Hastings Premier vs Hastings Direct: Car Insurance Comparison
Is Hastings Premier or Hastings Direct the better car insurance product for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best car insurance for you and your wallet.
The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
Hastings are the sixth largest car insurance companies in the UK. They offer YouDrive, Essential, Direct and Premier policies. In this comparison, the team at NimbleFins has compared Hastings Premier and Direct to get to the bottom of what Hastings Premier has to offer over Hastings Direct. Here's what we found about the top two tiers of cover from Hastings, which is rated 4.5 by our editors.
Quick Overview: Hastings Premier vs. Hastings Direct Car insurance
In most places Hastings Premier and Hastings Direct are the exact same. We've identified a few key areas where they differ. That being motor legal, breakdown cover and, of course, price. To get the full information of how they are different read below.
What we like about Hastings Premier
Hastings Premier is superior to Hastings Direct for the following notable reasons:
- Motor legal and breakdown cover (included as standard)
What we like about Hastings Direct
Hastings Direct does nothing better than Hastings Premier. However, they offer low cost insurance for less robust cover.
Here's a quick, high level comparison of how Hastings Premier and Hastings Direct compare on cost, features, customer service access and customer ratings.
| Car Insurance Comparison | Hastings Premier | Hastings Direct |
|---|---|---|
Cost | > 27% more expensive for our sample driver | > 21% cheaper for our sample driver |
Superior Features | > Motor legal and breakdown cover (included as standard) | > Cheaper for our sample driver |
Customer Service Access | > Webchat and phones lines open 7 days a week, including bank holidays | |
Customer Ratings |
| |
| Get Quotes | ||
Hastings Premier vs Hastings Direct Overall Review
As you would expect, Hastings Premier is better than Hastings Direct in terms of what features it has to offer. Hastings Premier is literally the premium version of Hastings Direct. This means that they are exactly the same in every way… other than with two features as far as we can tell.
Essentially, Hastings Premier offers motor legal and breakdown cover as standard—and Hastings Direct does not (you can buy these as add ons, however).
Motor legal costs £29.99 as an add on.
Breakdown costs from £34.99 as an add on to car insurance.
So if you want breakdown and motor legal and the price difference between Direct and Premier is less than £65, then Premier is the better deal. Otherwise, Direct plus the add ons would be cheaper. (But remember that if you cancel you don't get any refund on add ons.)
Other than that, they're identical as far as we can tell. It is important to note, however, neither policy offers a courtesy car in the case of total loss or theft. If you want that consider Aviva car insurance.
To see further details, check out the table below:
| How Do They Compare? | Hastings Premier Comprehensive Coverage | Hastings Direct Comprehensive Coverage |
|---|---|---|
|
"Must Have" Features | ||
|
Windscreen | Included | Included |
| Belongings | Up to £300 | Up to £300 |
|
Keys | Up to £500 | Up to £500 |
|
Protected NCD | If you buy the add on | If you buy the add on |
|
Car recovery after accident | Included | Included |
| Courtesy car (repairs) | Included (up to 14 days) | Included (up to 14 days) |
|
Repairs guaranteed (if use approved repairer) | Five years | Five years |
|
"Should Have" Features | ||
|
New car replacement | If damage repair will cost more than 60% of the value of the car at the time | If damage repair will cost more than 60% of the value of the car at the time |
| Stereo and satellite nav | Equipment fitted by the manufacturer is covered in full. For 'aftermarket' equipment up to £300 | Equipment fitted by the manufacturer is covered in full. For 'aftermarket' equipment up to £300 |
| Alternative transport & Hotel after accident | Up to £50 per person (max £250) for travelling expenses to get to your destination OR one night's accommodation | Up to £50 per person (max £250) for travelling expenses to get to your destination OR one night's accommodation |
| 24-hour emergency helpline | Included | Included |
| Courtesy car (total loss or theft) | Not included | Not included |
| Motor legal expenses | Included as standard, up to £100,000 | If you buy the add on |
| Breakdown cover | Basic level ("Roadside") included as standard | If you buy the add on |
|
"Could Have" Features | ||
|
Same cover in EU | Up to 90 days | Up to 90 days |
| Child car seat replacement after accident, theft, fire | Up to £300 | Up to £300 |
| Larger/premium courtesy car | Not available | Not available |
| Uninsured driver NCD protection | Included | Included |
|
Cancellation fee | £0 during cooling off period. £45 after cooling off period | £0 during cooling off period. £45 after cooling off period |
What we don't like about Hastings Premier
Hasting Premier's coverage for the following features:
- Courtesy car (total loss or theft) not included as standard or available as add on
What we don't like about Hastings Direct
Hastings Direct's coverage for the following features:
- Motor legal and breakdown cover (not included as standard)
- Courtesy car total loss or theft (not included as standard or available as add on)
Hastings Premier vs Hastings Direct Cost Comparison
You don't get any points for guessing this one. Yes, the Premier policy is more expensive than the Direct policy… shock! In fact, for our sample driver, it was 27% more expensive than Hastings Direct.
We've also included the price for the motor legal and breakdown add on for Hastings Direct. It's important to remember that Hastings Premier already includes this as standard. If you were to buy both add ons you would then bring yourself within £56.25 (11%) of the Premier policy. But since these plans only differ by motor legal and breakdown, it seems pretty clear that it's cheaper to buy the Direct plan and buy the add ons for our sample driver. Your quotes will vary, however, so be sure to do the math before you buy.
| What Policy? | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Hastings Premier Comprehensive | £565.69 | £47.14 (11 payments, £47.14 deposit) |
| Hastings Direct Comprehensive | £444.46 | £42.56 (11 payments, £42.52 deposit) |
| Hastings Direct Motor Legal | £29.99 | N/A |
| Hastings Direct Breakdown | From £34.99 | N/A |
These quotes are based on 22-year-old Essex-based male driving a 2008 Ford Fiesta, 8,000 miles a year. He parks at home. He has been driving for 4 years and has 3 years of no claims. These quotes are for a young driver, hence why they are so high. Drivers with more experience can pay up to 45-50% less than the premiums listed here.
Hastings Premier vs Hastings Direct Reviews and Ratings Compared
Hastings Premier and Direct share customer ratings. In all cases, their score is fairly impressive, with over four stars on trustpilot and reviews.co.uk. And their Direct and Premier plans both fare well in terms of features, as we've discussed above.
This means that customers should have the same customer experience and quality of cover regardless of what policy you choose.
| Review Site | Hastings Direct & Premier Ratings |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 4.3 out of 5 |
| reviews.co.uk customer service rating | 4.2 out of 5 |
Hastings Premier vs Hastings Direct Cancellation Fees Compared
The cancellation fees for Hastings' Premier policy and Direct policy are exactly the same.
During the cool off period, they will not apply any extra fees. After the 14 day cooling off period, they will charge £45.
They will charge £0 to £30 for any mid-term changes. The free changes you can make are:
- Your name or marital status
- Your mileage
- Your telephone number or email address
Anything else you will have to pay some sort of fee.
| When Are You Cancelling | Hastings Premier & Direct |
|---|---|
| During cooling off | £0 |
| After cooling off period | £45 |
| Mid-term admin changes | £0 to £30 |
Important Phone Numbers
Of course, Hastings Premier and Direct are different policies from the same provider. So it makes sense that they use the same customer service and webchat lines.
Their customer service opening times are great Monday to Friday, providing over 12 hours of support. With slightly worse times on the weekend.
The webchat opening times are slightly worse, however. Monday to Friday they are only open for 10 hours and even less on the weekend.
| Opening Hours | Hastings Premier & Direct |
|---|---|
| Customer Service (Mon-Fri) | 8am - 9pm |
| Customer Service (Sat) | 9am-5:30pm |
| Customer Service (Sun) | 10am-5pm |
| Customer Service (Bank Holiday) | 9am-5pm |
| Webchat (Mon-Fri) | 8am-6pm |
| Webchat (Sat) | 9am-1pm |
| Webchat (Sun) | 10am-1pm |
| Emergency Hotline | 24-hour |
Hastings Contact Numbers
| Hastings Contact Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Customer Service (UK) | 0333 321 9801 |
| Renewals | 0333 321 9790 |
| Claims (in UK) | 0333 321 9800 |
| 24 Hour Helplines | |
| Windscreen Claims | 0333 321 9800 |
| Accident recovery | 0333 321 9800 |
Policy Documents
More information about Hastings Direct or Hastings Premier car insurance policies can be found by reading their policy documents.