Premiums for home buildings insurance policies have been gently rising over the past two years, according to the AA British Insurance Premium Index.
The average quote rose by less than £3 or 2.4% from £114.35 to £117.11, and over 12 months, up by 5.7%.
However, the typical Shoparound* quote for an annual home contents policy fell slightly – by less than £1 or 1.1%, from £61.07 to £60.40. The typical quote is 2.1% higher than at the end of 2017.
The average Shoparound quote for a combined buildings and contents policy rose by 1.8% from £158.95 to £161.80 and, over the year, by 5%.
Michael Lloyd, the AA’s insurance director, commented: “Home insurance premiums don’t move by very much although the rate of increase has been faster over the third quarter of 2017.
“Most of the increases over the past couple of years can be accounted for by both the Insurance Premium Tax increase from 6% to 12% over that time and inflation.
“There may be some nervousness about the first of the winter storms during late November and December causing damage to property either structurally or by flooding.
“Given some of the extreme weather during January, that upward trend could continue over the first quarter of the year. Even so, it will take widespread and significant property damage – in the region of £1 billion or more – to prompt any significant premium rises.”
The costliest region to insure a home is London and the South – a combined policy increasing over the quarter by 2.1% to £172.26.
* The AA’s Shoparound index is an average of the five cheapest quotes for each ‘customer’ in a fixed nationwide basket of risks representative of the insurance-buying public, derived from price comparison sites, direct and broker quotes.
