A new Compare the Market survey shows that home insurance rates in the UK continued to rise from April to June this year, with some regions registering more than a 60% jump in rates.
Based on the numbers, Northern Ireland recorded a 62% spike in home insurance premiums, the highest in the whole UK. From £268 in the second quarter of 2023, a homeowner in the area had to shell out £433 for their home insurance for the same period this year.
Yorkshire and the Humber have the second highest premiums at £387, but prices have risen at a relatively slower annual rate of 25%, the Compare the Market survey noted.
Meanwhile, homeowners in Greater London were whipped by a 39% spike in their home insurance premiums – the second-largest jump in prices. Last year, between April and June, homeowners just paid £262 for their insurance but this time around they had to shell out £363 for the same period this year.
The survey noted that the South East saw the third most significant jump, with premiums increasing by over a third (36%) from £185 to £251. East Anglia and Scotland also saw a 35% increase in home insurance rates from April to June this year.
The Compare the Market survey also revealed that the insurance rate increase depends on what property type you own.
“The cost of insuring ground floor flats increased the most significantly of any property type with premiums climbing by 42% from £178 to £252,” the survey noted.
Based on the numbers, for detached bungalows, the insurance rate spiked by 38% – from £169 to £234 for April to June 2024, while detached houses and mid-level floor flats saw a 34% increase in premiums: from £203 to £272 for the former, and £177 to £237 for the latter.
“Insurance premiums were highest for bedsits at £515 on average, although premiums for this property type have been rising at a relatively slower rate of 26%,” noted the survey.
Compare the Market director Helen Phipps said several factors can affect home insurance home pricing.
“Many different factors could in part be influencing the price of home insurance, such as the cost of rebuilding a home and the wet weather that the UK faced in Spring 2024,” Phipps said.
The survey noted that the cost of insuring a property that has been previously flooded increased by 27% from £373 in the second quarter of last year to £473 this year. Likewise, the price of home insurance for homes located near bodies of water rose by nearly a third (31%) from £180 to £235. On the other hand, the difference between insuring a property that had previously flooded and one that had not also increased year-on-year, from £203 to £249, a jump of almost a quarter or 23%.
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