AA, esure, Tesco, Churchill top survey

Travel policies from AA, esure, Tesco and Churchill offer the best value for money, according to a new survey by Directexcellence.

Companies were ranked on their overall score based on 40 separate mystery shopper calls.

Directexcellence client services director Simon Bradford said: "Insurers offering lower cost policies would be expected to score low on references to features. In some cases this is true.

"But esure, AA, Tesco and Churchill were among several companies that ranked high in the best price table and are in the higher rankings of the ‘features mentioned' table."

Bradford said this was "encouraging" as it indicated that these companies were not just selling on low price, but were trying to inform potential customers of the features and benefits of their products.

"FSA regulation will reinforce this situation through disclosure," said Bradford.

Directexcellence found that single trip cover for Europe varied by over 100%, and annual cover for Europe by nearly 90%.

But, with significant price variations, there are considerable differences in policy cover.

The survey in February 2005 also recorded the number of times call centre staff referred to 23 standard features of travel insurance, listed below.

The overall price ranking shows a company's position based on the average price for four products - single trip, Europe; annual cover, Europe; single trip, worldwide; annual cover, worldwide.