Decline in home insurance premiums provides silver lining to lockdown 

Home insurance premiums continue to trend downwards as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, analysis from data insight expert Consumer Intelligence shows.  

Home premiums have dipped 0.9% since April, with a typical building and contents policy now costing £150. 

John Blevins, pricing expert at Consumer Intelligence, said: “Break-ins are generally less frequent when people are at home more. The most recent Office for National Statistics figures show that domestic burglaries fell by 72% in the first national lockdown. 

“With more people than ever staying at home, claims have reduced. This is reflected in reduced premiums.” 

Overall, premiums have increased just 1.4% since Consumer Intelligence first started collecting data in February 2014. Premiums reached their peak in June 2020 but have come off the boil slightly since. Nevertheless, prices continue to remain broadly stable. For instance, premiums have ticked upwards just 0.5% in the last 12-month period. 

Londoners (£198) continue to pay over 30% more for their home insurance than an average UK policy. The South East (£161) is the only other region to fork out more than £150 for an annual policy, the UK-wide average. 

The cheapest area for home insurance remains the South West (£133). Although homeowners in the North East (£136) and East Midlands (£138) also benefit from cheap policies. 

Older Victorian era properties witnessed the biggest increases to their home insurance premiums over the last 12 months. Properties built between 1850 and 1895 saw prices jump 3.4%. These homes are also the most expensive of all our property groups to insure, sitting at £192 for an annual policy.  

On the opposite end of the scale, properties built this millennium continue to attract the cheapest annual policies at £139, despite a slight rise to their premiums of 0.8% over the last 12 months. 

The table below shows average premiums and price rises around Great Britain