Fewer Claims Result In Lower Insurance Premiums For UK Home Owners

• The average home insurance policy has fallen 0.3% in the last three months – resulting from fewer claims due to people staying at home more during the coronavirus crisis
• Nevertheless, overall premiums are up 3% when taken over a 12-month period

A steep drop in recorded crime since the start of the coronavirus lockdown has contributed to a downward shift in home insurance premiums. In the last three months, the average buildings and contents policy has fallen 0.3%.

“It’s perhaps no coincidence that this period takes us through the recent lockdown where the vast majority of people were spending much more time at home,” says John Blevins, product manager at Consumer Intelligence, the insurance research experts. “Crime rates and home claims have both declined in recent months, which is the most likely reason for this small deflation in premiums.”

However, average premiums are up 3% when looked at over a 12-month period. A typical buildings and contents policy now stands at £150. Overall, premiums have increased just 1.9% in the six-and-a-half years since Consumer Intelligence first started collecting data in February 2014. Despite premiums edging up to their highest recorded point in June – before falling back again in July – prices have remained broadly stable for the last three years.

Homeowners in London (£195) and the South East (£160) continue to pay the most for their insurance policies. They are the only two regions across the UK to attract premiums that are higher than the national average (£150). The East Midlands (£136) and the South West (£136) are now the cheapest areas for home insurance.

This recent reduction to home insurance premiums has not been felt by both our age groups. Premiums for the under-50s have remained flat in the last three months. It’s only the over-50s who have benefited, with their annual policies now 0.9% cheaper than three months ago.

Interwar properties, those built between 1925-1940, saw premiums rise 4.4% in the last 12 months, the most of any segment. This was closely followed by houses erected this millennium (4%).

Average premiums and price rises around Great Britain