Home insurance before winter: What the latest premium figures mean for your cover
The Association of British Insurers’ Property Insurance Premium Tracker for Q2 2026, published in August, recorded the first quarterly rise in average home insurance premiums since early 2025. The average combined buildings and contents premium rose to £383, up from £375 in the first quarter of the year. That £8 increase sounds modest, but the direction of travel matters: after four consecutive quarterly falls from a peak of £399 in Q3 2024, premiums have turned upward again. The Q2 2026 figure is still around £9 lower than the same period in 2025, so year-on-year there is a small saving, but the trend has shifted.
For homeowners, the practical implications are less about the headline premium figure and more about what the rising cost environment behind that figure means for the cover itself. The ABI’s data also recorded the average household insurance claim exceeding £7,000 for the first time in Q2 2026, with claims driven by weather events, theft, and subsidence all running at elevated levels. Those claim costs are what ultimately push premiums upward, and understanding what your policy covers before a claim arises is more valuable than any comparison exercise at renewal time.
What the premium covers and what it doesn’t
A combined home insurance policy has two distinct components. Buildings insurance covers the structure of the property, including walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchens, and fixed bathroom fittings. Contents insurance covers the possessions inside the home. Both are separately underwritten, and the distinction matters when a claim arises.
Weather damage in winter typically falls under buildings insurance. Storm damage to roofs, gutters, and external walls, damage caused by burst pipes, and flood ingress affecting the fabric of the building are all buildings claims. Contents losses from a burst pipe, or from theft following a break-in, fall under contents cover. The boundary between what qualifies as a buildings claim and what qualifies as a contents claim is worth understanding before winter, not at the point of dialling the claims line in January.
The most important thing to confirm on your buildings policy is whether it includes accidental damage, flood cover, and subsidence cover. Some standard policies exclude certain flood-prone areas, and some exclude accidental damage unless it is added as an extra. The ABI’s Q1 2026 data recorded the average subsidence claim at £17,820, up 9% year-on-year, and the average theft claim at £4,350, up 14%. Both categories saw higher average payouts than the previous year, which reflects rising reinstatement and replacement costs as much as claim frequency.
Your sum insured: the most common gap
Buildings insurance is typically written to cover the rebuild cost of the property, not its market value. These are different figures. The rebuild cost covers what it would cost to demolish the existing structure and build an equivalent property from scratch, including materials, labour, and professional fees. Construction costs have risen materially over the past three years, and a property insured at a rebuild value set four or five years ago may now be underinsured.
If the rebuild cost is underinsured, insurers may apply what is known as average, reducing any claim payout proportionally. A property insured for 70% of its true rebuild cost would receive 70% of any valid claim, regardless of the loss. The Building Cost Information Service provides a free online rebuild cost calculator, and the ABI recommends using it as a starting point when reviewing cover.
Checking your excess before winter
Your excess is the amount you pay toward any claim before the insurer contributes. Many policies have a compulsory excess set by the insurer and an optional voluntary excess that the policyholder agrees to at the start of the policy. A higher voluntary excess lowers the premium but increases the out-of-pocket cost of any claim. It is worth confirming what your combined excess is and whether it still reflects what you are comfortable contributing in an emergency.
Some policies apply a separate, higher excess to specific claim types such as subsidence, escape of water, or flood. These are typically stated in the policy schedule rather than the headline excess figure, and they are worth knowing before winter weather tests them.
At renewal
The period before winter is a sensible time to review a policy due for renewal rather than accepting an automatic renewal. The ABI consistently notes that shopping around and comparing cover, not just price, produces better outcomes for policyholders than passive renewal. Checking like-for-like cover, not just the headline premium, ensures the comparison is meaningful.
Talk to our team about your property today