How much does home insurance cost?

What factors affect my home insurance premium?

As mentioned, the cost of your home insurance depends on a number of factors. Let's take a closer look at how your premium is affected:

• Timing: The number of days before your policy start date, referred to as 'inception'. It saves to buy early, as the cheapest time to get a quote is 28 days before renewal. Even getting a quote up to a day before can make a saving. The later you leave it the more you'll pay.
• Location: Your premium will be higher if your home is built in a flood zone or an area with higher crime rates. If your home has a history of subsidence, it'll also be treated as a higher risk for insurers, raising your premium.
• Property Age: Older homes or thatched roofs increase the cost as they're more expensive to repair.
• Security: Insurers offer a variety of discounts based on the level of security added to your property. A 5-lever mortice deadlock and smart alarms can make your home insurance cheaper.
• Claims History: Claims signal to insurers that you're a higher risk, so even a single claim can hike the price of your home insurance for 3-5 years.

How much contents insurance do I need?

To find out how much contents insurance you need, you'll want to add up the current replacement cost of each moveable item. One of the most effective ways to find out how much cover you need is the room-by-room method.

Go into each room of your house and add up the rough cost of the contents in each one. That includes your living room, kitchen and dining spaces, bathrooms, bedrooms, and offices. Don't forget about overlooked spaces like the loft, garage, shed, and garden. You'll often find that the number quickly goes up.

Don't forget items like clothes, jewellery and furniture as well as items you regularly carry with you such as mobile phones and tablets. You can add these as 'all risks' or 'risks outside the home' items if you want cover for when you take them out of the house. For bikes, you may need specialist bicycle insurance, particularly if you own valuable road or mountain bikes. Also think about music and other files stored on your computer - you can insure these too.

Some home insurers will insist that items over a certain value, typically £1,500, are listed separately. This is because standard home insurance policies often have a 'single item limit' which caps payouts for individual items. Any item with a value higher than this limit will need separate cover.

If you live in a student or shared house, you can buy home insurance specifically for the items you own as opposed to your flatmates'.

You'll also have the option of buying new-for-old cover or indemnity cover. New for old replaces damaged items with brand-new equivalents, regardless of age. Indemnity cover, often called wear-and-tear cover, takes deprecation into account and pays out the current value of the item at the time of the loss.

New-for-old cover is more expensive than indemnity cover but offers better value overall.

How to lower the cost of your home insurance

Now that you know how much home insurance you need, you should make sure you're getting the best price for your policy. Here are a few ways you can save on your home insurance:

• Increase the Excess: Choosing a higher voluntary excess can lower your premium, but always ensure you'll be able to afford the amount if you make a claim.
• Pay Annually: Paying annually can save you up to 11% by avoiding monthly interest charges*.
• Combine Policies: It's usually cheaper to buy buildings and contents from the same provider, combining policies.
• Increase your home security: If your home is secure, you'll benefit from cheaper home insurance premiums. Make sure you have decent locks and consider installing a burglar alarm.

You can save money on your home insurance by shopping around. With the Uswitch comparison tool, you can view a range of providers and policy options, all in one place.

^{*Based on uswitch data, Jan - March 2026.}