How much does home insurance cost?

The average cost of home insurance

According to our data, the average cost of home insurance when paid annually is £191 a year, but what you pay will be more or less than this depending on things like your age, location, your property type and how you pay.

It’s more expensive to pay for your home insurance in monthly instalments because interest will be added on top of this.

You can choose to cover your buildings and contents insurance in one policy, or buy separate policies that cover just the building or just the contents.

Combined buildings and contents insurance is the most expensive of the three, but that’s because it covers more.

Buildings-only cover is £150 and contents-only cover is £75, so the average cost of buying two separate policies is higher than the average cost of a combined policy.

You’ll also pay more if you choose to add optional extras like:

• Accidental damage cover
• Legal protection
• Cover for personal possessions away from home
• Bicycle cover

So think carefully about whether you really need to add these.

The average cost of home insurance

According to our data, the average cost of home insurance when paid annually is £191 a year, but what you pay will be more or less than this depending on things like your age, location, your property type and how you pay.

It’s more expensive to pay for your home insurance in monthly instalments because interest will be added on top of this.

You can choose to cover your buildings and contents insurance in one policy, or buy separate policies that cover just the building or just the contents.

Combined buildings and contents insurance is the most expensive of the three, but that’s because it covers more.

Buildings-only cover is £150 and contents-only cover is £75, so the average cost of buying two separate policies is higher than the average cost of a combined policy.

You’ll also pay more if you choose to add optional extras like:

• Accidental damage cover
• Legal protection
• Cover for personal possessions away from home
• Bicycle cover

So think carefully about whether you really need to add these.

Home insurance cost by age

Our data shows that the average cost of home insurance gets cheaper as you get older.

Again it depends on your personal circumstances, but insurers tend to see older homeowners as less of a risk because:

• Statistically they make less claims or for smaller amounts
• They have become more security conscious
• They might be at home more often so less of a target for burglars
• They are likely to be financially secure and on top of home maintenance

All this adds up to a substantial reduction in premiums - the over 75s pay £62 less a year on average than 35-49 year olds.

Home insurance cost by property type

The cost of your home insurance is also influenced by the size and type of your house or flat.

^*The average cost of combined buildings and contents insurance policies by property type purchased through Gocompare in July 2022.

Houses cost the most to insure on average, at £194.

It’s because of rebuild value – the total cost of completely rebuilding your house from scratch after a major incident like a fire – which might be more for houses than bungalows or flats.

Listed buildings are significantly more expensive to insure that unlisted ones.

A non-listed building is £189 on average to insure, while a property with a preservation order is £374. It's slightly less at £337 for a grade two listed building and £499 for a grade one listed property.

It’s because repairs to listed buildings can cost a lot more as they need specialist materials and craftspeople and that can push up the cost of claims for the insurer.

There are also fewer insurers that can offer cover for listed buildings so you’ll have less quotes to choose from. Again, that’ll push up prices.

Home insurance cost by number of bedrooms

In the same way that houses are more expensive to insure than bungalows or flats, the average cost of home insurance increases as the number of bedrooms go up.

^*The average cost of combined buildings and contents insurance policies by number of bedrooms purchased through Gocompare in July 2022.

A one bedroom property costs £136 on average to insure, but that goes up to £227 for a four bedroom home, a 66% increase.

Home insurance cost by region

Your postcode is used to calculate your home insurance quote because some places are at higher risk of claims from things like crime or floods, or have more expensive property prices, than others.

^*The average cost of combined buildings and contents insurance policies by region purchased through Gocompare in July 2022.

It means that some parts of the country are notably more expensive for home insurance.

London is the most expensive in the country at £272 for buildings and contents insurance. The North East is cheapest at £158.

What affects the cost of home insurance?

It’s important to get some quotes to calculate your home insurance cost because every property is different.

Your own costs will depend on:

• How secure your home is – do you have professionally fitted burglar alarms, smoke alarms and locks on windows and doors?
• Your location – are you in a flood zone or area prone to burglaries and vandalism?
• The condition of your home. It can be harder to find cover for your home while you’re renovating.
• Construction features of your home like a flat roof, thatched roof or timber frame.
• The type of cover you take out: buildings insurance, contents insurance, or combined cover.
• How much your home would cost to rebuild if it were completely destroyed.
• The value of your contents and possessions.

How to get cheaper home insurance

You must always answer questions honestly when you’re getting home insurance quotes, but there are a few things you can do to help cut the cost:

• Pay annually – paying monthly costs more overall as you’ll be charged interest.
• Buy a combined home and contents policy rather than two separate policies from two providers - it usually works out cheaper.
• Pay for the right level of cover – don’t take out a policy that offers you more value for your contents than you need and estimate your rebuild cost accurately.
• Don’t take out add-ons you don’t need.
• Improve your home security with smoke alarms, burglar alarms and secure locks.
• Keep your home well maintained - there’ll be less chance of making a claim which will protect any no claims discount you have.