According to the latest information compiled by the AA British Insurance Premium Index, the cost of an annual home insurance policy hit an all time high in the last three months until the end of September. Last winter’s bad weather and snowy conditions which prompted a high number of claims has been blamed in part of the rise in the cost of home cover.
The figures released by the AA show that both contents and buildings insurance premiums have risen steeply since September 2010, with the AA calculating that the average cost of buildings insurance alone now stands at £152 a year, while contents insurance premiums on average cost £77 for an annual policy.
The results show that buildings insurance premiums have risen the most, with an increase of 14% in the last 12 months, compared to contents insurance which has only risen by 6% in the last year since September 2010.
The last two winters have been particularly severe, with temperatures dipping well below zero for prolonged periods, which caused major disruption for home owners with frozen burst pipes being blamed for a high number of claims being made on home insurance policies. The high number of claims is believed to have contributed to the rise in home cover seen in the last year.
On the plus side, insurance experts have found that car insurance cost have started to level off and have not continued to increase at the same alarming rate we have witnessed in recent years, which spells some good news for insurance customers.
Music fans planning a trip to a festival this summer are being urged to insure their gadgets such as digital cameras, phones, iPods and MP3 players before they leave for their trip as the accumulated cost of these items can run into hundreds, if not thousands of pounds.
Home insurance provider Swinton has warned home owners to be extra careful ahead of their half term break this February, and not to advertise their trip on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
This is the question home owners should be asking themselves as a recent independent study found that a quarter of home contents insurance policies offer a very limited amount of cover for cash, while others offer no cover whatsoever.
