The average quoted price of home insurance rose by 10.5% last year, but prices are now falling, according to the latest Consumer Intelligence Home Insurance Price Index. Over the past three months, quoted premiums for buildings and contents insurance decreased by 2.2%, with analysis showing that most of last year’s price increases occurred in the first four months.
Premiums have most commonly been quoted between £150 and £199, with 24% of quotes falling within that range, according to Consumer Intelligence’s data. However, just over half (54%) of customers were able to source quotes below £200 in December last year, compared with 69% in December 2023.
Customers who have not made claims, or who have claimed for buildings or theft, have seen quoted premiums fall by between 2% and 4% over the past three months. However, people making escape-of-water claims have seen no change. Policyholders claiming for theft have seen quoted premiums increase by 14% over the past 12 months, while customers claiming for buildings have experienced rises of 3%. Non-claimants and escape-of-water claimants have faced increases of 10% to 11% over the same period.
“Most of the inflation in quoted premiums happened in the first four months of last year with rest of the year seeing relative stability and decreases”, said Matthew McMaster, Senior Insight Analyst at Consumer Intelligence.
“The last three months of 2024 saw the entry of two new brands – Super and Epic – from Lemonade and the continued roll out of the company’s most affordable product Lemonade Ace, making them one of the most competitive brands in the marketplace”, he adds.
Long-term view
Overall, quoted premiums have risen by 65.1% since Consumer Intelligence began collecting data in February 2014.
Regional Trends
All regions experienced decreases in quoted premiums over the past three months, with the West Midlands seeing the largest drop at 3.3%, followed by the South West and North East, both at 3.1%. Scotland saw the smallest decrease at 0.7%. Over the past 12 months, however, quoted premiums rose across all regions, ranging from a 14.9% increase in Scotland to a 4.0% rise in the West Midlands.
Age differences
Quoted premiums for over-50s households rose faster—13.6% over the past 12 months—compared with 8.0% for under-50s. However, under-50s have seen larger drops in quoted premiums over the past three months, at 2.8%, compared with 1.8% for over-50s.
Property age
Properties of all ages experienced increases in quoted premiums over the past year, ranging from 13.3% for homes built between 1910 and 1925 to 8.9% for homes built between 1940 and 1955. Quoted premiums fell for almost all property age groups over the past three months, with the largest decreases of 2.7% for homes built between 1970 and 1985 and between 1985 and 2000. Quoted premiums for homes built between 1850 and 1895 remained unchanged over the same period.
|
