance providers themselves, so you can be assured that our content is as accurate and up to date as possible.
Even after all that, we would still recommend that you don’t just take our word for it – you should compare quotes to get the best deal for you and your home. For more information on our methodology, read our article about how we cover home insurance companies.
Esure offers one policy level, delivering either buildings insurance, contents cover, or a combined policy that includes both. It also has a broad range of optional extras, allowing customers to design customised protection for their home and belongings.
| Policy | Policy type | Building maximum sum insured* | Contents maximum sum insured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esure | Contents | N/A | Varied limit |
| Esure | Buildings | Unlimited | N/A |
| Esure | Combined buildings and contents | Unlimited | Varied limit |
Esure’s home insurance cover offers comprehensive protection as standard and has one of the most transparent, user-friendly websites our researchers have seen while reviewing home insurance providers. However, unlike other insurers that provide a figure for the maximum amount of contents insurance, Esure’s cover varies depending on the category you’re claiming for.
| Cover type > | Buildings | Contents | Combined buildings and contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover ↓ | |||
| Alternative accommodation | £75,000 | £10,000 | £75,000 |
| Emergency entry | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| External door locks | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 |
| Fixtures and fittings, including sanitary ware | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Professional fees, clearance costs and local authority requirements | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Sale of your home | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Trace and access | £5,000 | £5,000 | |
| Frozen/burst pipes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Underground services | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Your liability as the owner of your home | £2,000,000 | £2,000,000 | |
| Your liability as the owner of your previous homes | £2,000,000 | £2,000,000 | |
| Your liability as a tenant | £10,000 | £10,000 | |
| Personal liability and your liability as occupier of your home | £2,000,000 | £2,000,000 | |
| Special events cover (birthdays/births/weddings/religious festivals) | Contents sum insured plus up to 10% (religious festivals up to 15%) | Contents sum insured plus up to 10% (religious festivals up to 15%) | |
| Contents in garden | £2,000 | £2,000 | |
| Contents in outbuildings (limit applies to theft only claims) | £2,000 | £2,000 | |
| Contents temporarily removed from the home | £7,000 | £7,000 | |
| Deeds and documents | £2,500 | £2,500 | |
| Domestic staff – your liability as their employer | £10,000,000 | £10,000,000 | |
| Fatal accident benefit | £5,000 | £5,000 | |
| Freezer and refrigerator contents | £1,000 | £1,000 | |
| New for old cover | Contents sum insured | Contents sum insured | |
| Household removal | Contents sum insured | Contents sum insured | |
| Metered water, oil or liquid petroleum gas | £2,000 | £2,000 | |
| Mirrors and glass | Contents sum insured | Contents sum insured | |
| Money | £750 | £750 | |
| Nursing home cover | £5,000 | £5,000 | |
| Home office equipment | £10,000 | £10,000 | |
| Pedal cycles | £500 (unless listed as a specified item) | £500 (unless listed as a specified item) | |
| Personal possessions in a locked motor vehicle | £750 | £750 | |
| Seasonal increase | Contents sum insured plus 15% | Contents sum insured plus 15% | |
| Students cover | £5,000 | £5,000 | |
| Visitors’ effects | £2,500 | £2,500 | |
| Wedding gifts | Contents sum insured plus 10% | Contents sum insured plus 10% |
To complement its standard cover, Esure has several optional extras. These allow you to create customised cover to suit your needs. Each extra, however, will increase your premiums, and you should carefully consider how much additional cover you require.
| Cover type > | Buildings | Contents | Combined buildings and contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover ↓ | |||
| Family legal protection | £50,000 (up to £10,000 for employment disputes) | £50,000 (up to £10,000 for employment disputes) | £50,000 (up to £10,000 for employment disputes) |
| Home emergency | £500 | £500 | £500 |
| Personal possessions | N/A | £1,500 | £1,500 |
| Pest cover | £150 for wasps/hornets/rodents, or £200 for bedbugs | £150 for wasps/hornets/rodents, or £200 for bedbugs | £150 for wasps/hornets/rodents, or £200 for bedbugs |
When agreeing to take out any financial contract, there will be detailed – and usually complex – documentation to go through. This is especially the case with home insurance.
Our researchers have studied Esure’s policy documents, to highlight some pertinent points.
Home insurance excesses typically consist of two parts – compulsory and voluntary excess. These are monetary amounts that must be paid by the policyholder when a claim is made. The compulsory amount is set by the insurance provider, while the voluntary excess is set by you, based on how much you can afford to contribute in the event of a claim. The more you can contribute, generally, the less your premiums will be.
Provided you don’t claim for a year on your home insurance, Esure offers a no claims discount upon renewal. If a further four years pass with no claims, you can protect your five years’ no claims discount for an additional premium.
Claims for the optional extras of home emergency, pest cover and family legal protection do not affect your no claims discount.
Making a home insurance claim with Esure can be done online, through LiveChat, or via telephone. Remember to have your policy number to hand, along with the details of your claim, and if the police have been involved, a crime reference number.
Step 1: Click on the reason for your claim – storm, water leak, theft at home, theft away from home, accidental damage or anything else.
Step 2: The option chosen leads to a section covering important information regarding your claim. For example, if claiming for a water leak, Esure lists all the policy exemptions and tells you what to do next.
Step 3: Once you’ve read the information pertaining to your claim type, you’re asked to log in to your online account.
Step 4: Fill in the online claim form, using the drop-down menus, and upload any required information.
Step 5: Our researchers typically received an email reply from Esure within two to three hours of sending the claim form.
Making a home insurance claim using LiveChat follows the same process as the online application. You’re communicating with a chatbot until you’ve answered the initial questions; only then can you chat with a person. Our researchers typically had to wait around 10 minutes to be connected to someone. There is no alert to indicate a reply, so if you’re on a different tab or have walked away from the screen, you’re automatically disconnected after a few minutes.
Therefore, we feel it’s quicker and simpler to fill in an online claims form unless you have questions about your claim.
Esure has several phone numbers depending on the reason for your claim, including a number for home emergencies.
Step 1: Esure’s emergency claims line has a short recorded message before you’re connected with a person. Our researcher’s calls were typically answered within two rings.
Step 2: After dialling the regular claims number, there’s a recorded message with prompts.
Step 3: If you’re making a new claim, there’s another recorded message. Following this, there’s a hold time.
Step 4: Our calls were answered within two rings almost every time. The claims personnel were accommodating and happy to answer our questions.
Customer services: 0345 045 8000
Claims number: 0345 601 7072
LiveChat
9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
Home emergency number: 0345 601 7624
Open 24/7
Pest cover helpline: 0345 601 7073
Open 24/7
Family legal protection helpline: 0345 601 7070
Open 24/7
Esure’s customer service centres are based in Manchester, Reigate and Glasgow. Open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, and 9am to 2pm on Sundays, they can be contacted on 0345 045 8000.
Our research team contacted Esure’s customer service team across weekdays and weekends, at various times, to assess the service provided.
Step 1: There is a recorded message with a choice of options, including new quotes, policy renewal and customer services.
Step 2: After another short recorded message with two more prompts, someone typically answered our researcher’s calls in one ring.
The customer service personnel were friendly and helpful, answering questions and clarifying where necessary.
Customer reviews on Trustpilot award Esure 4.1 out of five, putting it in the ‘great’ category. With over 24,200 reviews, 78 per cent have given Esure four and five stars, while 15 per cent are one-star reviews. Only a small percentage were ‘invited’ reviews.
The majority of the positive reviews mention great customer service, good value for money – many customers say they saved money with Esure – and the straightforward claims process. Conversely, the one-star comments mainly referred to poor customer service experiences.
Esure responded to every negative review and a large number of positive reviews in a timely fashion, suggesting that the customer service team keeps track of and is responsive to customer feedback.
“Fortunately, I’ve rarely had to claim against my home insurance. Previously, when I’ve done so with other insurance companies they have made me feel like my claim is spurious, by asking so many questions and wanting so much evidence [to prove] I actually own the stolen items. This can be difficult with items that were purchased some time ago. My experience with Esure was nothing like that at all. I submitted my claim around 6pm and, at around 4pm the very next day, Esure confirmed a cheque would be in the post. You cannot get a better service than that. I thoroughly recommend Esure and thank them for a pain-free service at a difficult time.”
“I have bought a home policy and money has been taken out of my account. I log into ensure but there’s no policy to view!! I have tried calling but I haven’t been able to speak to anyone to ask where my policy is!!! No policy number, just took my money. This is a week later. Edit – update – since this review, I have now spoken to Esure and the matter has been sorted. Have improved the rating as a result.”
“Phoned today and got straight through (8am). Had three questions/changes to make to home insurance taken out the previous day. All dealt with (including cancelling auto renewal) within five minutes.”
A high proportion of financial institutions and advisors use Defaqto to build informed market forecasts. Through consultations with industry professionals, consumer reports and sector analysis, Defaqto provides impartial, independent ratings.
Defaqto awards Esure’s buildings and contents policies:
★★★★★ Buildings home insurance
★★★★★ Contents home insurance
Although Esure has the highest Defaqto rating of five stars, along with Axa, Admiral, Aviva, and LV, its Trustpilot score of 4.1 places it in the midrange of the five best home insurance companies we reviewed.
Unlike some of the other providers we reviewed, Esure only offers one level of cover; however, it does have user-friendly policy documents, an easily navigated website and a simple online claims process.
Esure doesn’t provide matching sets cover. If this is important to you, Admiral home insurance offers the full cost of replacing the undamaged items in a set, while LV will pay 50 per cent towards them and has a better Trustpilot score than Admiral.
For home workers, Esure provides cover for home office equipment of £10,000, beating Axa’s protection by £2,500, while LV offers unlimited protection as part of its highest offer.
Esure includes student and nursing home cover as standard, up to £5,000 each. Axa only provides student cover as an optional extra, with LV setting the limits at £10,000.
However, Esure’s unlimited buildings insurance can’t be matched by Axa or LV, and neither offer a no claims discount, whereas Esure does.
We would advise anyone looking to protect their house and contents to compare home insurance cover carefully and weigh up the amount and level of cover you require.
| Policy name | Buildings | Contents | Combined | Defacto score | Trustpilot score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esure Buildings | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.1 | |
| Esure Contents | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.1 | |
| AXA Home | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★ | 4.3 |
| AXA Home Plus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.3 |
| AXA Premier | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.3 |
| LV Essentials | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★ | 4.6 |
| LV Home | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.6 |
| LV Home Plus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.6 |
| Admiral Cover | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★ | 3.3 |
| Admiral Gold | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 3.3 | |
| Admiral Platinum | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 3.3 | |
| Aviva Online | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.5 | |
| Aviva Premium | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★★★ | 4.5 | |
| More Than Primary | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★ | 3.8 |
| More Than Upgraded | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★★★ | 3.8 |
Esure only offers one level of cover, unlike Axa, LV, and Admiral, which each provide three. It does have a comprehensive list of items in its standard buildings, contents, and combined policies, including an unlimited amount of buildings cover. It also offers several useful optional extras, including family legal protection and home emergency cover.
Policy documents and contact details are easy to find on the Esure website, which is very user-friendly. Although LiveChat didn’t work that well for our researchers, if you need to claim on your policy, the online or telephone process is quick and efficient.
In their reviews, numerous customers mention that Esure has saved them money – in some cases hundreds of pounds – with even the negative reviews not citing cost as a reason for the one- or two-star review. This suggests that Esure provides competitively priced policies. Combine this with the number of items included in its cover, the easy online claims process, and responsive customer service personnel, and Esure is well worth considering for your home insurance.
