Price comparison websites are a popular and useful way to shop for car insurance. But they don’t show every insurer or every policy.
Some insurance providers sell cover only if you buy direct, while others offer different levels of cover depending on where you buy.
We analysed 66 car insurance policies to discover which options comparison sites leave out and whether that could mean missing out on stronger cover.
Which car insurers aren’t on comparison sites?
Our analysis of 66 car insurance policies found seven that weren’t available on any comparison site at the time of our research.
These include insurers that have traditionally avoided comparison sites, such as Direct Line and NFU Mutual, as well as certain policies sold directly by providers, including Aviva, Co-op Insurance and Saga.
The table below shows which policies were unavailable on comparison sites, how comprehensive their cover was, and whether they achieved Best Buy status.
Policy score reflects how comprehensive the cover is, based on our assessment of 79 areas of cover. Best Buys are high-scoring policies that also meet our criteria for customer service and claims handling. Availability reflects whether the policy could be bought via a comparison website in October 2025, at the time of our analysis. Our analysis covered 66 car insurance policies from 25 providers.
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Do insurers keep their best policies off comparison sites?
Not necessarily: of the 12 policies we named Best Buys, seven were available on comparison sites.
However, the policies not on comparison sites tend to be more comprehensive.
Across the 66 policies we reviewed, the average policy score for those available via comparison sites was 62%. This compares with an average score of 68% for policies that could only be bought directly, indicating higher levels of cover among direct-only policies.
Comparison sites place heavy emphasis on headline price, which can favour simpler or more limited policies. Insurers offering wider cover may therefore choose to sell those policies directly, rather than competing primarily on price.
These included policies from NFU Mutual, one of our Which? Recommended Providers. NFU Mutual only sells its car insurance over the phone and does not appear on comparison sites at all.
- Find out more: How to find cheap car insurance.
Same insurer, different cover depending on where you buy
Not all insurers sell the same policies everywhere. In some cases, the level of cover you’re offered depends on whether you buy direct or through a comparison website.
Insurers including Aviva, Co-op Insurance, Direct Line, Saga and Tesco Insurance sell different policy ranges depending on where you buy. As a result, two drivers choosing the same brand could end up with very different cover.
In the cases of Aviva and Saga, both their policies on comparison sites and those only available direct were named Best Buys, even though the latter scored slightly higher.
But in the case of Tesco Insurance, its only Best Buy policy, named Gold, must be purchased direct.
It’s worth checking the details of any policy you’re considering, and don’t assume a familiar brand guarantees the same level of protection.
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Should you still use a comparison site?
Yes: for most drivers, they’re a good place to start.
Comparison websites make it easy to see how prices stack up across the market and quickly compare a renewal quote. They also list many strong policies, including several of our Best Buys.
But, if you rely on them alone, you could miss some higher-scoring options that are only available direct.
Insurers told us that, in most cases, buying through a comparison site doesn’t change the cover for the same named policy. However, which policies are available, how they’re named and where they’re priced most competitively can still vary depending on where you buy.
A sensible approach is to use a comparison site first, then get direct quotes from insurers that don’t list all their policies there or that sell different cover depending on where you buy.