Be Wiser is a popular car and home insurance broker, but how do their prices compare—and how is their customer service? Read our review to find out.

In This Review

• Be Wiser Car Insurance: Overall Review
• Customer Reviews and Ratings
• Cost Comparison and Discounts
• Cancellation fees, phone numbers and policy documents
• FAQs

Be Wiser Car Insurance Overall Review

Be Wiser is UK broker that supplies a range of car, bike, van, home, contents, business and commercial insurance products. They've been in business since 2007 and work with a panel of 30 insurers including some of the largest car insurance companies in the UK.

Who underwrites Be Wiser Insurance? Be Wiser policies are underwritten by a panel of insurers, including Aviva, Axa, Ageas, Allianz, Highway (part of LV), Covea, Chubb, Marmalade, Sabre and Zurich.

What types of insurance does Be Wiser sell? Be Wiser sells a range of vehicle and home insurance products, including:

Be Wiser Sales Brands: Be Wiser operates 9 different brands that specialise in different types of products and customers. Here is a brief overview of the Be Wiser brands that you may come across on comparison sites or elsewhere:

Customer service: Be Wiser call centres are based in the UK, and they seem to take pride in being friendly and experienced. Our overall comment after reading through online customer reviews is that Be Wiser customers are generally happy with the prices they pay and the service they receive, whether for the renewal process or sorting out damage to their car after a claim—but some are surprised at the fees charged so make sure you understand repercussions of cancelling or making other admin changes before you buy.

What's the Maximum No Claims Discount?

The maximum no claims discount you can get with a Be Wiser policy depends on the underwriter, but Be Wiser says that policyholders typically reach maximum level of discount after 5 or 6 years. They also say that standards vary across insurers but the maximum number of years NCD that insurers will show on their records is typically 9 years.

Most insurance companies will offer a 30% discount if provided with proof of 1 years claim free driving and can offer up to 65% or 70% discount if the maximum discount is applied. The table below indicates a typical level of discount on offer based upon the number of year’s claim free driving, according to Be Wiser—but don't rely on these figures as Be Wiser hasn't updated them in years so the discounts may be different now (we've seen discounts drop in the industry).

Getting a Be Wiser quote

If you're ready to get quotes or buy a policy, compare Be Wiser to over 100 brands including RAC, Admiral and Hastings in under 2 minutes—click the blue "Get Quotes" button below.

Remember to start shopping for car insurance early because the best time to buy car insurance is typically 3 weeks before the start date and prices get more expensive the longer you wait.

Be Wiser Features

Be Wiser insurance policies will vary depending on the underwriter, but according to their website all annual policies include free legal expenses, breakdown cover and misfuelling Cover (like LV) and claim assistance.

When you get quotes, even through a comparison site like our partner QuoteZone, you'll typically get a few policies/underwriters to choose from. There, you'll be able to see which policies include features like Audio Cover, Breakdown, Claim Assistance and a Courtesy Car, as well as your excess. Be sure to take note of the excess because in our sample test the policy excesses ranged from £150 to £3,000, which is a MASSIVE difference. Generally speaking, we think £3,000 is too high on an excess—remember you have to pay this much towards a claim!

Be Wiser Car Insurance Customer Reviews

While Be Wiser generally have average customer reviews with a TrustPilot score of 3.6 out of 5 stars at Trustpilot, you should read these complaints before buying. Common complaints include higher-than-expected fees when cancelling or for missed payments, as well as higher interest rates for paying in monthly instalments instead of annually. Here are some sample customer comments that will hopefully be of help to you:

"Got a really competitive quote which included as standard all extras I needed. Other companies gave cheaper quotes but ended being much more when the missing extras were added on."

"... I had the blackbox feature - you make one emergency night trip and they cancel your policy, keep your deposit, and charge you fees on top. Taking the fees the same day they send you the cancellation email, no warning at all. Also claims I brake hard when I have years of proof from other blackbox providers that I am a very gentle braker - they seem to have a very harsh ‘scoring’ system in which you cannot win..."

"Easy to use website. simple pricing explained, great prices, and actually beat last years price, all additional extras explained in full, loads of freebies, (Free breakdown roadside and misfuelling). All paperwork emailed within minutes, with all contact numbers required."

"I really cannot understand why so many people are rating low. Of course, if you exclude all those that made errors themselves and then blamed BeWiser for doing what any company would do charge wise, there are a lot less 1 stars. I filled my application fine, I got a great quote including RAC breakdown (which alas I had to use the next day and worked fine). I was updated all the way, I got sent my black box and it's not hard to fit, you push it in your 12v slot and it's done, what is hard?! Came with full instructions anyway. My Direct Debit is set up and I have great insurance. Ignore all those that made stupid errors like the wrong age, of course you'll get charged and have a much higher premium if you put your wrong age on the form! Do things right, and this is great insurance cover :)"

"... my van was stolen and instead of any sympathy these idiots kept trying to take payments..." (Note: when a car insurance company pays out on a stolen vehicle you do usually have to continuing making the payments, as they expect the entire year of premium as if you'd paid upfront.)

"... a problem with our bank meant a missed payment. we received nothing from them just a email of cancellation of the 30th December stating the policy been cancelled on the 5th December?? and we needed to pay £100 for the fees plus other fees of £40..."

"Got a quote through go compare paid up and thought that was it only to get a phone call next day to say i had to pay £150 more."

"Had an accident (non fault) had legal claims assistance but when it came to it, they said they do not cover legal costs and only point you in the direction of their solicitors. This was not made clear and now have a legal bill."

"Yesterday i sold my car and bought a newer car as you do. Called up today to have my insurance transferred over and was told the 'insurance company wont accept my newer car as its market value is a lot higher than my old car'... so I enquired about (cancelling)... a £100 admin fee, £60 odd for the discount i was offered, £30 odd to be paid to the insurer!"

"... it turns out they charged me 48% interest rate..."

Some of the negative reviews reflect customer confusion about how car insurance works. For example, if an insurer is paying out on a claim such as theft or writing a car off, it's typical that the policyholder is still obligated to pay the entire premium outstanding. This can mean you keep up with monthly payments even after your car is stolen or written off—this is how the motor insurance market works.

It's not all bad news, however. On the plus side, customers report getting a good price and being able to negotiate at renewal, even with spotty driving histories, and the ease of contacting Be Wiser. Here are a few positive customer reviews of Be Wiser (and Insure Wiser) car insurance to give you an idea of what existing policyholders like:

"Lovely surprise for my birthday—a £78 discount on next premium. That's worth considering!"

"We had a good result on the return of the vehicle and an excellent finish and Slater Gordon were very helpful."

"Found it really easy to get my car insured. I was a new driver and had an accident (partly my fault) and the insurance company I was using at the time, quoted my renewal at £3400... Insure wiser quoted me £1900 cheaper and it was a hassle free getting insured with them. I would happily recommend them, they even sent me a £50 voucher off my renewal on my birthday:)"

"Really happy with my policy, any problems, was able to contact them by email or phone no bother, would insure again with them."

"Renewal quote reduced when I explained I had had a cheaper quote elsewhere, all sorted, no problem."

Be Wiser Car Insurance Quote Comparison

To get an idea of how Be Wiser prices compare, we compared quotes at our partner QuoteZone—Be Wiser's comparison site brand www.insurewiser.co.uk is part of their panel—for a new VW Golf with a 45-year-old driver. We found that Be Wiser fell somewhat mid market—but notice that some lower premiums are associated with a higher excess (the amount you have to pay towards a claim). These are sample prices only, and your quotes may be quite a bit different depending on the factors of your application. For reference, compare any quote you get to the average cost of car insurance in the UK.

Be Wiser Car Insurance Discounts

There are a few standard ways to save money on car insurance, such as discounts for good driving records, no claims discounts and paying in full at the start of each policy year.

Admin and Cancellation Fees

Since Be Wiser is a broker and you end up paying fees to both Be Wiser and the underwriter, cancellation costs tends to be higher. For their latest fees, please see their terms of business.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel within fourteen days, the premium you will pay will be calculated by the number of days on cover (the insurer might impose a minimum premium of £25.00 plus IPT) plus Be Wiser's cancellation fee of £23.00.

Cancelling after fourteen days means the insurers might calculate their premium owed on "Short Period Rates", representing the time on cover and an additional charge equal to three months premium. Plus Be Wiser charges a £50 cancellation fee after the cooling off period (they've luckily reduced this from £100 recently). Amendments will be cheaper if you make them online instead of on the phone via an agent.

Additional fees may also be levied, but they should disclose the monetary amount of these before purchasing/amending/renewing the policy.

Important Be Wiser Car Insurance Phone Numbers

Be Wiser customer service opening times are: Mon – Fri 8:00am - 5pm.

Policy Documents & Claims

To find out more about the conditions and exclusions, read the car insurance policy documents or home insurance policy documents, which vary by underwriter.

FAQs

Other Car Insurance Reviews

If you'd like to compare Be Wiser to other car insurance companies, see our other car insurance reviews below: