Home insurance to fall 5% – despite Christmas floods

Home insurance premiums are expected to fall around 5% in the new year, cutting £12.50 off the £250 typical cost of building and contents cover.

There were 1.2 million claims on home insurance policies in the first nine months of 2013, a fall of 23% on the 1.5 million claims in the same period in 2012, according to analysis of ABI figures provided by Deloitte.

Deloitte insurance partner James Rakrow said: “The weather in the first nine months of 2013 has been benign, with relatively few storms and floods.

“Although bad weather swept across the country over Christmas, the number of claims are unlikely to significantly affect home insurers’ results.

“If there are no major floods or storms in the first few months of 2014, it quite feasible that premiums could fall be at least 5%.”