What affects the price of your home insurance
It’s a common question but not one that’s easy to answer. Insurers consider a wide variety of factors relating to you, your home, and the wider world around you, to offer the best price possible on your home insurance.
Take a look at all the different ways your price can be affected below.
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Your address
One of the first things insurers will look at is your individual postcode. We can gain a lot of information just from this.
We’ll look at crime rates – for example, if an area has a higher-than-average burglary rate, your premium may be higher.
Your circumstance
Insurers ask a lot of questions about you when pricing your policy, as these details affect how likely you may be to make a claim. For example, your premium may be affected by the amount of time you spend away from your home.
Claims - nature and number
Insurers will also look at your claims history. People with fewer or no claims can expect to get a cheaper price for their home insurance.
However, it isn't just your own claims that can affect prices. If the nature or number of claims we settle increases due to outside influences, such as severe weather, this can also increase premiums.
Your property
The type of building you live in can affect the cost of your home insurance – like whether you live in a terrace, semi-detached or detached house. The way your home has been built and the materials used can affect your premium.
Typically, larger homes will also have more possessions and higher repair costs. The same could be said for properties that are older, as things may start to go wrong – from leaks to faulty wiring – and it can be costly to repair or rebuild, which could impact your insurance premium.
Things you can’t control – external factors
Severe weather - long periods of cold weather or rain can cause damage to homes and increase the number of insurance claims for things like burst pipes or damage to roofs with wind.
Insurance fraud – dishonest people who commit insurance fraud can drive up premiums for innocent parties. It’s said that insurance fraud can cost honest policyholders up to £50.
Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) – it’s a government-introduced tax on insurance policies including car, home, travel and pet, which every insurance provider has to charge.
Looking after and maintaining your home
In order for us to protect your property and its contents, you need to ensure your home is well-maintained. Here are a few checks to help prevent damage: