Defaqto has named Aviva, Lloyds Bank, InsureandGo and Sainsbury's Bank as its Insurers of the Year for 2026-27, across car, home, travel and pet insurance respectively, with a further 16 providers highly commended. The awards, announced on August 1, followed an assessment of 107 insurance brands using Defaqto's two-part methodology, which weights product quality and customer service equally, drawing on research from more than 26,000 consumers.
Travel was the only category where Defaqto recorded declining customer experience across the board this year, with the sharpest falls at renewal (-5%) and in complaints handling (-4%). That's a real, standalone problem worth brokers' attention: a line where renewal and complaints experience are both getting worse is a line where retention and referral rates are likely to suffer, independent of anything else going on in the market.
Separately, the FCA has named reviewing how travel insurers underwrite cover for customers with pre-existing mental health conditions as an explicit 2026 priority, according to law firm HFW's April 2026 review of the regulator's agenda. That's a different issue, about underwriting decisions rather than service quality, but it means travel insurers are facing pressure on two fronts at once this year. Brokers placing travel business have reason to watch both: check how panel insurers are performing on renewal and complaints handling specifically, and separately confirm they're comfortable with how those insurers underwrite for vulnerable customers, rather than assuming a strong Defaqto score covers both bases.
Home insurance saw little overall movement this year, with a dip in complaints handling (-3%) offsetting small gains elsewhere. Lloyds Bank took the win in this category, a result that comes as parent group Lloyds Banking Group reported, in its half-year results published on July 30, 2026, a 19% rise in underlying other income for its Insurance, Pensions and Investments division and a top-three UK market position in home insurance across 10 million IP&I customers.
According to law firm Clifford Chance's analysis published in May 2026, the FCA's thematic review TR24/2 found that many general insurance firms were still failing to demonstrate fair value, warning that firms unable to evidence this consistently can expect direct intervention.
Defaqto's award doesn't test fair value in the specific way TR24/2 does; it measures product quality and customer service. But that's exactly why it's useful supporting material rather than a substitute: a broker recommending or placing with a Defaqto winner has an independent, non-insurer-generated data point to sit alongside their own suitability and fair value reasoning, worth keeping on file regardless of when or whether that file is ever tested.
"The Defaqto Insurer of the Year Awards recognise providers that perform strongly across both price and product quality, because the awards are earned rather than entered and combine detailed product analysis with the real experiences of thousands of insurance customers," said Dipesh Sanghrajka, head of product at Defaqto.
Sainsbury's Bank's pet insurance win comes in a market that remains structurally under-penetrated. According to Mintel's UK Pet Insurance Market Report, published in July 2026, nearly half of UK pet owners still carry no insurance, even as veterinary cost inflation continues to push up claims. Separate data from Pearson Ham Group's Pet Insurance Pricing Index showed premiums rose 0.9% quarter on quarter in its most recent reading, following an earlier period of decline, while IBISWorld puts the total UK pet insurance market at approximately £2.2 billion for 2026.
For brokers, that combination of low penetration and rising need makes pet cover worth raising directly with existing home or auto clients at their next renewal, with the Defaqto results offering a steer on which providers to place with.
Aviva's car insurance win comes as data published by the Association of British Insurers in April 2026 shows average comprehensive premiums holding broadly flat at £560 in the first quarter of the year, even as claims costs climb. Insurers paid out £2.9 billion in motor claims in the quarter, with vehicle repair costs alone reaching £1.9 billion, driven by the rising cost and complexity of repairing vehicles fitted with modern sensors and cameras.
Defaqto recorded improvements across every car insurance touchpoint this year, claims up 3%, complaints down 4%, recommendations up 1%, despite that cost pressure, suggesting insurers here are managing to protect service standards even as claims inflation persists.
Travel is the line with a genuine, standalone service problem worth flagging to clients and testing against panel insurers now. Pet insurance is the clearest growth opportunity, given how many existing clients likely have no cover at all.
