Prices rise across personal lines sector in January 2024

Premium pricing has continued to rise across most personal lines products in 2024.

That was according to Pearson Ham’s Insurance Price Index, which has been updated to now include travel and pet insurance figures, in addition to those from the home and motor sectors, from January 2024.

The pricing specialist said it was making the move to provide a “realistic overview of the insurance sector’s personal lines pricing”.

Its index found that prices for lifetime pet cover increased by 1.5% in January.

And when it came to travel insurance, annual multi-trip policy prices rose by 3.1%, while single-trip travel insurance saw a 1.2% increase.

Premium pricing for combined buildings and contents policies also continued its upward trend, rising by 3.4% in January 2024.

This was driven by weather-related incidents, with Storm Henk, for example, leaving homes and roads flooded at the start of January.

“The remainder of 2024 will be challenging for insurers,” Stephen Kennedy, director at Pearson Ham, said.

”Recent weather-related events and other significant pressures have sustained the upward trajectory in pricing for combined buildings and contents, travel and pet insurance.

”How long this will continue to remain is difficult to determine but we expect more clarity by the end of this quarter.” 

Motor

However, motor insurance experienced a slowdown in premium inflation, with prices dropping by an average of -2.7% in January 2024.

This came following the slowdown in Q4 2023, with data highlighting that the quarter saw an overall growth in premiums of 3.1%, lower than the 16% rise in Q3 and 14% increase in Q2.

“As we expand our benchmarking activities to include travel and pet insurance, our January Insurance Price Index confirms that following an unprecedented phase of surging premiums, motor insurance premiums are being reduced by most insurers,” Kennedy said.