Consumer Intelligence reveals home insurance price increase

The average price for buildings and contents insurance has increased by 2.1% in the past year, according to Consumer Intelligence.

The market intelligence firm’s survey shows that the competitive marketplace in keeping roughly in line with the UK’s headline inflation rate.

Longer term, average premiums have fallen 1% since February 2014, when Consumer Intelligence first started collecting data.

Despite the 2.1% upturn in the past 12 months, prices have yet to trend higher than the first recording by Consumer Intelligence five-and-a-half years ago.

Data shows that across the market the average home insurance premium is £136, while premiums increased by 2.7% for the over-50s market over the same period, averaging £143 per premium.

In contrast, price rises for the under-50s were limited to just 1.5%, averaging £129 per premium.

The research from Consumer Intelligence also shows that prices differ by region, with Londoners paying almost 60% more for their insurance than the cheapest region, the Northeast.

Wales was the only region in the UK to see home insurance premiums fall in the last 12 months, by -0.3%.

“Home insurance is a very competitive marketplace, helping to keep overall pricing down,” commented John Blevins, pricing expert at Consumer Intelligence. “London unsurprisingly maintains its number one spot with some of the most expensive properties in the UK and the biggest urban area—with cities generally having a much higher crime rate.”

“Regional pricing is based on localised claims experience—looking at general perils such as fire, accidental damage but also specific areas such as crime rates, weather events and subsidence,” added Blevins. “And with subsidence claims levels reaching a peak this year, areas where the weather tends to be dryer—such as the Southeast—have seen higher rates of subsidence.”

Mark Dugdale