Home insurance payouts surge at faster pace than premium prices in Q2 2023

Insurers paid out a total of £782m in home insurance claims during the second quarter of 2023 – an 11% increase from the same period in 2022.

That was according to the ABI, which said the rise was partly driven by an increase in subsidence claims following last summer’s record-breaking heatwave.

In a report published yesterday (19 September 2023), the association said subsidence payouts jumped 21% year-on-year to £54m in Q2 2023, while the average claim increased 24% to £4,300.

This meant the equivalent of £8.6m was paid every day between April and June to help households cope with the unexpected. 

Mervyn Skeet, the ABI’s director of general insurance policy, said: “Home insurance continues to do what it says on the tin – support customers when the worst happens.

”Not only being the roof over their heads and the family home, for most people their house is their most valuable asset which, without the protection of home insurance, could be at risk.”

Outpacing premiums

Despite the level of payouts, the average premium paid for home insurance rose at a lower rate.

The ABI found that the average price paid for a combined buildings and contents policy rose to £329 in Q2 2023, up from £299 in the same period in 2022.

And the association revealed that last year, for every £1 insurers received in home insurance premiums, they paid out £1.22 in claims and expenses.

”These latest figures show that despite rising claims costs, insurers continue doing all they can to offer competitively priced cover to UK households,” Skeet added.