How much is home insurance?
How much is home insurance?: Find out the average cost of UK home insurance for your region and property type along with other helpful home insurance statistics.
Home Insurance Price Index 2024
The average home insurance cost in England as of Q1 2024 was £185.88 annually. This was a 35% increase from the average home insurance cost of £129.34 in Q1 2023.
As with many other major insurance products, home insurance premiums have faced a steep increase in price due to inflation, rising labour and repair costs, as well as an unusually high number of claims paid out by UK insurers. All these factors have pushed up the cost of home insurance for the average UK homeowner.
The type of property you are looking to insure will also impact the cost of your home insurance premium. Here is a breakdown of the average home insurance prices in the UK for different property types.
| UK Property Type | Average Annual Home Insurance Cost Q1 2023 | Average Annual Home Insurance Cost Q1 2024 |
| Detached | £270.67 | £394.86 |
| Semi-Detached | £180.55 | £255.09 |
| Terraced | £166.91 | £227.88 |
| Apartment | £66.39 | £80.39 |
Does the size of a property affect the price of home insurance?
Generally speaking, the more bedrooms a property has, the higher the price of your home insurance policy. Typically, the average home insurance cost of a 3-bedroom property will differ from the average cost of a 4-bedroom property due to the extra value added by additional rooms. This is why fully detached homes are typically more expensive than an apartment for example. This means properties with more or fewer rooms than the average can expect to see the cost of their home insurance quotes adjusted accordingly.
When you’ve purchased a property you will naturally want to take all the necessary steps to protect it against damages and other unexpected incidents. In terms of what home insurance covers you for, a home insurance policy can protect you against the cost of damages associated with fire, burglary, flooding, structural damage and other insurable events that put your home and finances at risk.
So how much is home insurance in your area?
How much does home insurance cost?
The price of your home insurance will vary depending on the region you live as well as the type of property you own as shown above. Factors such as local repair and labour costs, crime rates, flooding, and the overall number of claims for your region will also impact how much you pay on your cover. Quotezone.co.uk home insurance data reveals the average home insurance cost broken down by region for 2024. *Note, building insurance and home insurance are often used interchangeably but do not always refer to the same thing. Building insurance policies are designed to insure the physical structure of your house whilst home insurance policies can be more broad in their coverage.
| Regions | Average Annual Home Insurance Cost Q1 2023 | Average Annual Home Insurance Cost Q1 2024 |
| London | £181.15 | £289.38 |
| South East | £133.94 | £197.23 |
| East of England | £136.14 | £192.68 |
| South West | £115.56 | £166.14 |
| West Midlands | £119.63 | £163.48 |
| East Midlands | £122.63 | £166.43 |
| North West | £118.51 | £168.73 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £127.92 | £170.69 |
| North East | £108.55 | £158.12 |
How much is home insurance in your location?
Your location gives insurers a lot of information regarding the risk of insuring your home. What this means is that insurers can use regional home insurance data to determine the likelihood of you making a claim on your home insurance policy. One of the major factors that insurers will examine when looking at your property’s location will be the regional crime rate. The number of burglaries in your area will be of particular interest as these can result in costly home and contents insurance claims.
| Regions | Residential burglary Incidents | Average Annual Home Insurance Cost Q1 2024 |
| London | 38,040 | £289.38 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 25,206 | £170.69 |
| North West | 24,489 | £168.73 |
| West Midlands | 22,894 | £163.48 |
| South East | 20,149 | £197.23 |
| East of England | 14,187 | £192.68 |
| East Midlands | 13,847 | £166.43 |
| South West | 11,001 | £166.14 |
| North East | 10,716 | £158.12 |
Whilst burglary rates are not the only factor that insurers consider when looking at your property’s location, it is a direct factor that is used in calculating your premiums. Other risks such as how prone the area is to flooding, the cost of labour and repairs in your local area as well as the value of your property will all also be used when calculating your premiums.
Regional crime rates
Crime rates can have a huge impact on the cost of insuring a property in a given area. Not only can it impact cost of insuring your home, but it can also be an important consideration when it comes time to purchase a property.
| Regions | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Crime Rate Difference from England average |
| London | 933,287 | 87 | 2.5% safer |
| South East | 724,258 | 67 | 24% safer |
| East of England | 460,782 | 70 | 22% safer |
| South West | 399,816 | 56 | 37% safer |
| West Midlands | 560,608 | 69 | 22% safer |
| East Midlands | 413,572 | 79 | 11% safer |
| North West | 753,266 | 47 | 47% safer |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 611,655 | 90 | 1.3% more dangerous |
| North East | 293,004 | 76 | 14% safer |
Will the cost of home insurance increase in 2024?
The average cost of home insurance has risen in the last year nationally for all types of property. This is in line with premium increases for other insurance products across the board, as insurers face record claim volumes driving up prices along with other economic pressures. London homeowners saw a 46% increase in their home insurance premiums between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024 whilst those living in the North East felt a 37% increase in their home insurance premiums.
Whilst it is hard to say for sure if home insurance premiums will continue to rise into 2024, the rate of inflation has been slowly decreasing and many hope this will positively impact the cost of future home insurance policies. The greatest impact on future costs however will likely be down to the volume of claims received by insurers as well as the associated costs of these claims. High claim numbers generally lead to insurers increasing their premiums.
What is causing the increase in home insurance premiums?
There have been several factors impacting the price of home insurance premiums in the last year. The main drivers of this include bad weather and natural disaster events along with increased repair and service costs. According to the ABI, UK insurers paid out £352 million within a 12 month period due to home insurance claims as a result of natural disaster damages. With as many as 6 named storms in the final quarter of 2023 alone, insurers have been feeling the pressure due to the increased level of damage claims on home insurance policies.
The cost of repairs has also been increasing as a result of the cost of living crisis forcing insurers to pay out more on average for each home insurance claim. This coupled with the larger volume of claims has forced insurers to raise the cost of their premiums to compensate for the increased payouts made in the last year.
How to get cheap home insurance
Getting cheap home insurance can be done by taking some simple steps to reduce your risk to insurers:
- Pay for your home insurance annually – this can reduce interest charges.
- Avoid unnecessary add-ons – such as home contents insurance that you don’t need.
- Invest in home security – this can make your future premiums cheaper by installing CCTV, secure locks and alarms along with anti-theft installations.
- Buy combined insurance policies – if you do decide that you will need home contents insurance, buying a combined home & contents insurance policy will usually work out cheaper.
- Maintain your home – giving your home proper maintenance and reducing the risk of issues such as mould, dampness and burst pipes can all reduce the chance of needing to make a claim. This will keep your premiums lower than someone with a history of previous home insurance claims.
Questions to ask when viewing a house
If you are not yet a homeowner but are considering taking out home insurance once a property is purchased, you’ll need to also consider some other things.
When looking at a potential property, you’ll want to be sure that you’ve chosen the best property available to you. There are a few things you’ll need to be aware of before committing to a home purchase. When viewing a home, be sure to check the property for the following. These will be important not only for taking out future house insurance but also in securing a property that won’t be a financial headache.
- Cracks
- Odours
- Woodworm
- Uneven floors
- Trees
- Windows and doors (check for fit)
- Crime mapping
- Asbestos
- Signs of flooding
Pre-existing damages have the potential to invalidate your home insurance policy and even prevent you from being insured in the first place if extensive enough.
How issues with your home can impact the cost of your home insurance
As previously mentioned, insurers will look at the risk of insuring your property when calculating your premiums. Whilst certain structural and safety issues can lead to your home insurance policy being made void – some other issues may mean you face higher premiums such as a high local crime rate and land that is prone to flooding for example.
There are also other expenses homeowners should consider when examining a potential property.
What our experts say
“Although most new builds should come with a 10-year warranty, this will only cover issues caused by a developer. So, it is still vital to get home insurance for extra protection from the date of exchanged contracts.
On the flaws that result from the house’s construction, Greg says: “Most home insurance policies will cover subsidence, but there can be exclusions. If the issue is a result of construction or flaws in the building process you may not be covered and could be left with a devalued or uninhabitable property.
“Your first home is a big commitment and viewings can be a daunting experience but if you’re aware of these potential issues beforehand, you’ll know what to be wary of and look out for warning signs before you get caught up in the bidding process.”
Purchasing a house is a huge milestone, but first-time buyers must be careful their dream home doesn’t turn into a nightmare.
Greg Wilson, founder and CEO of Quotezone.co.uk
Other factors to consider when purchasing a UK property
Council tax increase 2024
According to the BBC, 75% of UK councils would introduce the maximum increase for council tax in April 2024. This can be off-putting for potential home buyers in certain areas as council tax can be a considerable additional cost.
Of all the UK regions, the North West came out as the safest location in terms of regional crime rate. Yorkshire and the Humber proved to be the regions with the highest crime rate.
| Council Tax Increases – example area | Current Rate (2023/24) | New Rate (2024/25) |
| Camden | £1,396.63 | £1,466.32 |
| Southampton | £2,058.36 | £2,161.07 |
| Norwich | £2,184.17 | £2,293.16 |
| Exeter | £2,167.61 | £2,275.77 |
| Birmingham | £1,905.73 | £2,305.93 |
| Nottingham | £2,411.65 | £2,531.99 |
| Manchester | £1,969.50 | £2,067.70 |
| York | £1,570.42 | £1,648.78 |
| Newcastle | £2,180.51 | £2,289.31 |
Noise nuisance
Noise nuisance or noise pollution can lead to many sleepless nights and potential arguments with neighbours and your local council. When it comes to purchasing a home, potential noise pollution is something homeowners should consider.
Whilst noise pollution won’t impact your home insurance premiums directly it can still have an influence. Some soundproofing installations in your home such as further insulation, chimney caps and window frame replacements can all add value to your property which may potentially increase your home insurance costs. To see how potential modifications to your home may impact your home insurance premiums, you should always contact your home insurer directly to confirm.
Here are the regions broken down by the number of noise nuisance complaints.
| Regions | People highly annoyed by road noise (per 100k people) | People highly sleep disturbed by road noise (per 100k people) |
| London | 116 | 101 |
| South East | 80 | 66 |
| East of England | 54 | 37 |
| South West | 53 | 41 |
| West Midlands | 78 | 64 |
| East Midlands | 55 | 41 |
| North West | 99 | 79 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 69 | 55 |
| North East | 55 | 36 |
Regional house prices
This may seem like an obvious thing to consider but the average cost of a property varies across the UK. Whilst London has traditionally been the most expensive location for purchasing a home, it is also the region that experienced the greatest decline in average property price.
| Regions | Average House Price | House Price Monthly change | House Price Annual change |
| London | £502,690 | -0.70% | -4.80% |
| South East | £373,018 | 1.10% | -2.10% |
| East of England | £339,144 | 1.70% | -1.60% |
| South West | £316,834 | 0.50% | -0.40% |
| West Midlands | £242,429 | -1.20% | -2.90% |
| East Midlands | £241,950 | 1.40% | -0.40% |
| North West | £213,890 | -0.20% | 1.40% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £204,754 | 0.90% | 0.20% |
| North East | £160,406 | 3.20% | 2.90% |
How to get home insurance
When it comes to house insurance costs, comparing multiple insurers and what they offer is crucial.
If you are looking for cheaper home insurance, or are just interested in how much your home insurance will cost, Quotezone.co.uk can help. We help millions of users every year find savings on their insurance by matching them with our expert panel of UK insurers. Get a personalised quote in minutes at Quotezone.co.uk and find out how much you could save on your home insurance.
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References
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-house-price-index-for-january-2024
https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2024/2/the-cost-of-home-insurance-rises-as-insurers-support-
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-55765504
Road traffic noise DALY rates (per 100,000 people) by English regions (2018).
https://crimerate.co.uk/england
UK House Price Index summary: February 2024 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)