We’re really pleased that Defaqto has given a 5 Star Rating to some of our travel insurance policies. But why is that important? And what even is Defaqto?
While you can compare prices for travel insurance on a number of websites, very few of them compare quality – which is an important consideration when deciding which product to buy.
Defaqto rates the quality of a financial product, such as insurance. Their services help you to choose when buying financial products, like Travel Insurance. They’ve been rating financial companies since 2000.
Who is Defaqto?
Defaqto analysts study the financial market for services and products, before giving them a Star rating based on the features and benefits they offer, with 5 stars being the top rating. These analysts are constantly surveying the market, researching and analysing new products as they enter the market, to help you make the right decisions.
Defaqto rate over 2,700 home, motor and travel insurance policies.
Defaqto Star Ratings for AllClear policies
AllClear Platinum and Gold Plus cover have been awarded 5 Star Ratings from Defaqto for Single Trip and Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance.
We’re delighted with this rating as it recognises the wide-ranging, quality cover we offer.
Platinum
Our highest level of cover. Up to £15 million for medical emergency expenses, Up to £25K for cancellation, and up to £3,000 for baggage.
Gold Plus
Up to £15 million for medical expenses, £15K for cancellation, £2,500K for baggage
Gold
Up to £10 million for medical expenses, £5,000 for cancellation, £2,000 for baggage.
These ratings establish us as a provider of comprehensive, reliable travel insurance services.
All our Travel Insurance policies have been carefully designed to offer maximum benefit to you, and are continually reviewed, to ensure we continue to offer the best products possible.
What do the Defaqto stars mean?
Defaqto uses a Star Rating system. To help you see at a glance where a product sits in the market, Star Ratings give each a rating of 1 to 5.
Here’s a breakdown of the Defaqto star ratings:
5 Stars: provides one of the highest quality offerings in the market
4 Stars: provides a good quality offering1 Star: provides a low offering
3 Stars: provides an average quality offering
2 Stars: provides a below average quality offering
1 Star: provides a low offering
Policies with just one or two stars are unlikely to offer the range of benefits that a 5 Star rated policy can provide, and a 5 Star rating indicates that the policy is one of the best products in the market. The ratings are given to the products, not the insurance providers, and are analysed daily and updated yearly.
Defaqto independently rates products across more than 60 categories.
How does Defaqto award the Stars?
Defaqto state that their ratings are “based on facts, not opinion”. They do not rate price and customer service, as these are more subjective in how they are valued.
Instead, their analysts rate products and services based on the features and benefits they offer, along with the small print that many of us struggle to read properly.
Features are individually scored, with the product’s total then used to assign the 1 to 5 Star rating.
Products that offer the most features tend to receive a higher rating. To receive a four or five-star rating, some “core criteria” features must be included.
Defaqto analysts continually examine the markets throughout the year, regularly consulting with the relevant industries to determine which features are most important.
How can Defaqto help you choose travel insurance?
Knowing that products have been rated based on their quality can help you make your final decision. And because Defaqto is independent, and each product or policy has been thoroughly examined, you’re getting an expert assessment.
Defaqto emphasise that they operate impartially, with no bias to any particular product or company. They aren’t affiliated with any financial companies or related third parties, and their ratings are completely independent.
Impartial guidance when buying insurance is important as it’s a decision you want to get right.
It’s easy to find the cheapest priced product, but harder to establish which product is best for you.
While price is inevitably a factor when deciding, it certainly shouldn’t be your only consideration!
The unbiased Defaqto Star Rating means you can easily identify which products are superior in the market. When buying a policy with a high Defaqto Star Rating, you know you’re buying a high-quality product. When comparing travel insurance, the Defaqto Star rating for an insurance provider will be shown on the quote results page, so you can see which providers have the highest rating.
What’s missing with Defaqto ratings?
While Defaqto is a great tool to use for at a glance comparisons, there are some area it doesn’t cover:
Defaqto don’t consider price – you’ll want to know if you’re getting a good deal. Defaqto ratings only review products and services based on their features. A product may receive five stars, but if it’s five times the price of a four-star product, it may not be right for you.
Defaqto doesn’t consider customer service – while a travel insurance policy might have all the features in the world, if the person you’re going to talk to when you need that help most is unhelpful, then a bad situation can be made worse. TrustPilot reviews are a useful tool here. AllClear has over 55,000 reviews where 97% have rated us ‘Excellent’ or ‘Great’.
