Is home insurance cheaper for over 50s?
Insurers base their prices on different factors, for example your claims history and where you live. But generally, over 50s pay less for insurance.
In fact, we found that over 50s could be paying around £26 less for their combined home insurance, with the average insurance price being £158**.
**Based on Confused.com data from July 2022. The average combined policy for over 50s was £158.39. Those below the age of 50 paid an average of £184.63 for the same type of policy.
There could be a few reasons for this:
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You’re an experienced home owner, so you’ll have more knowledge of home maintenance.
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You've got more experience of buying home insurance. As a result, you'll probably be more accurate when it comes to working out how much buildings and contents cover you need.
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You might have invested in home security. Insurers like this because it shows you’re trying to keep your home secure. If your home is ever broken into, you might have evidence on film, which could help if you make a claim.
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Generally, over 50s are more honest about what they’ve claimed for in the past.
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You might be working part time, or you might be retired so you could be at home more often than if you were working full time.
What are the benefits of over 50s home insurance?
Besides the discounts, there are other benefits to over 50s home insurance. Some of these might include:
- A wider choice of cover, thanks to specialist insurers who might have cover options for over 50s that standard home insurers might not have
- Higher levels of cover for both buildings and contents insurance. For example, you could get a ‘new for old’ policy included at standard. So, if your old washing machine packs up, you could get a new one
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What add-ons are available with a over 50s home insurance policy?
Over 50s home insurance is available with a few add-ons that could be useful.
Some may already be included in your home insurance policy or may be added to your policy for an extra cost:
- Accidental damage cover
- Legal protection
- High-value items cover
- Personal possessions cover
- Home emergency cover
- Alternative accommodation cover
Accidental damage cover can provide cover for any damage that was caused by an unintentional accident. For example, if your grandchildren decided to get creative on your freshly wall-papered living room.
You can also get accidental damage insurance as an add on for your buildings insurance policy. So, if you were working in the attic and you put your foot through the ceiling, your accidental damage policy should cover you.
Legal protection provides cover for any legal expenses relating to your home. It’s useful if you have any legal disputes with your neighbours or tradespeople.
High-value items cover protects individual items in your home that are worth over £1,000. Adding these to your home insurance policy means they should be covered if they’re lost, damaged or stolen.
Personal possessions cover works in a similar way to high-value items cover, but it insures your items worth under £1,000 when they’re away from home. For example, if you were wearing a necklace worth under £1,000 and you lost it while you were out, your personal possessions insurance could cover it.
Home emergency cover provides immediate help for any issues with your home that could affect your health. For example, if your window smashes in a storm your policy means your insurer should be able to organise a quick repair and cover the cost.
Alternative accommodation cover means that your insurer will help you find somewhere to stay and cover the costs should you need to relocate. This could be because your home suddenly becomes uninhabitable, due to flood or storm damage for example.
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Types of home insurance
Buildings insurance
protects the permanent fixtures and structure of your home.
Thatched roof insurance
protects your thatched roof home against theft, loss and damage.
Contents insurance
protects your household belongings against theft, loss and damage.
Landlord insurance
can protect you and your rental property against unexpected costs, like building or content damage, as well as any disputes.
Tenants insurance
covers your belongings against loss, damage and theft while in your rental property.
Flood insurance
can offer some protection for your home and belongings if you live in a flood risk area.
Flat insurance
can be tailored to cover the building, content or both depending on whether you own or rent your flat.
What our home insurance expert says
If you’re over 50, you’re likely to be an experienced homeowner. This can work in your favour because you’ll often find better home insurance prices if you’ve been claim free for a number of years. It’s worth keeping your eyes peeled for insurers that specialise in home insurance for over 50’s to get the best deal.
Jessica Willock
Home insurance product manager
Need more help?
Do I need over 50s home insurance if I move into a retirement home?
Usually your buildings insurance will be covered by the retirement home you move into. You could potentially be covering this with the management fee.
They may not provide cover for your belongings though, so you may need to take out a separate contents insurance policy.
It’s worth checking what’s included under the retirement home’s insurance policy before you move in.
Does over 50s home insurance cover my mobility scooter?
One of the benefits of over 50s home insurance is that you can get cover for mobility aids like your mobility scooter or electric wheelchair. This might come as standard on your over 50s contents insurance policy, or it might be an extra add on. Always check your policy documents so you know what’s covered.
How much cover do I need?
For buildings insurance, the amount of cover you need is how much it would cost to completely rebuild your house from scratch.
Bear in mind that the rebuild cost of a house is often less than its market value.
For contents insurance, think about everything you own. This includes all of your furniture, clothes, jewellery and appliances. Even the food in your cupboards and freezer count.
Then think about how much it would cost to replace every single item after a fire, or a flood. Go room by room and tot up the cost of everything in the house. That should give you a good indication of how much contents cover you need.
Do I need buildings insurance if I own my home outright?
There’s no legal requirement for getting a buildings insurance policy. Mortgage lenders usually insist on it as a condition of the mortgage, but if you own your home outright this doesn’t apply to you.
So you don’t need home insurance, but it’s still worth considering for extra peace of mind. Should something happen and your home is damaged or destroyed, your buildings insurance is there to cover that cost.
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