Home insurance premiums fall amid lower claims frequency during Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a downwards trend in home insurance premiums which have fallen 0.9% since April.

This is according to data insight firm Consumer intelligence, which revealed that a typical building and contents policy now costs £150 a year.

John Blevins, pricing expert at Consumer Intelligence, said: “Break-ins are generally less frequent when people are at home more.

”The most recent Office for National Statistics figures show that domestic burglaries fell by 72% in the first national lockdown.

“With more people than ever staying at home, claims have reduced. This is reflected in reduced premiums.”

Overall, premiums have increased just 1.4% since Consumer Intelligence first started collecting data in February 2014.

London highest

Premiums reached their peak in June 2020; however, prices continue to remain broadly stable, with an uptick of just 0.5% in the last 12-month period.

London remains the area consumers continue to pay over 30% more for their home insurance at £198, compared with an average UK policy.

And the South East is the only other region to fork out more than £150 for an annual policy at £161, the UK-wide average.

Meanwhile the cheapest area for home insurance is still South West at just £133.

However, homeowners in the North East paid £136 and East Midlands (£138) also benefited from cheap policies.

Older Victorian era properties witnessed the biggest increases in premiums over the last 12 months. With properties built between 1850 and 1895 seeing prices jump by 3.4%.

These homes are also the most expensive of all Consumer Intelligence’s property groups to insure –at £192 for an annual policy.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, properties built during this millennium have the cheapest annual policies at £139.

This is despite a slight rise of 0.8% to these premiums over the last 12 months.