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For car insurance providers, online forms are the make-or-break point in their conversion funnel. They serve as the gateway to delivering quotes and securing customers, yet they remain riddled with friction, confusion, and inefficiencies.
Zuko’s latest white paper reviews 27 UK car insurance forms, breaking them down by element and ranking them based on user friendliness. The report looks at the key fields for any car insurance form, highlighting not just why these fields matter but also showcasing examples of how top-performing forms execute them effectively.
You can download and read the report for all the details but this blog provides a preview of the key insights you’ll find in the full paper.
Download the market report on car insurance forms
The car finder function is a non-negotiable feature for car insurance forms, and the best versions do much more than just locate a vehicle by its registration. The most effective implementations, like those seen on Esure, pre-fill key details such as vehicle value, significantly reducing the user’s workload. For users without a registration number, offering manual input options that remain intuitive and straightforward is equally essential.
Employment questions can be a major sticking point for users leading to frustration or abandonment. Many users worry that entering an “incorrect” job title will result in future claims being denied. Adding to the complexity, forms often require users to categorize their job into predefined industry lists, which can feel restrictive or unclear.
Top solutions include:
Saga’s evolving job title search provides a great example of user-centric design that reduces friction:
Some fields, like driving license numbers or contact details, are inherently sensitive and prone to causing user drop-off. The best forms explain why this information is needed and ensure users understand how their data will be used.
For example:
Annual mileage is a tricky field that can trip up users. Many struggle to calculate exact figures, leading to frustration or inaccurate entries. Innovative forms provide tools to simplify the process, such as allowing users to input daily or weekly mileage and automatically converting it to an annual estimate.
The calculator-style approach used by 1st Central is a standout example of how to turn a potentially overwhelming question into a simple, user-friendly interaction.
Whilst the above advice was for fields that are specific to car insurance forms, in this section we’ll look at more general form design tips that are still relevant to insurance forms but can also be more broadly applied.
For multi-step car insurance forms, progress bars are useful for guiding customers. They give clarity on how many steps remain and reduce the perceived workload. The best implementations, like Policy Expert’s, allow users to revisit completed steps, creating a sense of control and transparency.
Nobody likes starting a form only to realize halfway through that they’re missing key information or are ineligible for a quote. Providing a “What You’ll Need” page upfront, as seen in Tesco Bank’s forms, sets clear expectations and avoids unnecessary frustration.
Dropdown menus are a necessary evil in some cases, but they’re far from user-friendly. They hide options by default, require more interaction, and can be especially fiddly on mobile devices. Wherever possible, replacing dropdowns with radio buttons - like Churchill does for license questions - can significantly improve usability.
For longer lists where dropdowns are unavoidable, making them searchable, as demonstrated by Hastings Direct, can reduce friction and improve accuracy.
Car insurance forms are often long and detailed, making save-and-resume functionality important for reducing abandonment. Surprisingly, only 7% of the reviewed forms offered this feature. LV’s implementation, which allows users to create an account and pick up where they left off, provides a great example of how to support this need.
Forms like Elephant’s, which require users to create accounts before seeing their quotes, are a prime example of poor UX. Many people won’t want to commit to an account until they have at least seen a quote so these data grabs can backfire, reducing completion rates.
Each field and interaction on a car insurance form contributes to the overall user experience. From simplifying complex fields to providing clear guidance, optimizing your form is about removing barriers and building trust with potential customers.
The Zuko report examines these elements further, offering actionable insights and examples of good & bad design from leading car insurance providers. Download it now to unlock the full potential of your forms and drive higher conversions.
Download the market report on car insurance forms
Zuko is the most powerful form analytics platform available on the market. Find out how to improve your form and checkout conversion by taking a product tour.
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