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Home insurance

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^{¹Correct as of July 2024}

How to compare home insurance quotes

You can compare home insurance policies with us - it only takes a few minutes. Just log-in and make sure your details are up to date. If you have a Confused.com account it's even quicker because we have all the details from your last quote. If you're a new customer, to get a home insurance quote, follow these steps:

Tell us about yourself

Tell us about yourself, your home and any add-ons you need

Choose your level of cover

Tell us about the type of cover you want (buildings, contents or combined)

View and compare

We'll show you offers from up to 77 trusted insurance companies¹ to find and buy the one you want. Then just sit back, relax and pop the kettle on knowing you’ve just used Confused.com.

Compare up to 77 trusted insurance companies¹ all in one place

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What is house insurance?

Home insurance, also called house insurance, can help cover your home and belongings financially against fire, flooding, theft or accidental damage.

Buildings insurance and contents insurance are the two types of home insurance available. Depending on your needs, you can buy these as separate policies or together in a combined policy.

There are around 35 million home insurance policies in the UK but home insurance statistics estimate that around a quarter of UK homes (7 million) are currently uninsured.

Do I need home insurance?

House insurance isn't a legal requirement but damage to your home could leave you out of pocket. Here are some other scenarios where you might need house insurance:

Homeowners

If you're a homeowner or have a second home, your mortgage provider might need you to get buildings insurance as a condition of your mortgage agreement. This should cover the cost of repairing your home if it's damaged in a storm, for example.

Renters or tenants

If you're a renter or a tenant, consider contents insurance to cover the cost of repairing or replacing your belongings. This type of insurance is also called tenants insurance. Your landlord should have buildings insurance for your rented home.

Landlords

If you're a landlord, you might need a buildings insurance policy as a condition of your mortgage. It can also pay to fix any damage to your rented home's structure or any damage to your fitted kitchen or bathroom, for example. You can get a specific landlord insurance policy which gives you legal, home emergency, rental protection and other types of cover.

Live-in landlords

If you have a lodger, consider lodger insurance. You can get this type of cover added to your house insurance policy. This gives you extra cover like liability insurance if your lodger gets injured in your home. You can also get specialist Airbnb insurance if you're renting a room or your entire home for Airbnb. This type of insurance covers you for things like legal expenses, liability cover, theft of contents and loss of earnings.

Flat sharers

You might want to consider shared house contents insurance if you live with other people. This is a type of contents insurance policy that's designed to cover your belongings if you live with others. You shouldn't need to buy buildings insurance if you live in a rented house as this is your landlord's responsibility.

Holiday homeowners

If you've got a holiday home, you need a specialist holiday home insurance policy. That's because standard home insurance policies usually don't cover homes that are left unoccupied for over 30 days in a row. Holiday home insurance works in the same way as standard home insurance, but your holiday home is covered for those times when it's left unoccupied. It also covers you if you want to rent out your holiday home to paying guests.

Students

If you're a student and living away from home, a specialist students contents insurance policy can cover your belongings. It can pay to replace important items like your laptop and phone if they're stolen, lost or damaged. You probably don't need to buy buildings insurance, as it's usually covered by the university or the landlord.

The average claim on a buildings insurance policy is £205 and for contents it's £69². Home insurance can help to pay to repair your home if it's damaged or replace your belongings.

²Based on Confused.com data, April - June 2024

What type of house insurance do I need?

There are 3 choices when it comes to home insurance:

Buildings insurance

Building insurance can cover your home's structure. For example, your windows, roof, plumbing, kitchen, bathroom, walls and doors. You're covered if any of these are damaged by a storm, fire or flood.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance covers everything in your house that you can move. Including sofas, computers, laptops and TVs. You can get specialist cover for high value items like jewellery and bicycles.

Combined home insurance

Brings together buildings and contents insurance into a single policy. It's useful if you're a homeowner who needs to cover the property as well as your belongings. It's the cheapest way to buy cover for your house and its contents, so think of it as the ultimate peace of mind level of cover.

What our home insurance expert says

"Home insurance isn't a legal requirement, so you might be tempted to save money and not get cover. But should anything happen, a buildings or contents insurance claim could run into the thousands. Compare this to the average price of a combined policy at £231² annually and you might be thankful you got cover.

The right home insurance policy can cover the cost of repairing your home if it gets damaged unexpectedly. But with insurance prices rising, it's more important than ever to shop around. Comparing policies with a site like Confused.com means you could get exactly what you need for a cheaper price."

Matthew Harwood Home & lifestyle insurance expert

What is and isn't covered by home insurance?

Here's what's usually covered, and what's not covered by home insurance:

What you're covered for

Fire

Your home insurance should cover any damage that's caused by fire.

Flooding

Home insurance can pay to repair flood damage to your home and your contents.

Storms

If any part of your home gets damaged by a storm, your cover should help to pay to fix the damage.

Subsidence

This happens when the ground below your home starts to sink. Your house insurance should cover subsidence.

Theft

If there's a break in at your home and your belongings are stolen, your provider should cover you. It should cover any damage to windows and doors too.

Falling trees

If a tree falls on your home and damages it, your policy can pay for repair.

Burst pipes

If a pipe bursts in your home it can cause damage to your furniture, flooring and carpets. Home insurance should cover damaged caused by burst pipes.

What you're not covered for

Everyday wear and tear

Jobs such as replacing your guttering or worn carpets aren't covered.

Routine maintenance

For example, re-pointing brick work or properly maintaining trees on your property.

Pet damage

If your pet chews your sofa, it's likely not covered on your policy unless you have accidental damage cover.

Pest damage

You're rarely covered for pest damage unless it's due to something out of your control, for example a storm.

Deliberate damage

Your policy doesn't cover you if you deliberately damage an item and try to claim for it.

Bad work from a tradesperson

You should be covered for bad workmanship by your tradesperson's liability insurance.

Remember, this is what a standard policy covers, every insurance policy varies. Also, your insurer might not pay out if it finds out your home hasn't been properly maintained. You should check your policy wording carefully to find the full extent of the cover.

How much does home insurance cost?

The price of home insurance varies depending on different factors, but here's what it costs on average for an annual policy²:

Buildings insurance

£205

Contents insurance

£69

Combined buildings and contents insurance

£231

²Based on Confused.com data, April - June 2024

Our customers say:

"Very competitive prices as ever on quality home insurance. With the Rewards an added bonus."

Michael - Confused.com customer (July 2024)

"Confused offered me a really good deal, I could get a 30% cheaper offer then any other comparative app".

Vitalie - Confused.com customer (July 2024)

"Easy to sort out home insurance, pleased with deal and price"

Gerald - Confused.com customer (July 2024)

Confused.com home insurance scores a 4.6 out of 5 rating
based on 47794 reviews as of 22/07/2024

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How do I get cheaper house insurance?

Consider a combined policy

According to our data, combining your building and contents insurance can make your home insurance £43³ cheaper than if you buy your policies separately.
Pay annually

If you pay monthly your insurer charges interest. You can avoid this and get cheaper home insurance by paying annually. This could save you up to £23³ on a combined policy if you can afford one.
Shop around, don't auto-renew

Don't settle for your auto-renewal price without shopping around first. Using Confused.com could help you save on your house insurance, so you can whistle away your life admin woes.
Be accurate with the value of your contents

The average amount for a person's home contents is £51,000³, which could cost you around £236³ to cover. If your contents value went to £60,000, that could cost you £244³. But these amount will vary depending on what you own and it's value. Use our contents insurance calculator to get a good estimate on your home contents value.

³Based on Confused.com data, April - June 2024

What affects the cost of house insurance?

Lots of factors affect the price of insurance, from the location to the type of roof you have. Generally, if your house is seen as high risk by insurers, then your policy is going to cost you more. Also, the amount of times you've claimed on your home insurance can affect the cost, because you're more likely to claim again. Here's what can affect the cost of home insurance:

The rebuild cost of your property

This is how much it would cost for your insurer to rebuild your home if it was destroyed. The rebuild cost can vary depending on the size of your home, so this can affect the price of your insurance.

Where you live

If you live in an area that has a high crime rate or is flooded regularly the price you pay for insurance could increase. That's because insurers are more likely to have to pay out for a claim.

Building materials and type of roof

If your home has a flat roof or thatched roof or if it's made from specialist materials, you might pay more for insurance. This is because you'd need a specialist to repair your home if it was damaged, which could cost your insurer more money.

Home security

Adding more security, like cameras or floodlighting, can help to protect your home from burglars. Some insurers might give you a discount if you install an insurance approved burglar alarm too. You should also make sure your door locks are in good working order. Your insurer might not pay if you're burgled and your locks are damaged or faulty.

Age of the property

Older buildings are usually more expensive to insure because they're more likely to have structural issues.

No claims discount

If you don't claim on your home insurance, your insurers see you as lower risk and generally reduce your insurance prices. That's why insurers offer no claims discounts (NCD) for people who haven't made a claim. Usually, the more years no claims you have, the higher the discount.

Excess

If you increase your home insurance excess then your insurance price should be cheaper. But you must be able to afford the excess as you will need to pay this if you end up claiming.

Value of contents

If you've got lots of valuable items, then your insurance price is going to be high. That's because it costs your insurer more to replace them if they're lost, stolen or damaged. Try to be accurate when you're working out the value of your contents so you're not paying too much, or too little for cover.

Policy add-ons

These are extras like accidental damage or no-claims discount protection. Add-ons are useful, but they can increase the price of your home insurance overall. Think carefully about whether you need these before you buy them.

Government initiatives

Some government initiatives can help to keep the cost of insurance down. Flood Re is an example of this. This scheme helps people who live in areas with a high flood risk access affordable home insurance.

Why choose Confused.com?

Our partners
We work closely with insurance partners to negotiate deals and special offers. If you're eligible for a special offer, you'll see it among your other quote results.
Who we work with
We work with 77 home insurance companies¹, giving you a wide choice of policies to choose from.

Find your best price
We'll let you know next year when your renewal is coming up. This gives you plenty of time to find your best price.
Beat your renewal
We guarantee to beat your renewal. And if we can't, we'll give you the difference, plus £20.⁴

⁴Single annual policy only. T&Cs apply. Must be a like-for-like policy.

Optional extras for your home insurance

You can choose optional extras or add-ons to your policy to get extra cover for specific scenarios. But remember that they increase the price you pay for your insurance. Before you buy, it's worth evaluating whether you're going to use the extra cover. Here are some common home insurance add-ons:

High-value items cover

This is useful if you own items that are over £1,000. You can list these on your policy as 'separate items'.

Home emergency cover

This pays to fix emergency issues or any urgent repairs in your home.

Accidental damage

If you spill red wine on your cream sofa, accidental damage can cover the cost of repairing or replacing it.

Legal protection

This can help cover some of the costs if you need to take legal action, for example personal injury claims or disputes about shoddy workmanship.

Personal possessions cover

This type of policy covers items that are less than £1,000 if they're damaged, stolen or lost when they're away from home.

Alternative accommodation

If your home is uninhabitable after a storm, fire or flooding for example, alternative accommodation cover can give you a place to stay while your home's being fixed.

Expert help and support

If you have any questions about your home insurance policy, you can use our contact form to tell us what you need help with. Our customer support team will get back to you between 3-5 working days.

We also offer expert help in our guides. Our expert panel reviews all the information on our website to make sure we're giving you accurate information. It's made up of insurance and personal finance professionals.

You can also learn more about Confused.com and how we make money from insurance on our about us page.

We take your security seriously, and so do our home insurance providers. Find out about our security policy and how we keep your information safe.

Other types of home insurance

We also offer other types of home insurance to fit your personal living situation:

Tenants insurance covers your belongings if you're in rented accommodation.
Unoccupied house insurance covers your home or holiday home if it's left unoccupied for more than 30 days.
Second home insurance covers your second home. You might need this type of policy as your second home is likely to be left empty for a long time.
Flat insurance gives you the same cover as regular home insurance, but it's more specific to flats.
Renovation insurance provides cover if you're having building work or renovations done.
Listed building insurance is specifically for listed buildings as they have specialist requirements, for example, a thatched roof.

Subsidence insurance covers subsidence damage to your home. This is where the ground underneath your home starts to sink.
Flood insurance is specialist cover for people who live in an area that's prone to flooding.
Student home insurance covers your belongings if you're a student in halls or shared accommodation.
Leasehold buildings insurance covers you for structural damage to your leasehold property.
New build home insurance this is like a standard home insurance policy with buildings and contents insurance, but it's specifically for new build houses.
Non-standard home insurance is for if you have a non-standard home. For example, it has a timber frame or it's prefabricated.

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How to claim

**Single annual policy. New and former Paramount+ subscribers only who sign up at ParamountPlus.com. Subscription required. Auto-renews unless cancelled. 18+. Just Eat website account required, geographical exclusions apply. The year-round reward is provided by Greggs, and consists of one regular hot drink per month for a year, only available via the Confused.com app. T&Cs apply.

Frequently asked questions

Are my belongings only protected inside the home?

Yes, unless you add personal possessions cover as an extra. This helps protect possessions such as your:

Mobile phone
Bags
Jewellery

Some insurers include this as standard, but you can add it to your contents policy.

This covers items worth less than £1,000 each away from home. You can add cover for high value items worth more than £1,000 or laptops and bikes in your quote.

Can I change my home insurance excess?

Yes. There are 2 kinds of excess - voluntary and compulsory.

As the name suggests, you can’t change your compulsory excess - that’s set by your insurance company. But you can increase or decrease your voluntary excess. In fact, increasing your voluntary excess is one way you could lower your home insurance costs. This does mean you have to pay more if you make a claim.

If you’re worried about how much excess to pay, it’s important to think about what works best with your circumstances. If you can afford to pay a higher excess in the event of a claim it could lower the cost of your insurance policy, saving you money.

Can I get home insurance if I live in a flood risk area?

Yes, flood insurance is usually covered in most home insurance policies but it’s worth checking the finer details with your provider.

The ABI (Association of British Insurers) launched the Flood Re. scheme in 2016, to help those living in flood risk areas find affordable home insurance. The scheme estimates that hundreds of thousands of UK homes could be harder to insure due to being at high risk from flooding. All home insurance providers in the UK pay into the scheme, with the money raised used to cover homes at risk of flooding.

Will my credit score affect my home insurance?

Your credit score shouldn't impact the price you pay for your home insurance. Insurers look at your credit score to:

Check your financial profile
Verify your identity to help prevent fraud
Provide you with their best price and payment options

Equally, getting a home insurance quote shouldn’t impact your credit score. You might see ‘soft searches’ on your credit report but these are nothing to worry about. They’re only visible to you and don’t affect your credit rating.

The only time you’ll see a ‘hard’ search is if you choose to pay for your home insurance monthly. This is because the insurer needs to check you can cover the payments of the contract, usually over 12 months.

Does home insurance cover roof leaks?

Home insurance covers roof leaks if you have home emergency cover. Cover for roof damage can be included as standard with some insurers but always check your policy details to be sure.

If finding the source of a leak proves to be more difficult than first thought, trace and access cover could help. This means finding out where a potential leak is coming from. It’s included in most home insurance policies.

How much cover do I need?

The amount of cover you need to be fully protected largely depends on two factors:

The rebuild cost of your house
The total value of your possessions

Your home’s rebuild cost is different to its current market value. A house that’s worth £200,000 might only cost £150,000 to rebuild, for example. Overestimating this amount could increase your home insurance costs. We'll estimate this cost for you when you get a quote.

When working out the value of your contents, think of everything you’d have to replace if the entire house was gone. This includes:

All gadgets and electronics
All clothes and jewellery
All furniture
All books, CDs, DVDs, games, toys and musical instruments
The food in your cupboards, fridge and freezer

Home insurance guides to help you

Page last reviewed: 22 July 2024

Reviewed by: Matthew Harwood