AXA Car Insurance: The Best Option for You?

AXA Car Insurance: The Best Option for You?

Great coverage for almost everything you could want (although a few features cost extra) and a good Trustpilot rating makes AXA car insurance one of the best overall providers you can find in the UK.

Good for

  • Cover for most (if not all) features you would want
  • Good Trustpilot rating
  • Impressive courtesy car cover

Bad for

  • Cancellation fees and admin fees fairly high
  • No premium courtesy car feature
  • Bad FOS complaint ratio

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.

Wondering how AXA car insurance compares? With over £1.2 billion of motor insurance premiums written last year, AXA ranked in the top ten in two separate NimbleFins studies: the most popular, largest car insurance companies and the best cheap car insurance. It's important to compare AXA against other brands early, as this can save you up to 50%. Compare AXA car insurance quotes by clicking the blue "Get Quotes" button below to see how much you can save—the panel includes AXA plus other popular brands like Admiral, Hastings, RAC, and over 100 others.

Compare AXA Car Insurance Quotes

Quickly compare over 100 UK insurance providers, including AXA. You could save up to £530*.

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AXA Car Insurance: Overall Review

AXA offers two tiers of comprehensive car insurance and the higher tier ('Plus') offers all of the 'must have' or 'should have' features (according to Money Advice Service)—although some do cost extra such as motor legal and breakdown. It even provides access to most 'could have' features (like a premium courtesy car add on and 90 days of the same cover in the EU). That means that AXA Plus is one of the more robust car insurance offerings you can get in the UK, when it comes to features.

Their standard plan (not 'Plus') is less robust, but still offers a pretty good set of features. You will need to buy courtesy car cover for £9.99 if you want that, but it only covers repairs not total loss or theft. And there's no premium courtesy car option with that tier. However, their regular courtesy car coverage provides a vehicle with a 'similar size and transmission' to your car. They also promise that it will have as many doors and seats as your car (max. 7 seats). But no, you won't be getting anything premium for a courtesy car.

And the standard level doesn't cover loss or damage to keys either.

The cancellation fees after the 14-day cooling off period are slightly higher than would be ideal and they charge you for any mid-term changes made to the plan if you call in—changes you make online, however, are fee-free!

Our slight niggle is the few question marks we've seen around AXA's customer service. Their FOS complaint ratio is fairly high and we've found people on reviews.co.uk complaining about their poor customer service. But the comments on Trustpilot are overwhelmingly positive (including some positive comments related to claims) so long as you understand what is covered (best done by reading the policy wording) and you're happy with that, you're unlikely to have any negative surprises down the road because they do need to abide by the policy wording.

Take a look below to get better insight on what AXA provides their customers.

AXA Car Insurance Features

Below you can take a look for yourself at AXA's comprehensive car insurance coverage.

How Good is AXA Car Insurance?A Good Policy IncludesDoes AXA Deliver?AXA Comprehensive CoverageDoes AXA PLUS Deliver?AXA PLUS Comprehensive Coverage
"Must Have" Features
WindscreenFull repair or replacement
thumbs up
Included
thumbs up
Included
Belongings£200+
red x
Included (up to £150 any one incident)
thumbs up
Included (up to £1,500 any one incident)
Keys£300+
red x
Not included
thumbs up
Included for loss or damage
Protected NCD2 times in 3 years (standard or optional extra)
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
Car recovery after accidentIncluded
thumbs up
Included
thumbs up
Included
Courtesy car (repairs)Minimum 14 days
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on for £9.99 (up to 14 days)
thumbs up
Included
Repairs guaranteed (if use approved repairer)12-month guarantee
thumbs up
Guaranteed throughout the time you own your car
thumbs up
Guaranteed throughout the time you own your car
"Should Have" Features
New car replacementTheft or damage at least 60% of list price; cars up to 12 months old; first owner
thumbs up
Included
thumbs up
Included
Stereo and satellite navMarket value for manufacturer fitted
question mark
Up to £1,000 for loss or damage to permanently-fitted audio equipment
thumbs up
Up to £1,000 for loss or damage to permanently-fitted audio equipment (unlimited if fitted by the manufacturer or their approved dealer)
Alternative transport & Hotel after accident£250+
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
24-hour emergency helplineStandard
thumbs up
24 hour claims lines
thumbs up
24 hour claims lines
Courtesy car (total loss or theft)Standard or add-on extra
red x
Not available
thumbs up
Included (up to 14 days)
Motor legal expensesStandard or add-on extra
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
Breakdown coverStandard or add-on extra
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
"Could Have" Features
Same cover in EUStandard or add-on extra
thumbs up
Up to 90 days
thumbs up
Up to 90 days
Child car seat replacement after accident, theft, fireIdeally replaced even if no visible damage
thumbs up
Up to £300 per car seat
thumbs up
Up to £300 per car seat
Larger/premium courtesy carStandard or add-on extra
red x
Not available
thumbs up add on
If you buy the add on
Uninsured driver NCD protectionStandard
thumbs up
Included
thumbs up
Included
Cancellation feeNo more than £50
question mark
£0 cancellation fee during cooling off period if cover has not started; otherwise £52.50
question mark
£0 cancellation fee during cooling off period if cover has not started; otherwise £52.50

AXA Motorcycle Insurance

Having trouble renewing your AXA-underwritten motorcycle insurance policy? That's because AXA exited the motorcycle insurance market in the UK as of March 2024. If you need a replacement policy, please click below to compare quotes:

Save money with cheap motorcycle insurance for your bike

Quickly compare 20+ insurers. You could pay less than £239*.

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AXA Car Insurance: Customer Reviews and Ratings

AXA's Trustpilot rating is fairly high at 4.3 out of 5 stars, with 71% of their reviews giving an 'Excellent' 5 out of 5 rating (an improvement from last year!).

Here is a selection of comments:

"So easy to contact. No waiting in queue to be connected. Friendly voice on the end of the line."

"Fair and reasonable price. Site clear and transparent. Hoping the renewal next year reflects loyalty."

"So after a my first crash, it was a nervous phone call I was making, however my fears were unnecessary, the lady who took the call could not have been more lovely, it was only afterwards that she informed me it was her first call. Both her trainers and herself should be really proud, I xould have been treated better ... thank you so much"

"There was a long waiting time on a couple of calls I made earlier but when I did get through early in the morning I found the assistant very charming and helpful. She was very careful to check everything and made a real effort to solve my problem."

Their reviews.co.uk rating is, conversely, quite disappointing—only 38% of reviewers recommending AXA. One angry reviews.co.uk user said:

"We are still stuck at the side of the road 33 hours after reporting our breakdown to axa. Phone calls not returned, Axa suck."

The relatively high FOS complaint ratio would also suggest that maybe customer service has been a weak spot (for reference, the large companies with the lowest ratios were Ageas at 0.92 and LV= at 1.74).

Review SiteAXA Ratings
Trustpilot4.3 out of 5
reviews.co.uk customer service rating2.3 out of 5
FOS Complaint Ratio (Insurance Complaints per 1,000 Policies in Force)6.82

Cancellation Fees

You might want to cancel your insurance plan at any time. If you want to cancel during your cooling off period, AXA will refund you proportionate to how long you have been covered (unless, of course, you've made a claim or had an accident that could lead to a claim).

Once that cooling off period has finished you will be charged £52.50—which is higher than other cancellation fees in the UK car insurance market. You'll also receive pro rata amount of the premium back, again so long as you haven't claimed or been in an accident that could lead to a claim.

Any mid-term changes cost you an admin fee of £10. Some other companies offer this for free, especially if the change can be made by the policyholder via an online portal, without needing to contact customer service over the phone.

When Are You CancellingAXA's Fee
During cooling off periodNo admin fee (proportionate refund based on time covered thus far)
After cooling off period£52.50 (proportionate refund based on time covered thus far)
Mid-term admin changes£10 for any change or correction
Admin Fee£10
Admin Fee (if you do it yourself online)no fee

How Much Does AXA Car Insurance Cost?

Below you can see we were quoted a monthly rate of £51.93, with a £103.90 deposit. This will result in a total amount of £623.20. You save £77.49 by opting to pay your entire insurance in one single payment of £545.71.

You can also see the prices of their add-ons such as the courtesy car add-on and how much it'll cost you to protect your no claims discount.

Costs of AXA's cover
AXA Comprehensive (Single Payment)£545.71
AXA Comprehensive (Monthly Payment)£51.93 (£103.90 deposit)
Motor Legal (Annual Payment)£29.99
Breakdown Coverage (Annual)From £19.99
Courtesy Car (Annual)£14.99
Protected NCD (Annual)£64.33
Personal Injury (Annual)£19.99

We got this quote for our sample profile of a 22-year-old with no previous or outstanding convictions and 4 years no claims, driving a 2008 Ford Fiesta. Prices will vary, please ensure to get your own quotes.

Phone Numbers and Policy Documents

Most of AXA's phone numbers are live Monday to Friday between 8am-8pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 9am-3pm and Bank Holidays 9am-3pm. This is with the exception of their claims numbers that are closed on Sundays.

  • Monday to Friday: 8am - 8pm
  • Saturday: 9am - 5pm
  • Sunday: 9am - 3pm
  • Bank Holidays: 9am - 3pm

Here are the phone numbers to contact for AXA car insurance:

AXA Contact Numbers
Customer Service (UK)0330 024 1158
Customer Service (NI)0289 002 0104
Claims (in UK)0330 024 1305
Claims (claims outside UK)+44 (0) 1217 520 685
Windscreen Claims0330 024 1306
Get a Quote0333 241 3545
24 Hour Helplines
Accident recovery0330 024 1305

To read about the full details of an AXA policy, including what's covered and exclusions, read through the AXA's car insurance policy documents here.

How Does AXA Compare?

Responding to reader requests, the team at NimbleFins has put together some direct car insurance comparisons, considering features, prices, customer service and more. These are particularly useful for motorists trying to decide between two competing quotes. Use these guides that compare AXA to other top brands to help you understand which might provide the better product for your needs.

Other Car Insurance Reviews

If you'd like to compare AXA to other car insurance companies, see some of our other car insurance reviews below:

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.

Comments

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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