Home Insurance Quotation: What Shapes Your Price

A home insurance quotation is an insurer’s offer to cover your property and belongings for a set premium, based on the details you give about your home, its rebuild cost and what you want protected. Getting an accurate quote matters because the number changes sharply with the sum insured you enter, the excess you accept and the exclusions you overlook.

Prices have eased recently. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the average combined buildings and contents premium was £375 as of its 6 May 2026 update, down £5 and falling for a fourth consecutive quarter.

Last updated: August 2026

Written by the Free Price Compare editorial team | Reviewed August 2026

What information a home insurance quote is based on

A home insurance quotation is calculated from the risk details you provide, chiefly your property type, its rebuild cost, the value of your contents, your postcode and your claims history. Insurers use these to estimate the likelihood and cost of a claim, then set your premium accordingly.

The single biggest lever on a buildings quote is the rebuild cost, which is what it would cost to demolish and reconstruct your home, not what it would sell for. On contents, the driver is your total replacement value plus any high-value items you declare separately. Get either figure wrong and your quote will be inaccurate, and a claim can be reduced.

• Property details: type, age, number of bedrooms, roof and wall construction.
• Rebuild cost for buildings cover, and total replacement value for contents.
• Postcode risk factors such as flood history, subsidence and local theft rates.
• Security features like locks, alarms and whether the home is left unoccupied for long periods.
• Your claims and any past declined or cancelled policies.

Our own plain-English home insurance guide walks through each field, but the principle is simple: the more accurate your inputs, the more reliable your quote and your future payout.

Is it cheaper to buy a combined buildings and contents policy?

Combined buildings and contents cover is usually cheaper than buying the two policies separately from different insurers, because you pay one set of administration and policy fees rather than two. A combined policy also removes the risk of a claim falling between two insurers who each argue it belongs to the other.

The ABI’s average combined buildings and contents premium was £375 as of 6 May 2026. Buying combined does not always beat two carefully shopped standalone policies, but for most homeowners it is the simpler and lower-cost route.

Buildings cover protects the structure: walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchens and bathrooms. Contents cover protects what you would take with you if you moved, from furniture to electronics. Our detailed look at home and contents insurance explains where the line between the two falls.

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How much contents cover do I need?

You need enough contents cover to replace everything you own as new, so the way to size it is to add up the full replacement cost of your belongings room by room. Underestimating leaves you underinsured, which means a claim can be scaled down proportionally even for a partial loss.

Walk through each room and total the cost of buying furniture, clothing, electronics, kitchenware and soft furnishings new today. Many policies apply a single-item limit above which you must name high-value items such as jewellery, watches, bikes or laptops separately. Cover for items you take out of the home, like a laptop or engagement ring, usually needs a personal possessions add-on.

Common preset quote figures, for example £50,000 of contents with a £1,000 single-item limit, suit an average household but may be too low for a well-furnished family home and too high for a sparsely furnished flat. Check the number rather than accepting the default.

Do I need buildings cover if I rent or live in a flat?

Buildings cover is the freeholder’s or landlord’s responsibility if you rent or own a leasehold flat, so tenants and most flat owners only need contents insurance for their own belongings. Homeowners of a house, and leaseholders whose lease makes them responsible, do need buildings cover.

If you rent, your landlord insures the structure but not your possessions, so a contents-only policy protects your furniture, electronics and clothing against theft, fire and water damage. If you own a leasehold flat, the buildings insurance is usually arranged by the freeholder or management company and paid for through your service charge, so check your lease before you buy separate buildings cover you do not need.

Mortgage lenders normally require buildings insurance as a condition of the loan on a freehold house, which is the most common reason homeowners take it out. Renting in shared housing brings its own rules, covered in our student house insurance guide.

Not sure which cover you need?

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What is an excess and how does it change your quote?

A home insurance excess is the amount you agree to pay towards any claim before the insurer covers the rest. It comes in two parts: a compulsory excess set by the insurer, and a voluntary excess you choose to add on top.

Raising your voluntary excess lowers your premium because you are taking on more of the risk, but you pay that combined figure on every valid claim. If your total excess is £500 and you claim for £700 of damage, the insurer pays £200. Setting a high voluntary excess to shave a few pounds off the quote is a false economy if you could not comfortably find that money after a burst pipe or break-in.

Some claim types carry their own separate excess. Subsidence excesses can be £1,000, and flood or escape-of-water excesses can be higher in at-risk areas. Read the excess table on the quote, not just the headline premium, before you decide.

Common exclusions that catch homeowners out

Exclusions are the situations a home insurance policy does not cover, and the most common ones are wear and tear, gradual damage, poor maintenance, and homes left unoccupied beyond a set period. Knowing these before you buy stops a claim being rejected later.

• Wear, tear and gradual deterioration, such as a slowly leaking pipe you failed to fix.
• Damage while the property is unoccupied for longer than the policy limit.
• Accidental damage, unless you add it as an option, so a wine spill on a carpet may not be covered on a standard policy.
• Items not declared, including high-value possessions above the single-item limit and business equipment used at home.
• Undisclosed risks such as flat-roof extensions, running a business, or previous flooding or subsidence.

Long absences are a frequent cause of declined claims, which we cover in detail in our piece on how long holidays can affect home insurance claims. If your home has been flooded before, cover may still be available through the Flood Re scheme, which supports affordable premiums in flood-risk areas.

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Why are home insurance quotes so different from each other?

Home insurance quotes vary widely, often from under £200 to several hundred pounds for the same property, because each insurer weights risk factors differently and sells to different types of customer. One insurer may load heavily for a flat-roof extension while another barely notices it.

Prices have been falling market-wide, although the rate of decline is slowing.

Since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) pricing rules under ICOBS 6B (page last updated 26 June 2026), insurers cannot charge existing customers renewing a policy more than they would charge an equivalent new customer for the same policy. That has reduced the old loyalty penalty, but shopping around each year still routinely beats auto-renewing, as Citizens Advice highlighted when it raised concerns about loyal customers being overcharged.

Can I get a quote for a home I have not yet bought?

Yes, you can get a home insurance quotation before completion, and buyers usually arrange buildings cover to start on the day contracts exchange, not the day they move in. From exchange you are legally committed to the purchase, so you carry the risk of damage to the structure.

To quote for a property you do not yet own, you provide the address, property type, number of bedrooms, construction details and an estimated rebuild cost, most of which appear in the estate agent listing, survey or mortgage valuation. The rebuild figure often sits in the survey; if not, a rebuild cost calculator based on the Building Cost Information Service gives a reasonable estimate.

Set the buildings cover start date to your exchange date and the contents start date to your move-in date, so you are not paying for contents cover on an empty property. First-time buyers can find more on timing in our home insurance FAQs.

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Does the choice of provider matter beyond price?

The choice of home insurance provider matters as much as the price, because policies differ significantly in what they cover, their claims service and their optional extras. Two quotes at the same premium can offer very different protection.

Look at the cover limits, the excesses, whether accidental damage and home emergency are included or optional, and how claims are handled. Defaqto star ratings give an independent measure of how comprehensive a policy is, from one to five stars. If being able to speak to a person quickly during a claim matters to you, weigh the insurer’s claims reputation, not just the sticker price.

You are protected regardless of insurer: valid complaints can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), and if an authorised insurer fails, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) can cover eligible claims. Comparing on features as well as cost is where a whole-of-market view helps, and it is why we set out cover levels alongside price for larger or specialist homes like a bungalow policy.

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Information correct as of 29 August 2026. Prices, tariffs, policy details and providers change frequently, so please check the latest details before making a decision. This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Free Price Compare is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).