1. Home
  2. Home insurance
  3. Home insurance guides
  4. Home insurance no claims discount explained

Home insurance no claims discount explained

Confused.com C icon
Our expert panel review all content. Learn more about our editorial standards and how we operate.

A no-claims bonus (NCB) or no-claims discount (NCD) gives you a discount on your home insurance policy as a reward for not claiming over the previous 12 months.

By not making a claim, your insurer saves on the cost of handling those claims, and passes some of that saving on to you.

Here's what you need to know.

family sat in house making a house shape

Yes - for each year you don’t claim, you get an extra discount on the following year’s policy. This works like your car insurance NCB.

There are a few key differences, though:

  • There are 2 types of home insurance NCB – buildings and contents insurance.
  • Car insurance companies separate ‘fault’ and ‘non-fault’ claims. Non-fault claims are less likely to impact your car's NCB. Home insurance no-claims discounts don’t make this distinction.
  • Some car insurance companies let named drivers build their own no-claims bonus, or let you get a full year’s worth of NCD in 10 months. Home insurance policies don’t do this.

Generally speaking, the more no-claims discount you have, the lower your insurance costs tend to be. This is compared to having no discount at all.

Buildings insurance

No claims discount Annual home insurance cost* Discount compared to 0 years NCD
0
£146.58
0%
1
£139.37
5%
2
£142.17
3%
3
£140.30
4%
4
£141.73
3%
5
£143.14
2%

*Confused.com data April 2022-March 2023 - Bought policies only

Contents insurance

No claims discount Annual home insurance cost* Discount compared to 0 years NCD
0
£82.96
0%
1
£78.13
6%
2
£79.22
5%
3
£82.69
0%
4
£78.10
6%
5
£75.48
9%

*Confused.com data April 2022-March2023 - Bought policies only

Why do some years show less of a discount?

Home insurance prices are all based on many factors that determine the risk of you making a claim. Unlike with car insurance, no-claims discounts aren't as big of a factor for home insurance.

What our home & lifestyle insurance expert says

"Unlike car insurance, many home insurance claims are for situations completely beyond your control, such as storms, fire and flooding. Because of this, not claiming on your home insurance is less of an indication of your risk, so it has less bearing on your policy price."

If you pay for a home insurance policy for a continuous 12-month period and don’t make any claims, you should get a year’s no-claims bonus.

Depending on your home insurance provider, you could have separate no-claims discounts for your buildings and your contents insurance.

This could be useful for tenants who don’t need buildings insurance but who want to build up a no-claims discount on their contents insurance.

When you make a claim, you tend to lose a year or so of your no-claims bonus.

So it's probably worth paying for small claims yourself. By doing this you should be able to keep your NCB intact.

Your home insurance policy is there to meet the cost of expensive claims, such as those for fire, flood, burglary or a burst pipe. In these cases, claiming tends to make more sense.

Your buildings and contents insurance are often 2 separate policies, even if you buy them from the same insurer.

This means that if you claim on your contents insurance it doesn't hurt your NCB on your buildings insurance and vice versa.

Policies vary though, so it's a good idea to check yours to be sure.

This is entirely down to you and your personal circumstances.

NCD protection usually allows you to make 1 or 2 claims in a year without impacting your no-claims bonus.

But the added cost of the protection could eat into the savings you gain from your NCD. So you need to balance out the cost of the protection with the discount.

It's best to compare quotes - one with NCD protection and one without - and see how it affects your budget.

Most insurance companies accept no-claims discounts that you’ve built up with another insurer.

Because they’re portable, you’re still free to save money by shopping around for cheaper cover at renewal. When comparing online quotes, make sure you input your existing no-claims discount.

How do I find out how much no claims discount I have?

You can find out how much NCD you have by:

  • Contacting your insurer
  • Checking your renewal documents
  • Checking your cancellation documents if your cancelling your policy

According to our data, the most common types of home insurance* claim tend to involve:

  • Escape of water
  • Storm damage
  • Theft from the home
  • Malicious damage
  • Fire

So, the best way to avoid making a claim is to minimise the risk of any of these things happening.

Avoiding fire damage

  • Install smoke detectors throughout your home, and check them regularly
  • Get your home’s electrics and wiring checked for safety
  • Get a fire blanket or fire extinguisher
  • Make sure your house has an adequate fire escape

Avoiding flood and storm damage

Avoiding theft and burglary

  • Make sure your door locks and windows are locked – even when you’re home
  • Install a burglar alarm
  • Stash valuable and hard-to-replace items and lock them up
  • Be careful who you tell when you go on holiday

Avoiding accidental damage<

  • Hire a professional to do the jobs you’re not qualified to do
  • Keep breakables away out of reach of pets and children
  • Keep all liquids far away from anything of value

You should also keep your property maintenance up-to-date. By solving small problems today, you can prevent a bigger problem developing later that you might need to claim for.

Compare home insurance quotes

*These are claims our customers have made in that last 5 years that they've declared in our quote process. This data from the last 6 months.

Share this article

Home insurance guides