Home insurance is designed to protect everything you own in case it's lost, stolen, or damaged. It is split into contents (all of your belongings) and buildings (for property owners).
It's not a legal requirement to buy home insurance, but some mortgage providers may insist that you have buildings insurance for your home.
It can cover the costs of rebuilding a home, if it's damaged by a flood or fire for example, and it can also cover the cost of replacing items if they're lost, damaged or stolen from your property.
If you want to buy this cover, it's important to shop around for policies, as there are lots to choose from. You will need to compare insurers, policies, and the levels of cover available before you pick one and always make sure you've read the small print so you know what you're covered for.
Some crucial elements to consider include the sum insured, the insurance excess you may need to pay if you make a claim, and any exclusions to the policy. You'll also be able to choose from paid-for extras to add to the policy, such as legal cover or accidental damage.
In this article I'll take a look at some of the best insurers in the UK to help you decide.
| Provider | Score | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1. More Than | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 2. Admiral | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 3. Direct Line | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 4. LV | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 5. Aviva | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 6. Lloyds Bank | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
| 7. AXA | ★★★★★ | Learn more |
What are the best home insurance companies?
The best home insurance companies UK consumers can choose will be those that provide a good level of cover for a decent price.
Buildings policies ensure homeowners can cover exterior and interior damage and the costs of any injuries incurred on the property while contents cover protects their belongings. It's possible to buy a stand-alone buildings or contents policy, or a combined policy.
Although it's not mandatory, this type of cover can be useful and can save you a lot of money if something does happen, especially as theft accounts for 14% of homeowner insurance claims, and fire and explosions account for 17%.
There's a lot of confusion around home insurance, and 72% of homeowners don't understand how it works, yet it can be essential for several reasons.
Home insurance, for example, will provide you with alternative accommodation if you need to move out of your property, for example, and contents cover can protect your belongings and cover the cost of replacing them if they are stolen.
But it is also important because your mortgage lender may insist that you take out buildings cover before it approves your loan.
It's important not to be under insured, as if you need to make a claim the money provided may not cover all of your costs. Similarly you don't want to be over insured and paying for cover you don't need. There is a free calculator on the Association of British Insurers' (ABI) website to held you calculate the costs.
The pros and cons of home insurance cover
Before you choose an insurer, you'll need to know what level of cover you need and what is being offered. Every policy is different but here we look at some of the common pros and cons of home insurance and the extra add-ons you can choose from.
Pros
✔️ Legal expenses protection: if your property is damaged, you can cover the costs with your home insurance if an individual decides to sue you. This feature is usually an add-on to a standard home insurance policy and while it is not obligatory, it could save you a lot of money in legal costs.
✔️ Alternative accommodation cover: this provides you with a reasonable place to live if your home becomes uninhabitable. If you are a landlord, some home insurance companies will also cover loss of rent if your tenants need to move out temporarily.
✔️ Accidental damage: this isn't usually included as standard but will protect your belongings from accidental damage, such as a child knocking over a precious vase or a cat ruining the carpets
✔️ Replacement costs: some home insurers will use the current value of an item and pay this to the policyholder, while others will pay out the amount paid for it. For example, if you have a three-year old laptop worth £2,000, some insurance companies will offer you a cash value of £1,000 (50% of the actual value), while others will give you the amount you paid for it.
Cons
❌️ Home insurance premiums can change: the cost of home insurance has risen in the last year, by 6% between 2022 and 2023, to an average of £315. This is why it's important to shop around when it comes to buying or renewing your policy.
❌️ Exclusions may apply: exclusions may apply to your home insurance cover, for example, wear and tear is usually not a reason to make a claim
❌️ You'll need to pay an excess: when you make an insurance claim you will usually need to pay an excess. This is generally a percentage of the overall claim or it could be a set amount, for example £100. If you choose a higher excess, your premiums will tend to be lower, but if you go down this route it's important to make sure you can still afford the excess if you do make a claim.
❌️ Hidden fees: always check the policy details as you don't want to pay for features you don't need and won't use. Citizens Advice found that insurance companies frequently overcharge older people, taking approximately £110 per year from them in hidden costs.
The best UK home insurance companies: reviewed
Here is a selection of what we think are the best home insurance companies:
1. More Than
Launched in 2001, More Than provides pet, vehicle, landlord, business, and home insurance policies.
In terms of home insurance, the claims process is easy for customers and it has two levels of cover to choose from.
It does not offer a no-claims discount for home insurance, but it does offer several specific home insurance features to choose from.
What are More Than's home insurance features?
More Than offers buildings cover of up to £1 million, up to £100,000 in home contents cover, up to £45,000 for alternative accommodation cover, and up to £7,500 for items you use when working from home.
You can select between two tiers (primary or upgraded) with More Than's home insurance and both have different inclusions. Home office insurance is also available from both of these tiers, making it a popular choice with businesses since 75% of insurance claims during the pandemic were due to business interruption, with a total cost of £900 million.
2. Admiral
Since 1993, Admiral has provided motor insurance and now offers a range of other insurance policies including for travel and home.
There are three levels of cover available with its home insurance policies.
Alongside its insurance policies, it also has financial products on offer, including personal loans and debt consolidation loans. However, if you are searching for home insurance, here are some of the specific features the insurance provider offers.
What are Admiral's home insurance features?
The three tiers of home insurance cover that Admiral provides include Admiral, Admiral Gold and Admiral Platinum. With each tier, you can receive different options and amounts of cover, such as up to £75,000, £100,000 or £150,000 for the Admiral, Gold and Platinum options, respectively.
Some optional add-ons for the Admiral and Gold tiers include: home emergency cover, family legal protection, and buildings accidental damage cover.
Combined home insurance is on offer with Admiral, but you can receive either buildings or contents insurance policies separately too.
Some specific exclusions you should watch out for include wear and tear damage, a lack of maintenance, pests or pet damage, claims in which the excess exceeds the value, and deliberate damage to the property.
3. Direct Line
Direct Line has millions of policyholders and has served the UK with insurance policies for over 35 years. Its main insurance products include pet, travel, car. and home insurance. However, Direct Line also offers life insurance, cycling cover, and breakdown insurance.
It also sells personal loans in addition to its insurance policies, which can assist you with financial planning and specific financial goals.
What are Direct Line's home insurance features?
Direct Line's home insurance policies offer three tiers: home insurance, home insurance plus, and home premier options. With each option, you can select specific add-ons, such as accidental damage cover, alternative accommodation, and personal possessions cover.
If you select personal possessions cover, Direct Line will cover your belongings when you're out of the home, which is a handy extra to pay for since there were 275,081 burglary incidents recorded between 2021 and 2022.
With Direct Line's Home Insurance Plus policy, personal possessions cover is included, but you must specify any items worth more than £4,000 on the policy.
As a Direct Line home insurance policyholder, you can receive up to £25,000 for alternative accommodation with their buildings insurance. If you select their home insurance plus buildings insurance premium, you will receive up to £50,000 for alternative accommodation.
4. LV
LV is one of the biggest insurance providers, providing premiums for more than 175 years. It offers a wide-range of insurance products including home, car, pet, travel and life insurance.
Just as many insurers have exclusions with their policies, so does LV. You cannot claim, for example, if your home has endured wear and tear if a household machine breaks down, or if your fence is damaged by a storm. This is standard among UK insurers so just make sure you read the small print before you buy so you know what you're covered for.
What are LV's home insurance features?
One of the top perks on offer with LV is a discount if you take out both home and contents insurance. It will also offer a discount if you then take out a car insurance policy with it too.
For home insurance, you can select from the Essentials, Home, and Home Plus tiers to receive different levels of cover.
The ‘Essentials' tier provides up to £500,000 in building cover to help you rebuild your home and up to £25,000 in alternative accommodation if you cannot stay in your property when rebuilding it. You can also receive between £25,000 and £50,000 for contents cover.
Alternatively, LV's ‘Home' tier offers up to £1 million in building cover, £50,000 for alternative accommodation, and between £25,000 and £100,000 in home contents cover.
If you select the ‘Home Plus' tier, you will receive unlimited buildings cover, up to £100,000 for alternative accommodation, and up to £150,000 for contents cover. This policy is the only premium LV offers that includes full accidental damage, personal possessions cover, and bicycle cover away from home. The Essentials and Home Insurance plans offer these as add-ons.
5. Aviva
Aviva is one of the biggest UK insurers with around 15 million customers. It offers several insurance policies including home, car, pet, travel, health, and life insurance.
It's been around for over 325 years and more than 720,000 homeowners protect their homes and contents with Aviva.
One thing to consider if you select Aviva is that they do not offer combined buildings and contents insurance. However, they do provide a wide selection of policies and in 2021 paid out 88% of all home insurance claims.
What are Aviva's home insurance features?
There are lots of options with Aviva, and with its home insurance policies you can add on the following if you want to: home emergency, legal fees, and accidental damage cover, along others.
Aviva's specific policies include buildings insurance, contents insurance, landlord insurance, and tenant and renter insurance.
If you need to rebuild your entire house or find alternative accommodation, Aviva will support you with this.
The separate contents insurance covers damage to contents from theft, fire or flooding, new replacements for destroyed or damaged personal possessions, the food in your freezer if it breaks down and cash that you might have stored in your home (up to £750).
Aviva, as with most insurers, will not cover some specific things with its contents insurance. If you lose an item or there is a fault with an item, you cannot place a claim with Aviva, for example. It's also the case that despite the 77,201 crime reports about bicycle theft in 2022 and the increasing number of bike thefts, Aviva will not cover stolen bikes that aren't locked to an object. This is standard for most home insurers and the details will be given to you when you take out the policy.
6. Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank has offered financial advice to homeowners since 1765. The bank offers great perks for new customers and also provides home insurance among its financial products.
If you buy home insurance with Lloyds online, you'll also get a 10% discount and there are three levels of cover to choose from.
What are Lloyds Bank's home insurance features?
With Lloyds Bank, you can choose from three tiers of home insurance. It's also possible to buy a combined buildings and contents policy, or you can buy these seperately.
Each tier has different options, with the bronze tier, for example you will be covered if you need somewhere else to stay (up to £100,000), and for contents insurance you'll be covered up to £50,000. The silver tier offers slightly more protection, with £100,000 covered for contents while with the gold tier you'll be covered for £250,000.
In terms of building insurance, all the tiers will cover the full rebuild cost of your home, plants in your garden (up to £1,000), and tracing and accessing a leak (up to £5,000). Yet something, such as accidental damage and legal fees may need to be added-on separately.
7. Axa
Business, health, landlord, and car insurance are just a few of the insurance types Axa offers its customers, along with home insurance for homeowners.
It's one of the biggest insurers around and provides policies for more than 100 million people across the globe and operates in more than 57 countries.
What are Axa's home insurance features?
Axa's home insurance features include three tiers of cover and various add-ons. You can also select between buildings, contents, new build, flat, and flood insurance. The latter insurance type is important since 5.2 million properties (one in six in England) are potentially at risk to flooding.
With Axa's contents insurance, homeowners can receive cover for business equipment, garden content and bicycles among other things. You can also receive up to £2 million in public liability insurance, occupier's cover, plus cover for alternative accommodation.
If you are looking for optional extras, there are several to choose from including personal possessions cover, accidental damage, and legal expenses cover.
Best home insurance companies UK: The verdict
Selecting the best home insurance companies in the UK can be a challenge because there are so many to choose from. The best policy for you, however, will be one that meets your needs and your budget.
That's why it's worth checking the premiums carefully and using comparison websites and the information we've gathered to make your choice.
Always check the specific policy details too so you know what you're covered for and remember that some home insurance policies will include features as standard but with others you'll need to pay for them, for example.
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