Churchill Home Insurance Review 2023

Churchill Home Insurance Review 2023

Churchill is a popular home insurance company with solid customer ratings and two options to choose from: a basic plan and one with higher limits and more bells and whistles.

Good for

  • Getting New for Old cover, including clothing
  • Covering pest infestations (included under Home Emergency add on)
  • Amending policy online with no admin fees
  • Covering jewellery covered when you move

Bad for

  • Those who want protection for underfloor heating within Home Emergency cover

Editor's Rating

4.0/5.0

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.

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Is Churchill home insurance any good? Read our review to learn more about coverages and see what customers have to say.

Finding the best home insurance for you will depend upon your individual needs and situation. There may be other home insurance plans with better features available. You may also want to read about our top picks for best affordable home insurance companies.

In This Review

Churchill Home Insurance Review: What You Need to Know

Churchill offers two quite competitive home insurance plans. The basic Home Insurance plan may be a good option for those on a budget, as prices are lower than average but you won't have cover for extras like Accidental Damage unless you pay extra.

Churchill offers two tiers of home contents insurance—a basic policy ("Home Insurance") to which you can add optional extras to suit your needs or an all-in policy ("Home Plus") that includes extras such as Accidental Damage, Personal Possessions, Home Emergency and Family Legal Protection.

These extras are available to purchase as add-on features to the basic Home Insurance plan, if you'd like a customized policy—this can be useful for keeping premium costs under control if you only want one or two add-ons. However if you want all-inclusive coverage then the Home Plus plan usually ends up cheaper than adding lots of extras to the basic plan.

Churchill Home Insurance Key Facts

  • Choose between basic "Home Insurance" or premium "Home Plus" plans
  • Home Insurance plans include cover up to £50,000 for Contents and £1,000,000 for buildings
  • Home Plus plans include cover up to £100,000 for Contents and an unlimited amount for buildings
  • Pay one excess for a claim under both buildings & contents
  • Optional Home Emergency cover includes pest infestations but not underfloor heating
  • Plants and landscaping in the garden included in Contents cover

Churchill Home Insurance Customer Complaints, Reviews and Ratings

Churchill Trustpilot

According to Trustpilot, Churchill is rated 4.1 stars out of 5, which is quite good. 68% of customers reported an "Excellent" experience and 14% a "Bad" experience. While most reviews were positive, some customers have had issues with Churchill so we've scoured through the reviews to learn about common complaints, and also praise so you can see what customers like. Here's some of what we found:

"Didn't have to do much. Hassle free. Got a renewal letter- price acceptable-renewed automatically- job done."

"Churchill Home Insurance Claim - Bird Strike to French Window Glass. Thank you to Churchill Agents Jamie (Leeds) and Max (Oxford) for their immediate action to make safe (late on a Friday afternoon!) and arrange for replacement glass to be fitted. Great Service - Very Much Appreciated. YES 'churCHILL' to the rescue."

"It was simple to get an insurance policy tailored for me. I had no problem and it was a good price."

"This is the 3rd year in row I have gone with Churchill for both Car and Home Insurance. Best value to meet my needs ...excellent provider."

"... if you buy Home Emergency from them this is provided by CET which has proved an absolute nightmare! Churchill appear to have no link with the company afterwards i.e., in terms of accountability / monitoring service standards and I have had an extremely poor experience. Despite logging a complaint early December with CET, when it took days to fix my heating/boiler problem, I've heard nothing back."

"... after a flood I have been waiting nearly 6 months and nothing has been done. I am a disabled pension and was forced to rip up soggy carpets myself..."

"Churchill home emergency, boiler broken reported to Churchill home emergency where contract says response within 24Hrs. Well, they took three days to arrive."

"1 year later, my renewal came through nearly £100 more expensive then what I previously paid with them, which is nearly 50% more expensive... With high cancellation fee's too @ £50."

"When the policy was due for renewal they increased the premium and conveniently change the water (excess) to £500 from £250."

"I took out a home policy only to find when reading the full policy details that I was not covered because I did not have lockable window fasteners and a minimum of 5 lever locks on all my external doors. I rang Churchill to discuss this only to be told I was not covered. I cancelled the policy only to be told it would cost me £43 to cancel."

How about reviews for Churchill home insurance claims specifically? Here are a few reviews we found; some complaints related to lack of communication following a claim and Churchill appointing other companies to deal with a claim.

"Had a leak in my home, made a claim, my first in twenty five years. Followed their procedure, heard nothing back on any medium, Twitter, e-mail, call centre."

"I made a claim to Churchill Home Insurance. However, this was passed on to "Davies group" who handled it very poorly. Churchill were great as they eventually forced Davies to settle my claim... I was hoping that Churchill would deal with my claim in its entirety."

"... I've logged no less than 4 complaints about the same issue, since xmas eve & supplied you with full contact details on each occasion & still had no contact from Churchill / CET."

Home Plus policy specifically? Let's take a look to help you decide if it's worth paying extra for their top-tier policy:

"Churchill Home Plus Insurance Home Emergency: Not all plumbing issues are covered Have Home Emergency cover from Churchill "Home Plus Insurance" I have a leak on the outlet pipe from the bathtub on 1st floor. They says it's containable and since I have an additional bath it cannot be considered as emergency and they cannot log this request. These terms are never made clear when one takes the policy."

"Switched to Churchill for Home and Contents Insurance After comparing various companies that provided home and contents insurance, decided to go with Churchill based on price and reviews I found online. Price-wise, the policy was half the price compared to my existing policy provider Which was about to expire. Secondly, I found that Churchill's home plus policy was rated extremely highly from customers and product reviewers. Thank you."

Churchill Home Insurance Price Comparison

We found that Churchill is reasonably priced, but usually isn't the cheapest home insurance company for quotes in the UK market, as you can see in the chart below.

chart comparing churchill home insurance premiums costs to market averages
Here's how Churchill home insurance prices compared to market average premiums

We gathered pricing data for a sample 35-year-old policyholder living in a mortgaged, 3-bedroom semi-detached home in SN11 to see how Churchill quotes compared to other household names. Quotes for your profile may be very different, so please just use the following data for educational purposes only; your quotes may reflect a large degree of variation. Additionally, insurance policies across different companies can be difficult to compare directly, as they can vary in terms of excess, inner cover amounts, etc.

Churchill gives the option to choose between a number of excess amounts, from £100 to £500. A policy with a higher excess will have a lower premium, because you're committing to pay more towards any valid claims. The chart above gives a general idea of how premiums drop as the excess rises. While a lower premium is certainly enticing, before signing up for a policy with a higher excess be sure you'd be comfortable paying your contribution in the event of a valid claim.

Churchill Home Insurance Add-On Costs

Here are estimated costs of add-ons for the basic Home Insurance plan. It can be useful to have an idea of the approximate cost of these optional features when you're deciding what cover to buy, although prices can vary. Home Plus includes most of these features as standard, as shown below.

Home InsuranceHome Plus
Accidental Damage - Buildings£43Included
Accidental Damage - Contents£40Included
Accidental Damage - Buildings & Contents£83Included
Legal£19Included
Bike£50 (for bikes worth up to £500)Included (for bikes up to £1k)
Home Emergency Cover£58Included
Personal Belongings (£2.5k)£24Included
Personal Belongings (£5k)£47Included

Churchill Home Cover: Notable Features

Churchill's premium Home Plus insurance plans include features like personal possessions, accidental damage, home emergency and family legal as standard. Churchill's basic Home Insurance plans do not include these features, although they can be added for an extra cost to create a customized home insurance policy. Limits can be found below in the Policies section. For more complete details like inner limits and exclusions, please see the policy documents.

Churchill Home Insurance FeaturesNotes
Personal Possessions
  • Details
    • Cover for items like mobile phones, watches, jewellery, laptops, bicycles, wallets and purses when you're away from home
    • Cover abroad for up to 60 days separately
    • total Valuables limit is 30% of your Contents limit
  • A Notable Exclusion
    • Theft from a vehicle is only a valid claim if the item was hidden from view in a locked boot or closed glove compartment
  • Home Insurance Plans
    • Optional cover starting from £2,500
    • £2,000 per item limit, although you can add more valuable items
  • Home Plus Plans
    • Personal Possessions cover for £5,000 is included on Home Plus policies
    • £4,000 per item limit, although you can add more valuable items
Accidental Damage
  • Details
    • Available for Buildings (e.g., breaking a glass cooker top)
    • Contents (e.g., breaking glass coffee table or spilling wine on sofa)
    • or both
  • A Notable Exclusion
    • Does not cover wear and tear, damage from pets or damage to items taken outside of the home (you'll need Personal Possessions cover for that)
  • Home Insurance Plans
    • OPTIONAL extra on Home Insurance policies
  • Home Plus Plans
    • Included
Home Emergency
  • Details
    • Cover for home emergencies like a broken boiler, loss of primary heating, internal plumbing and drainage (and underground external drainage), electricity failure, damage to external locks/windows, pest infestations
    • up to £500 per incident
  • A Notable Exclusion
    • Underfloor heating not covered
  • Home Insurance Plans
    • Optional extra
    Home Plus Plans
    • Included
Family Legal
  • Details
    • 24-hour legal helpline
    • Legal costs up to £100,000
  • Home Insurance Plans
    • Optional extra
  • Home Plus Plans
    • Included

Notable Exclusions

Churchill home insurance exclusions include (but are not limited to) damage to fences, gates or hedges, loss or damage if you've been away for 60 days or more (occasional visits don't count), frost damage to pipes/tanks outside or in outbuildings, tobacco burns or heat distortion (e.g, scorching, melting) unless accompanied by flames, etc.

Three exclusions stood out to us as particularly mentionable. You may want to keep them in mind if you go with Churchill or as you're comparing different home insurance plans. It's always a good idea to read through the full list of exclusions in the policy documents.

  • 1. For policies including Personal Possessions cover, theft from a vehicle is only included if the item is hidden from sight in a locked boot or a closed glove box, and is limited to £2,000.
  • 2. Those with underfloor heating should be aware that Churchill's Home Emergency cover does not protect against underfloor heating mishaps, so if that's your main source of heating you may prefer a different home emergency plan.
  • 3. Finally, those who go abroad for more than 60 days at a time (perhaps to a second, holiday home) won't have cover for escaping water, theft, vandalism or frost damage.

Churchill Buildings & Contents Insurance: What's Covered?

Churchill Buildings cover protects against calamities such as fire, explosion, lightning, earthquake, smoke, frost, attempted theft, storm, flood, escaping water, subsidence, etc. up to £1,000,000 with their Home Insurance plan and an unlimited amount with the Home Plus plan.

Churchill Contents insurance provides up to £50,000 of cover on the Home Insurance plan and £100k on Home Plus for financial protection in case of fire, theft, storm, flood, vandalism or other malicious acts, escape of water and subsidence.

Churchill Home Cover Limits (For Buildings & Contents Cover)

Churchill Home Insurance CoverageHome InsuranceHome Plus
Buildings (if selected)
Buildings sum insured, up to£1,000,000Unlimited
Trace and access£5,000£10,000
Property owner’s liability£2,000,000£5,000,000
Contents (if selected)
Contents sum insured, up to£50,000£100,000
Valuables limit30% of Contents sum insured30% of Contents sum insured
Valuables single item limit£2,000£4,000
Alternative accommodation and storage£15,000£30,000
Theft from outbuildings/garages£2,500£5,000
Contents outside£1,000£2,500
Garden plants£1,000 per claim, £250 per plant£2,500 per claim, £500 per plant
Money in the home£500£1,000
Contents at university, college or boarding school£5,000£10,000
Contents temporarily away from your home£5,000£10,000
Downloaded content£1,000£3,000
Business equipment£5,000£10,000
Guests’ belongings£500£1,000
Birth of a child, religious festivals and weddings or civil partnerships10% of Contents sum insured10% of Contents sum insured
Tenant’s liability£5,000£10,000
Employer’s liability£5,000,000£10,000,000
Personal liability£2,000,000£5,000,000
Personal PossessionsOptional with ContentsIncluded with Contents
Single item limit£2,000£4,000
Bicycles (per bicycle)£500£1,000
Money£500£1,000
Theft from unattended motor vehicle£1,000£2,000
Family Legal ProtectionOptionalIncluded
Legal costs and expenses £100,000£100,000£100,000
Home EmergencyOptionalIncluded
Emergency call out £500£500£500
Replacement boiler £250£250£250
One night emergency accommodation £250£250£250

FAQs

If you move house (within the British Isles) while on a Churchill policy, your contents will be covered for loss, theft, etc. including, if it's part of your policy, Accidental Damage. Cover includes up to 72 hours (3 days) in storage but won't extend to cash, bicycles and breakables like china—so you may want to carry those yourself, if you're able and you have a car.
Mobile phones are included in Personal Possessions cover (plus cameras, bicycles, watches and jewellery) which covers you while out and about. One perk we really like is that Personal Possessions cover (included in Home Plus plans and optional extra on Home Insurance plans) is effective for up to 60 days abroad. This feature can save you anywhere from £3 to £25 on a separate travel insurance, if you no longer need to buy a Valuables add on with your travel insurance policy.
Churchill home insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited. (FYI, U K Insurance owns Churchill and Direct Line.)
While Home Emergency cover will assist with emergency heating needs, including radiators that are part of the main source of heating in your home, it won't cover repair, replacement, bleeding or clearing the airlocks of a radiator. of any
In many cases, Churchill home insurance will automatically renew. The renewal invite that you'll get 21 days or more before your renewal date will state whether your policy will automatically renew or if you need to call them to renew. To set up an automatic renewal call Churchill on 0345 603 3551.
Churchill home insurance doesn't cover theft, vandalism or accidental damage caused by a paying guest; if you call Churchill they may be able to amend your policy to cover Airbnb hosting.
No, Churchill home insurance does not cover damage by pets, such as soiling a carpet or chewing furniture.
Churchill home insurance covers you for up to 60 days away. That is, loss or damage is covered as long as it's been less than 60 days since you last slept at home on a regular basis (this doesn't include occasional visits or stays).

Other Useful Information

Erin Yurday

Erin Yurday is the Founder and Editor of NimbleFins. Prior to NimbleFins, she worked as an investment professional and as the finance expert in Stanford University's Graduate School of Business case writing team. Read more on LinkedIn.

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