Your home insurance renewal price explained
Every UK insurer is seeing a big increase in the number and cost of customers’ claims, that are being affected by inflation and world events, such as the energy crisis. You’ll have noticed other bills and your weekly food shop going up, and we’re seeing similar increases too. We're doing everything we can to manage these increases, although we need to make sure that we’re still offering a great service for our customers when they need us most.
Why is my price higher than last year?
There’s been a big increase in the cost of customer claims, due to labour and materials, as well as the number of people who are making claims rising too. So, to make sure we can cover these additional costs, you may have seen your price go up – even if you haven’t made a claim yourself.
Some reasons for your price going up
Construction costs
The House Rebuilding Cost Index compiled by the Building Cost Information Service measures changes in the price of rebuilding costs (like the price of raw materials and labour costs). In the two years to January 2024 the Index rose by 21%1, further impacting on the cost of repairing people’s homes.
Climate change
Has caused major weather events in the UK, leading to more claims being made - Insurers paid out £352million1, dealing with 36,000 claims to their home insurance customers following Storms Babet, Ciaran, and Debi.
Subsidence
The recent heatwaves led to a significant increase in the number of subsidence payouts, jumping 21% from £45 million to £54 million in 20231.
Theft
At year end in September 2023 police-reported crime, including home theft, was estimated at around 1.5 million incidents - no change from the previous year .(Source: Crime in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk))
1 Stats are from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), who collate data for the whole insurance industry.
What if I make changes while my policy is active?
If you update or change your details during your policy period, the price of your premiums could change. For example, if you build an extension on your home, you may have to pay more to insure it.
Make sure your policy details are up to date and correct. If you don’t, this could invalidate your policy. The quickest, easiest way to make changes to your insurance policy is in your online Swiftcover Account. You have 24/7 access, so you can make changes any time. You'll also save £25, as there’s no admin fee for making changes online.
For more details about making changes to your Swiftcover Home Insurance policy, visit our handy FAQ page.
Frequently asked questions
Why has my price gone up when I haven’t made a claim?
The cost and number of claims has increased over the past year, and as your premium is put into a pot with others for claim payouts, this then needs to stretch further. So, even if you haven’t made a claim, you may see your price increase.
For example, a house fire can lead to a high-cost claim if many possessions are destroyed and there's lots of damage to the building. What you pay for your insurance wouldn't cover the full cost of this claim, so the rest would come out of the pot instead.
There needs to be enough money for future claims, and around 52% of what customers pay for their insurance price is then used to pay out on claims.
Find out more about how your premium is split on our premiums explained page.
Could I get a cheaper price as a new customer?
In 2022, the FCA changed some of their rules, so now existing customers will need to get the same (or sometimes a cheaper) price than a new customer on a like for like policy, quoted on the same day.
To find out more about this, head to our pricing and renewals page.
How can I reduce the cost of my insurance?
Although there’s things you can do to try and reduce the cost of your insurance, you need to make sure you’ve still got the cover you need. As if you were to make a claim, you might not be covered. You can look at:
-
Your optional extras
make sure that these are still relevant to you before you renew
-
Your details
even the smallest of changes can affect your price, so always keep your details up to date
-
Paying for cover twice
check that you aren’t paying for the same cover elsewhere, for example boiler cover with your gas provider
-
Amount of cover
if your policy is one of our older products, (example of older sc policy?) look to see if one of our new lower tier products has the cover you need at a lower cost
Can I get financial support?
Paying on time is important, but we understand that it’s not always that easy. If you’d like to talk to us about your insurance payments, please contact us so we can try to help.
Or you can also check out these resources for more support and advice: