According to a survey by Compare the Market, weather-related water damage also plays a role

Home insurance rates are soaring in the UK. According to a recently published survey by Compare the Market (https://www.comparethemarket.com/), an insurance price comparison portal, premiums continued to rise from April to June 2024, with some parts of the country seeing an increase of over 60 per cent.

Northern Ireland hardest hit

According to the report, Northern Ireland has seen the highest increase in home insurance premiums in the UK at 62 per cent. After £268 in the second quarter of 2023, a homeowner here will have to pay £433 in the same period this year.

In Yorkshire and Humber, premiums are the second highest at £387, but prices have risen relatively slowly at 25 per cent per year. Homeowners in Greater London have seen their insurance premiums rise by 39 per cent. Last year they only paid £262 for their insurance between April and June, this time they paid £363 for the same period.

Price increase depends on property type

The Compare the Market survey also revealed that the rise in insurance rates depends on the type of property you own. The cost of insuring ground floor flats had risen the most of all property types, by 42 per cent from £178 to £252. Insurance premiums for one-bedroom flats were the highest at an average of £515, although premiums for this property type have risen relatively slowly at 26 per cent.

‘Many different factors can affect the price of home insurance, such as the cost of rebuilding a home and the wet weather the UK faced in spring 2024,’ said Helen Phipps, director of Compare the Market, citing two reasons for this trend. According to the survey, the cost of insuring a property that had previously been flooded rose by 27 per cent from £373 in the second quarter of last year to £473 this year.