Cheapest Home Insurance UK 2025: Expert Comparison

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort,” wrote Jane Austen in 1815. Over two centuries on, few of us would disagree that our homes are where we feel at peace. So whether you live in a six-bedroom countryside mansion or a city-centre high-rise flat, protecting your property with the best home insurance is essential.

Top policies ensure you’re covered for unforeseen events—from theft and damage to fires and floods. That’s why even the best mortgage providers approve a loan only if you have suitable home insurance. But home insurance costs can be high, and with hundreds of policies, selecting the right one can be daunting.

To lend you a helping hand, we’ve put together our review of the cheapest home insurance in the UK.

First, let’s quickly look at our chosen home insurers, beginning with our comparison chart below.

To ensure our research was as fair and accurate as possible, we based our quotes on 1 sample case, except where stated for mobile homes. Prices reflect the cost of insuring an Edwardian, terraced 3-bedroom home in Northumberland with 2 bathrooms, no existing damage, and no previous claims in the last 5 years.

Our expert score: 5/5

Pros

Cons

Policy Expert’s Silver coverage combines buildings and contents insurance in 1 package and includes accidental damage for both. Legal assistance and home emergency cover is also included as standard. Some welcome touches include freezer contents cover, replacement locks and keys, and alternative accommodation if you need to leave your home.

Why buy? Expert verdict

Policy Expert is the top-rated home insurer on Review Centre, with a 4.7 out of 5 rating from more than 59,000 reviews. First-time buyers appreciate its generous coverage limits despite the low premium. Not only is its Silver coverage more than £50 cheaper than the next best policy in our research, but its buildings cover offers a maximum of £1m, while contents cover tops off at £75,000.

✍️ Have you used Policy Expert? Leave your own or read more Policy Expert home insurance reviews.

Our expert score: 4.5/5

Pros

Cons

Saga specialises in home insurance for the over-50s, meaning its policies are tailored to the lifestyles and requirements of older homeowners. Its Select policy is among the cheapest for the over-60s, available for under £500 a year or around £40 a month. The cover meets building repairs of up to £1m and contents up to £75,000.

Saga will pay up to £5,000 to locate the source of a leak—even if it’s due to wear and tear. Garden cover of up to £1,000 comes as standard, and there’s no requirement to add any single item worth less than £2,500.

To top it off, Saga has enjoyed a Defaqto 5-star rating for the last 10 years.

Why buy? Expert verdict

Saga Select is among the cheapest home insurance for over-60s and over-80s, and its customers enjoy cover even if they vacate the property for up to 60 days in a row. This is a big improvement on the industry standard of around 30 days.

Customers prepared to pay extra for the Saga Plus coverage (a jump of £178 at the time of our quote) can lock in their premium for 3 years. Dog and cat owners might also want to consider this option since it covers pet damage.

✍️ Have you used Saga? Leave your own or read more Saga home insurance reviews.

Our expert score: 4/5

Pros

Cons

This quote from Esure includes accidental damage to both buildings and contents and liability coverage of up to £2m. The company promises to replace items based on current market value instead of the original purchase price. There’s also up to £75,000 available to cover alternative accommodation should yours become uninhabitable. This includes kennels for pets.

The £20,000 contents cover is a little low, though items exceeding £1,500 can be covered as an add-on if declared individually. However, the unlimited cover for repairs and rebuilds is critical to those with high-value properties.

Why buy? Expert verdict

Among the 24 home insurance quotes we compared, Esure was the cheapest for unlimited buildings cover. For around £20 more per year, the AA provides unlimited buildings cover with a higher contents cover of £40,000—but that’s only for houses with a market value of up to £1.5m. So, for those with houses worth more than that, Esure remains the pick of the bunch.

✍️ Have you used Esure? Leave your own or read more Esure home insurance reviews.

Our expert score: 4/5

Pros

Cons

Swift Cover earns our title of the cheapest insurance for older homes. Its Plus policy, underwritten by AXA, offers up to £750,000 in buildings insurance and £75,000 in contents cover.

Its £50,000 legal assistance comes as standard, covering disputes, personal injury claims, and property protection. Home emergency assistance—a must-have for those with older properties—comes as standard, too. If your home becomes seriously damaged, the company will also cover the cost of debris removal and architect fees.

Why buy? Expert verdict

Swift Cover’s Plus policy is among the cheapest to include home emergency cover as standard, beaten on premium price only by Policy Expert. However, its home emergency coverage is much more comprehensive, a key factor in maintaining older homes.

Swift Cover’s limit is £1,000 (versus £300 for Policy Expert), and it also covers several features that Policy Expert excludes. That includes roof storm damage, full electrical failure, and treatment of vermin and infestations. Its cover for oil-fired boilers is also useful for homes with older central heating systems.

✍️ Have you used Swift Cover? Leave your own or read more Swift Cover home insurance reviews.

Our expert score: 3.5/5

Pros

Cons

MyInsurance has been offering specialist caravan and holiday home insurance since 2008, and global insurance provider Aviva underwrites its Holiday Park Home Superior policy.

Our quote was based on a gas-heated, standard-sized, 2016-model park home in Northumberland. The policy also includes cover for £5,000 worth of electrical equipment, up to £2,000 of sports and leisure equipment cover, and £1,500 of cover for alternative accommodation provision.

Why buy? Expert verdict

As of December 2024, MyInsurance offers the cheapest mobile home insurance we found, at £209.57 for the year. The policy’s new-for-old cover ensures that if your park home is damaged beyond repair, it will be replaced with a new park home of equivalent value. Impressively, this will be honoured for park homes or static caravans up to 30 years old.

Home insurance in the UK tends to fall into 3 categories:

What type of home insurance do I need?

The type of insurance you require will depend on your relationship with the house you’re looking to insure.

If you’re the homeowner with a mortgage on the property, the lender will expect you to have buildings insurance in place. This will cover the structure of your property and ensure help is on hand should the building be damaged or compromised. It’s also wise to take additional contents insurance (or a combined policy) to protect your personal belongings.

If you’re a tenant, your landlord will be responsible for insuring the physical property. However, you should purchase contents insurance, especially if you own high-value items like laptops, jewellery, or bikes. Depending on the relationship with your landlord, you might also want to look into accidental damage or tenant liability cover. This will come to your rescue if you, for example, spill red wine on the carpet or accidentally dent the furniture or a wall.

If you own a holiday home, you’ll need to look into specific home insurance that covers second properties—such as MyInsurance’s Holiday Park Home Superior policy.

Home insurance typically covers the 2 fundamental elements of your home: what it’s made of (the structure) and what it’s full of (the contents).

Like those listed in this review, most insurers offer a combined package that incorporates buildings insurance and contents insurance, but it’s important to know that each serves a distinct purpose.

Buildings insurance typically covers rebuilds and repairs to your home’s structural components, including walls, roofs, floors, and permanent fixtures.

Contents insurance tends to cover your personal belongings and valuables. In both cases, insurers cover only unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters, subsidence, fires, burglaries, or water damage. Damage or degradation due to wear and tear or poor maintenance won’t be covered.

When selecting a home insurance policy, consider the following:

Breadth of coverage

Homeowners are likely to favour the combined buildings and contents insurance package, which tends to be cheaper than buying both separately.

Renters typically require only contents insurance, as their landlord will be responsible for insuring the structure. Tenant liability cover might also be advised if liable for damage to the property.

Policy exclusions

Make sure you’re aware of what is and isn’t included in your policy. Features such as legal assistance and home emergency cover don’t typically come as standard. Instead, you may be required to add them for an extra fee. In our review, we’ve noted the insurers who include these features automatically.

Sum insured

Check the maximum sums you’re insured for on your buildings and contents coverage. It’s vital to ensure that, should something happen to your property or what’s inside, you’re covered for the total worth of your home and belongings.

Excess amount

When submitting your information for a quote, you’ll be asked what voluntary excess you’re prepared to pay. This is the figure you need to pay when making a claim. Agreeing to a higher excess will reduce your premium costs, but make sure you’ll be able to afford the excess should you ever need to pay it.

Claims process

Some insurers may allow you to submit claims online, while others require you to call and explain your situation. For bigger claims, your insurer will likely send an agent around for an in-person assessment.

We’ve compared quotes from 2 dozen top home and contents insurance providers to create our shortlist. We narrowed it down to the 5 best options based on the following criteria:

Premium cost

Our aim was to find the cheapest home insurance in the UK, so the cost of each quote was a leading factor in our analysis.

Coverage

We also looked into each provider’s policies and noted what coverage came as standard. We considered the levels of cover for both buildings and contents, too.

Additional extras

Where certain features were excluded from the standard coverage, we noted if they could be added as an extra add-on and, if so, how much it would cost.

Customer service

We analysed each insurance provider’s reputation with its existing customers by scouring reviews and relevant industry accreditations and awards.

Does home insurance cover wear and tear?

As frustrating as it might seem, home insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by the gradual deterioration of your home. It aims to protect you from unforeseen events—such as fires, theft, or natural disasters—only. That’s why it’s vital to maintain the condition of any ageing roofs, worn carpets, corroding pipes, or blocked guttering.

What is the excess, and how does it work?

The excess is the amount you agree to pay your insurer in the event of a claim. The insurer will then cover the rest of the costs. The excess amount is agreed upon at the start of your policy. For this review, we’ve based our examples on an excess of £250.

How can I lower my insurance premium?

There are several ways to reduce your home insurance premium. The simplest is to agree to a larger excess, which usually results in a lower premium. Paying annually rather than monthly can also reduce the overall cost. Additionally, insurers will favour improvements to home security, such as installing burglar alarms, smoke detectors, and high-quality locks.

There’s a good reason mortgage providers insist you insure a house before they lend you the money to buy it. But although it’s an important consideration, it doesn’t mean you should spend over the odds for a robust and reliable home insurance policy.

With careful consideration and some expert advice, you can make an informed decision about the right insurance to protect your house and its contents without breaking the bank.

We hope this guide has provided some helpful insight that will allow you to enjoy the comforts of home sweet home.