New data reveals that the average cost of the best home insurance deals has fallen 7.9% in the past six months to £136 but what’s next for home insurance premiums? The latest ‘Home Insurance Price Index’ from the business insights firm Consumer Intelligence has shed light on that question, revealing that premiums from the most competitive providers may be about to increase again.
The index tracks the average premiums of the five most competitive home and contents policies available, data which is showing that premiums among the most competitive providers are still up 4.1% over a 12-month period. In a Press release, Consumer Intelligence noted that many of the earlier rises were linked to the Financial Conduct Authority’s January 2022 ban on “price walking”, which initially led to higher premiums for both new customers and renewals.
Broken down by regions, the index highlighted that London postcodes remain the most expensive for home insurance with Londoners paying on average £185 for an annual buildings and contents policy. After London comes the South East (at £141), while the cheapest regions are the North East (at £122), East Midlands (at £125) and the West Midlands (at £128).
However, looking across the last 12 months, all UK households have seen their home insurance costs increase – with the biggest yearly gains recorded in the North East (6.7%), Wales (5.1%) and the East Midlands (5.0%).
In the last three months, it’s only London where premiums are still rising – up 0.6% in the quarter. All other UK regions are now in reverse, with the biggest three-month fallers being the West Midlands (down 4.4%) and the South West (down 3.9%).
Consumer Intelligence’s index also revealed that the age of a person now makes little difference to the cost of home insurance. Only £5 separates the annual cost of home insurance for the under-50s (at £138) and the over-50s (at £133).
However, those over 50 saw their insurance costs increase the most over the last 12 months at 7.0% – a faster rate than the under-50s, who saw prices rise just 2.0% over the same period.
The index also found that newer-build properties (those built since 2000) remain the cheapest to insure – at £124 for an annual policy. Older homes continue to be the most expensive to insure, with Victorian-era homes built between 1850 and 1895 reaching the highest home insurance costs of £166.
The only property age grouping to see reduced premiums in the last 12 months – with prices a minimal 0.6% – was for 1910-1925 built properties. Meanwhile, over the same period, properties built from 1850-1895 and those erected from 1950-1975 saw the biggest rises – at 6.3% and 5.9% respectively.
