Average Home Insurance Premiums Increase

The average quoted price of home insurance increased by 36.1% in the 12 months leading up to October, marking the highest annual increase on record. This surpasses the previous high increase of 25.7% set just three months earlier, according to the latest Consumer Intelligence Home Insurance Price Index.

Factors Driving Price Rises

The damage caused by Storms Babet and Ciara is expected to cause further spikes in quoted prices for buildings and contents policies. The average of the five cheapest quotes for such policies has risen to £227 from £163 in October 2022.

Consumer Impact

In October 2023, premiums are most commonly quoted between £150 and £199, with 31% of quotes falling within this range. The percentage of consumers receiving quotes below £150 has dropped significantly from 83% in October 2022 to 41% in the same month in 2023.

Price Trends and Claims

Quoted price rises have slowed down in the three months leading up to October, with an increase of 8.5% compared to the record 9.9% in the previous three months. However, insurers are expected to recover costs from recent storm-related claims.

Regional Disparities and Future Projections

Londoners face the highest quoted premiums for building and contents policies, while the North East region has the cheapest rates. With the anticipation of further premium increases due to recent storm damages, homeowners with prior claims may see additional spikes in the coming months.

Long-term View and Regional Data

Quoted premiums have risen by 42.2% since data collection began in February 2014, with 33.8% of the total increase occurring in 2023. Across all regions, there have been increases of over 30% in quoted premiums over the past year.

Age and Property Type Analysis

There are slight differences in quoted premiums between under-50s and over-50s households, with property age also playing a role in pricing. Victorian-era properties attract the highest premiums, while properties built this century have the lowest quoted prices.

Price Index by Region

A breakdown of price index changes over the past year and the last three months for various regions is provided in the table below:

Data from the Consumer Intelligence Home Insurance Price Index is widely used by various entities as a benchmark for understanding price changes in the consumer market.