Northern Ireland has been named the most expensive place in the UK for home insurance, as part of a new study. The median cost here is £91 more than in Greater London, and policies cost £237 more than in North East England, the cheapest place for cover.
New research based on internal data from Go.Compare home insurance reveals the median home insurance price in Northern Ireland is £427 per year. The new data looked at the impact of eight factors on policy prices across the UK.
The figure is based on combined buildings and contents cover insurance. The main factors impacting price paid included number of bedrooms, property location, year the property was built, policyholder age, roof type, front door lock type, time of day occupied, and property type.
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After Northern Ireland and Greater London, South East England was found to have the most expensive premiums. The median cost of cover here is £259, £168 less than in Northern Ireland, highlighting that Northern Ireland’s homeowners are being charged well above the UK average to keep their properties protected.
Scotland and South West England complete the top five most expensive places for home insurance cover. The median premiums here are £228 and £216 respectively.
Most expensive places for home insurance in UK:
Northern Ireland - £427
Greater London - £336
South East - £259
Scotland - £228
South West - £216
Wales - £212
East Midlands - £212
West Midlands - £200
North West - £196
North East - £190
Overall, other than size of the property, location was found to have the biggest impact on insurance costs in the research. The median home insurance price varies by an average of £118.50 depending on the region it’s located in, making it one of the biggest determining factors in the amount paid.
Only the number of bedrooms at the property was found to have a bigger impact. According to the comparison site, the median price paid varied by up to £250, an average of £129.50, depending on how many bedrooms the home has.
Nathan Blackler, home insurance expert at Go.Compare, said: “It’s well known that certain things can affect the price you’re given for your home insurance, but it’s really helpful to see which of these have the biggest impact and in what way they influence your premiums.
“Bigger properties have higher rebuild costs and usually more possessions, so the effect on your price is pretty significant. Meanwhile, some areas have higher house prices or see more claims due to crime and floods, which can also push up prices. On the other hand, using better locks and building materials can reduce the likelihood of a claim and bring premiums down.
“So, before moving or altering your home, it’s worth comparing policies to see how it might affect your premium and take any changes into account in your budget. This applies if you’re doing something like changing the type of lock on your front door. Look at which ones offer the biggest changes in your premiums before getting them fitted.”
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