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Founded in 1994, Privilege is an insurance provider offering home and car cover, with more than 600,000 policy holders in the UK.
It offers two tiers of home insurance, which you can buy as buildings, contents or combined cover, and several add-ons, including accidental damage and family legal protection.
But is it one of the best home insurance providers in the UK? Our Privilege home insurance review takes a look at what it covers, how to make a claim and how its customers feel about its service.
Privilege offers two tiers of home insurance: Standard and Platinum. Both can be bought as buildings, contents or combined cover.
Whether you take out buildings insurance on its own or as part of a combined policy, Privilege will cover you for the following:
If you take out Privilege contents insurance, it will include coverage for the following:
With Privilege Platinum building insurance, you’ll be covered for everything at the standard level of cover, as well as the following:
And if you take out Privilege Platinum contents insurance, your policy will include in the standard level, as well as the following:
You should be aware that you won’t be covered for the following with Privilege home insurance:
Standard buildings and contents insurance | Platinum buildings and contents insurance | |
---|---|---|
Buildings cover | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Contents cover | Up to £50,000 | Up to £100,000 |
Outbuildings cover | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Alternative accommodation | Up to £40,000 (£25,000 buildings insurance, £15,000 contents insurance) | Up to £80,000 (£50,000 buildings insurance, £30,000 contents insurance) |
Loss of rent | Up to £25,000 (part of the alternative accommodation benefit) | Up to £50,000 (part of the alternative accommodation benefit) |
Tenants’ liability | Up to £5,000 for accidental damage | Up to £10,000 for accidental damage |
Water leaks | Up to £1,000 for trace and access Metered water bills following a leak | Up to £5,000 for trace and access |
Oil leaks | Up to £1,000 for trace and access Replacement oil following a leak | Up to £5,000 for trace and access |
Theft of keys | Yes | Yes |
Valuables or high-risk item limit (if not included as a specified item) | Up to 30 per cent of total contents sum insured £2,000 single item limit | Up to 30 per cent of total contents sum insured £4,000 single item limit |
Visitor or guest belongings | No | Up to £1,000 |
Money | No | Up to £500 |
Digital media or downloaded content | No | Up to £3,000 |
Business equipment | No | Up to £10,000 |
Liability cover | Up to £2 million (property owner’s liability) Up to £2 million (personal liability) Up to £5 million (employer’s liability) | Up to £5 million (property owner’s liability) Up to £5 million (personal liability) Up to £10 million (employer’s liability) |
Home emergency | Optional | Up to £500 for an emergency callout Up to £250 for a replacement boiler Up to £250 for one night of emergency accommodation |
Family legal protection | Optional | Up to £100,000 in legal expenses and costs |
Personal possessions | Optional (with contents or combined) | Included with contents and combined Up to £4,000 single item limit Up to £1,000 per bicycle Up to £1,000 for theft from an unattended motor vehicle Up to £500 for money |
Accidental damage | Optional | Included |
If you don’t want to take out Platinum cover, you can add the following optional extras to boost your policy:
If you need to make a claim on your Privilege home insurance, you should follow these steps:
If you need to contact Privilege about anything that isn’t claim related, you can use the following methods:
If you need to cancel your Privilege home insurance policy, you can call customer service on 0345 246 8534.
When cancelling your policy, you’ll be refunded for the time remaining on your premium (unless you’ve made a claim or had a claim made against you).
Privilege has a “Great” Trustpilot rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on more than 5,300 reviews.
It’s important to note that Privilege also offers car insurance, so its Trustpilot score is based on the brand as a whole, not just its home insurance products.
Of the five-star reviews that mention home insurance, there’s a lot of praise for how Privilege handles claims, as well as relatively reasonable renewal prices.
There are repeated complaints, however, around failing to receive policy documents in a timely manner and some issues with contacting customer service.
“The first time I have had to claim on home insurance so I was pretty stressed and the problem was substantial. On calling, the advisor was caring and friendly, she took the problem out of my hands and dealt with the whole process via a third party who fixed the problem. I am really impressed with the professionalism, care and speed of Privilege, could not recommend more highly.”
“I renewed this home insurance on behalf of my elderly parent. The process was smooth from start to finish and, although the premium was higher than last year’s, it was not unreasonably higher. Most importantly, we’d made a claim during the last year for some accidental damage; Privilege dealt with this claim in the most helpful way imaginable and turned what could have been a stressful experience (for my parent in particular) into a demonstration of how well it can be done.”
“Setting up a new home policy was really easy, but [I] have moved house and their processes are just the worst. The email confirmation of the policy had no policy number, I wasn’t asked to set up an online account, and eventually found a form to fill in. This was done, but received a reply that I need to chat with them. The link to the chat option doesn’t work, and of course no phone number is offered. Eventually tried their Customer Services line, who after a myriad of options, [left me] waiting. Gave up after 30 minutes.”
From Defaqto, Privilege has the following ratings:
From Fairer Finance, Privilege has the following ratings:
Provider name | Trustpilot score | Defaqto score | Fairer Finance score |
---|---|---|---|
Privilege | 4.2 out of 5 | ★★★ (Buildings) ★★★ (Contents) | ★ (Combined) |
Admiral | 4.5 out of 5 | ★★★ (Buildings) ★★ (Contents) | ★ (Combined) |
Aviva | 4 out of 5 | ★★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★★★ (Contents) | ★★★ (Combined) |
Axa | 4.3 out of 5 | ★★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★ (Contents) | ★★★ (Combined) |
Direct Line | 3.7 out of 5 | ★★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★★★ (Contents) | ★★ (Combined) |
Esure | 3.2 out of 5 | ★★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★★★ (Contents) | ★★ (Combined) |
Homeprotect | 4.3 out of 5 | ★★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★ (Contents) | ★★ (Combined) |
LV= | 4.5 out of 5 | ★★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★★★ (Contents) | ★★★ (Combined) |
More Than | 3.8 out of 5 | ★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★★★ (Contents) | ★★★ (Combined) |
Policy Expert | 4.6 out of 5 | ★★★ (Buildings) ★ (Contents) | ★★ (Combined) |
Rias | 4.1 out of 5 | ★★★★★ (Buildings) ★★★★★ (Contents) | ★★★ (Combined) |
All scores are correct as of 1 March 2024. Based on standard or mid-tier home insurance policies.
One of the biggest positives around Privilege home insurance appears to be its claims process. There are numerous five-star reviews on Trustpilot that praise Privilege for its professionalism and promptness when dealing with a claim.
However, the standard Privilege home insurance options are on the stingier side. This is reflected in a below-average three-star rating for both buildings and contents coverage from Defaqto and a very poor one-star rating for every standard option from Fairer Finance.
The Platinum policies are more appealing and come with several optional extras. Even then, they still have a lower rating than many comparable policies from other insurance providers.
Privilege home insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited.
Privilege is owned by U K Insurance Limited, the same brand that owns Direct Line, Churchill and Green Flag.