HOME INSURANCE BILLS FALL FASTEST IN WALES- CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS

HOME INSURANCE CUSTOMERS SAVE AS PREMIUMS DROP

• Average bills are 3.1% lower than four-and-a-half years ago
• Prices are falling fastest in Wales and the North East but premiums are still rising in London and the East Midlands

Home insurance customers are saving money as price cuts in the past six months feed through to lower bills, new analysis¹ from insurance data analytics expert Consumer Intelligence shows.

Average home insurance costs were virtually unchanged in the year to July recording below inflation increases of just 0.3% to £132 with premiums falling 2.6% in the past six months as competition across the market intensified.

Customers are now paying around 3.1% less for home insurance than in February 2014 when Consumer Intelligence – whose data is used by the Government’s Office for National Statistics to calculate official inflation statistics – first began collecting data.

But not everyone is benefiting – customers in London and the East Midlands are still seeing premiums increasing. Londoners pay the highest annual bills of £173 and are seeing increases of 5.2% while prices are rising by 2.6% in the East Midlands.

The biggest falls in premiums are in Wales where prices are down by 2.7% and in the North East where they are 1.7% lower. Customers in the South West however are seeing the lowest bills of £117.

Homeowners with properties built after 2000 are seeing annual price increases of 2.6% and prices are rising for all homes built after 1970. Premiums for older homes are generally falling with the biggest premium reductions of 2.6% for those built before 1895.

Competition among insurers is likely to keep premiums down unless there are major claims such as from subsidence caused by the recent heatwave.

John Blevins, Consumer Intelligence pricing expert said: “Home insurance premiums peaked in December last year and have been falling ever since with a very competitive market ensuring prices are fairly static.

“There have been warnings from some insurers about adverse weather claims hitting profits but that has not translated into premium increases and without any significant external factors such as tax increases claims experience will continue to dictate prices.

“Differences in regional prices are based on claims experience which is influenced mainly by crime rates and particular local incidents such as the impact of bad weather with London and the East Midlands the biggest exceptions to the general reduction in prices.”

The table below shows average premiums and price rises around Great Britain.