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10 simple steps to cut your home insurance bill including getting this EXACT door lock as households face 16% rise
Find out the home insurance question that most people get wrong - meaning they end up paying over the odds
HOME insurance premiums are soaring as firms look to claw money back after paying out a record £585million due to bad weather last year.
Prices for combined building and contents policies jumped by 16 per cent to an average of £395 last year compared to 2023.
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Consumer Intelligence, which monitors the market, expects premiums to rise by another eight per cent this year.
But you can save up to £225 by shopping around — and an extra £55 on average with these ten simple steps from Laura Miller.
1. UPGRADE YOUR DOOR
CHANGING the locks can shave around five per cent off your premiums, according to Alicia Hempsted, home insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket.
“Upgrading the locks on any entrances lowers the risk of your property being burgled,” she says.
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“Installing a night latch or upgrading to a BS3621 five-lever mortice deadlock are two options.”
2. COMBINED POLICIES
A COMBINED contents and buildings policy will often provide better value for money than paying for separate cover.
Get a quote for both individual and combined policies to compare.
3. NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
SOME insurers offer discounts to members of neighbourhood watch schemes, so consider joining one.
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Alice says: “It can also improve the security in your area, which can reduce the premiums in your postcode over time.”
Enter your postcode on to find your local group.
4. PAY UP FRONT
If you can afford to, paying your home insurance premium upfront in one go will often save you money in the long run.
Paying in monthly instalments could see you charged interest. But you could get a zero per cent purchase card instead to pay upfront.
5. EXTRA SMOKE ALARMS
CONSIDER installing smoke alarms in any rooms with a fire risk, as well as around sleeping areas and exit routes, Alice advises.
She adds: “Insurers appreciate when you go the extra mile to keep your home safe.
“You also need to make sure each of these alarms is working properly to prevent claims from being denied.”
6. INCREASE YOUR EXCESS
YOUR excess is the amount you pay towards any claims you make.
Setting this higher when you take out your policy will make your premiums cheaper.
But ensure you can afford to pay it should you have to make a claim.
7. BE ACCURATE WITH WORTH OF HOME AND CONTENTS
ONE of the most common errors people make is with valuing their home and contents, according to Anna McEntee, insurance expert at Compare The Market.
“Many homeowners insure their home for its market value, rather than the lower rebuild cost, so end up paying over the odds,” she says. The Building Cost Information Service has a free calculator to work out your rebuild value. See .
Meanwhile, over-valuing your belongings will inflate your premiums too, while underestimating could leave you underinsured in the event of a claim.
The average value of a home’s contents is £51,000, according to Confused.com.
You can work out yours at .
8. PRUNE TALL TREES
IF you have tall trees nearby, this could increase the risk of your foundations becoming unstable or your roof being damaged.
Prune them regularly or consider having them removed to lower your insurance costs.
9. PAYING TWICE
YOU could accidentally be paying for the same cover twice.
Check to see if your bank account already includes mobile phone cover, for example, or if you bought a warranty on your laptop.
If you find yourself with separate policies that cover the same thing, cancel the duplicate cover,” says Anna.
10. NO CLAIMS DISCOUNT
DON’T be too quick to make a claim on your insurance if you don’t need to.
Customers are rewarded with discounts for long periods without making a claim, and you can usually carry over the discount if you switch to another insurer.
‘I saved £127 in 30 mins’
MARRIED mum-of-two Karen Simpson, 42, cut her home insurance quote on her five-bedroom detached house by £127 after spending half an hour comparing prices.
She said: “Last year, I paid £350, and this year my insurer quoted me £507.
“But after shopping around my new quote was £380.”
Karen, from Inverness, checked Compare The Market, MoneySuperMarket, Go Compare and Confused.com to find the best deal.
She added: “Compare The Market is great because it offers rewards like free cinema tickets, while Money-Super-Market provides lots of filtering options to tailor your quote.
Karen pays her premiums annually because it is usually cheaper than monthly.
But while she tries to keep costs low, she won’t scrimp on cover and regularly updates her details.
She said: “This can raise the premiums, but I’d rather pay a little extra than be underinsured if something happens.”
SUPPORT FOR RISING BILLS
MILLIONS of households are being urged to take action as they may be missing out on free energy bill support worth over £2,000.
It comes as predictions from energy consultancy Cornwall Insight suggest household energy bills are set to increase again.
According to the consultancy, Ofgem is expected to announce that the average household energy bill will rise from £1,717 to £1,823 per year from April 1.
Luckily, there’s a host of help available for hard-up huseholds. For example, British Gas is contacting over 600,000 customers this month, urging them to access support through its “You Pay, We Pay” scheme.
EDF’s Consumer Support Fund also provides grants to support vulnerable customers struggling with energy debt on a case-by-case basis.
Customers of E.ON Next and Sainsbury’s Energy can apply for cash grants to help with their energy costs.
And Octopus Energy provides support options through its £30million Octopus Energy Assist Fund including cash grants, standing charge holidays and debt write-offs.
Scottish Power, Utilita, Utility Warehouse and Ovo Energy also offer help to customers struggling to pay their bills. Utility Warehouse’s hardship fund covers debt write-offs worth between £1,000 and £2,000.
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Contact your supplier to apply.
BOOST TO STATE PENSION
A RECORD number of people are now claiming the state pension – and they will be receiving a boost to their income come April.
The number of claimants hit 13million in August 2024, an increase of 1.6 per cent, or 203,000 from the previous August.
Many of those people are set to get a £471 increase a year from April thanks to the Government’s triple lock guarantee. The triple lock ensures the state pension rises in line with whichever is highest: Inflation, average wage growth or 2.5 per cent.
This year, payments will rise by 4.1 per cent in line with wage growth in the three months to July 2024.
This will take the full state pension to £11,973 a year, up by £471 from just over £11,502, with a weekly rise from £221.20 to £230.25. Meanwhile, older pensioners who retired before April 2016 will get £9,175.61 annually, up from £8,812.96, with a weekly rise from £169.48 to £176.45.
Not everyone will receive these amounts, however, as what you get depends on how many qualifying years of National Insurance contributions you have.
To have a look at yours, visit .
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