How do I get cheaper home insurance?

Unfortunately, you can’t move the location of your home, the biggest factor in determining your home insurance quote. But there’s still a few things you can be aware of to reduce your premium.

With buildings insurance, the key thing is not to accept the offer from your mortgage lender without comparing it against other providers in the market. You may be obliged to take buildings insurance as part of the lending criteria, but it doesn’t have to be through them.

Make sure you specify the rebuild cost of your home, not the market value – there’s generally quite a significant difference between the two.

Think carefully about what extras you really want with your quote, for example whether you really want alternative accommodation if you need to vacate the property for whatever reason, or accidental damage cover.

With contents insurance, taking preventative measures can help reduce your quote. For example, improving the locks on your property (five-lever mortise locks are recommended for external doors), or installing an approved alarm system and fire detectors will reduce your premiums. Even joining a neighbourhood watch scheme can help.

Finally, if you need both buildings and contents insurance, you can sometimes get a discount for taking them together from a single provider. Also, if you can, paying your premiums upfront as a single annual payment rather than monthly can sometimes reduces the cost.

Cheaper home insurance

How do I get cheaper home insurance?