MoneySupermarket Monitor. Home Insurance. Market data 1st December th November Issue 7

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1 MoneySupermarket Monitor Home Insurance Market data 1st December th November Issue 7 January 2013

2 Contents Executive Summary page 3 Report findings The overall cost of home insurance The cost of home insurance across the regions 5 Trends in building and contents insurance claims 6 Burglary hotspots across the UK Personal possessions in the home The size of our homes and number of people who live in them Contacts 11 The data in this edition of MoneySupermarket Monitor is representative of quotes run on MoneySupermarket.com from 1st December 2011 to 30th November and is based on 3,493,586 quotes run during this period.

3 Executive Summary Welcome to the latest MoneySupermarket Monitor on Home Insurance. In this quarterly publication we take an in-depth look at the average premiums, claims, contents and possessions insured across the UK. The data in this edition is representative of quotes run on MoneySupermarket from 1 December 2011 to 30 November, and is based on 3,493,586 quotes run during this period. Key findings Home insurance premiums have dropped across the board year-on-year. Overall home insurance registered a 7.9% fall, while combined buildings and contents dropped 9.2%, buildings insurance by 6.6% and contents insurance by a dramatic 19.1%; Just eight postal regions recorded a rise in home insurance premiums compared with the 113 experiencing a drop; London regions again bore the brunt of rising premiums and Harrow remains the most expensive place for home insurance with average premiums coming in at per annum; Man-made accidents continue to dominate claims across both home and contents insurance, accounting for 61.4% and 62.6% respectively; The Leeds LS13 postal district is the UK s hotspot for burglary claims; The value of items specified on insurance policies has risen to 3,167; Laptops and bicycles continue to be the most commonly specified items while the most valuable are stamp and coin collections. Hannah Jones, Home insurance expert, MoneySupermarket MoneySupermarket is well placed to give an overview of the whole market, comparing 99 insurance providers in the UK. Shopping around for insurance cover is extremely beneficial in helping consumers make the most of their money. Using MoneySupermarket.com to find a home insurance policy can help people save on average MoneySupermarket Monitor Issue 7, January 2013

4 Home insurance Once again, the average cost of premiums across all home insurance types has decreased according to the data gathered for this latest edition of the MoneySupermarket Monitor. A 7.9% decrease for overall home insurance The average overall home insurance premium was in autumn. This compares with in autumn 2011 and represents a 7.9% decrease over the 12 months our Monitor covers. Compared to the prices from our last Monitor for summer, prices have dropped 4.70 or by 3.2% in the last three months. Over the past 12 months the highest overall premiums were recorded in December 2011 ( ). Prices then decreased gradually until reaching their lowest point in September ( ). However, in recent months we have seen a slight upturn in prices with average figures of recorded in October and in November. When comparing this to the summer quarter, prices have decreased by 5.34 or by 3.3% since the last report. The lowest average prices were recorded in October ( ) and the most expensive in December 2011 ( ). Price of standalone buildings insurance falls by 6.6% With the average price of buildings insurance standing at in autumn compared with in autumn 2011 we have witnessed a price drop of 6.6% in the year under review. This is in marked contrast to the autumn 2011 to autumn period, when average prices rose 7.0%. On a monthly basis, premiums were at their highest in December 2011 ( ) and at their lowest in October ( ). During November, the last month in our reporting period, prices crept up marginally to A dramatic 19.1% drop in standalone contents insurance Our data reveals that average standalone contents insurance premiums plummeted 19.1% during our review period. Premiums were at their lowest in November ( 71.71) and at their highest in December 2011 ( 91.10). Since the last report the price for standalone contents cover has dropped by 5.97 or by 7.6% over the last three months. Hannah Jones, home insurance expert at MoneySupermarket said: Once again the Monitor is reporting good news about declining premium prices. This is just what hard-pressed consumers need especially as the costly Christmas period is just behind us and cold weather means energy bills landing in the coming months will be considerably higher. Although prices are on a downward trend, I d like to remind people to be vigilant and to shop around at renewal time rather than letting policies roll over. The best deals Average overall contents insurance premiums, Dec Nov Combined buildings and contents insurance drops 9.2% Those combining buildings and contents insurance saw premiums decreasing by 9.2%. In autumn, the average premium was compared with in autumn D J F M A M J J A S O N 1st December th November Based on 3.4m quotes run on MoneySupermarket Issue 7, January 2013 MoneySupermarket Monitor 4

5 are often offered to new customers, and MoneySupermarket can help with comparing costs. People using our tool are typically saving 126 a year on their home insurance cover. The cost of home insurance across the regions Our latest set of data highlights that just eight out of 121 postal regions across the UK registered an increase in home insurance premiums between autumn 2011 and autumn. The increases were also smaller in size than many of the rises we have seen in previous editions of the monitor. London still bears the brunt of rising premiums Out of the eight postal regions recording a rise, all are in London with the exception of Northern Ireland, which saw average premiums rise by 1.8% ( 2.44). The biggest gains were felt by residents of London WC (6.6%, 8.26) followed by London N (5.5%, 9.70) and London SW (5.1%, 7.99). Where have premiums dropped the most? Galashiels recorded the steepest drop in average premiums. They fell by 10.9%, which equates to Other big reductions in premium prices were for those in Sunderland, with a 10.8% ( 16.32) drop and Kirkcaldy where premiums came in 10.1% ( 15.01) lower. Regions paying the most The Greater London postal regions dominate the top of the table if we slice the data to reveal who pays most for their home insurance on average. Harrow has been a perennial occupier of the top spot throughout the course of our Monitor and although premiums here have dropped by 7.4% ( 17.86) in the period that the Monitor covers, in autumn the average was still Other postal regions paying high premiums in autumn included Ilford ( ) and London N ( ) Regions registering an increase in home insurance premiums Regions that experienced the biggest decrease in home insurance premiums Postal Area % Postal Area % London WC % 8.26 London N % 9.70 London SW % 7.99 London SE % 6.76 Galashiels % Sunderland % Kirkcaldy % Worcester % Stoke-on-Trent % London NW % 6.58 Newcastle upon Tyne % London E % 4.14 Northern Ireland % 2.44 London W % 2.76 Norwich % York % Lancaster % Dudley % MoneySupermarket Monitor Issue 7, January 2013

6 Most expensive and cheapest postal regions Postal Area % Postal Area Decrease % Decrease Harrow % Ilford % London N % 9.70 London NW % 6.58 Bromley % Southall % Norwich % Galashiels % Hereford % Dundee % Salisbury % Exeter % Kingston upon Thames % Llandrindod Wells % Slough % Enfield % London SE % 6.76 Bath % Dudley % Torquay % Table 1: Top 10 most expensive postal regions for the cost of home insurance Table 2: Top 10 most cheapest postal regions for the cost of home insurance Regions paying the least In stark contrast, average home insurance premiums in those regions paying the least include Norwich where average prices were Galashiels and Hereford were also at the bottom of our table with average premiums coming in at and respectively. Hannah Jones said: For the first time since we launched our Monitor in Spring 2011, we don t have ten regions to include in our table showing home insurance premium price increases. It s great news that the vast majority of regions have experienced a drop in the average cost of home insurance, especially at a time when money is tight for so many households. d competition amongst providers has helped drive down costs and it s important that consumers don t become complacent and stick with existing policies at renewal but instead take advantage of comparison tools such as those provided by MoneySupermarket to shop around for the best deals. Trends in buildings and contents insurance claims Buildings insurance Man-made accidents cause most buildings insurance claims In autumn man-made accidents accounted for 61.4% of insurance claims. Of this number 15.8% were caused by accidental damage, 7.9% by drains, tanks and pipes, 35.0% by escaping water, 1.3% by flying or falling objects and 1.5% by fire. Weather-related claims account for roughly one in five claims Damage caused by the weather prompted 19.3% of all claims. Within this, storms were the main culprit accounting for 18.4% of claims. Floods accounted for just 0.9% of claims in this category. Contents insurance Man-made accidents account for the majority of contents insurance claims In autumn 62.6% of claims fell into the man-made accidental category. Of these 51.0% were down to accidents, 10.5% by escaping water and 0.7% by fire. Issue 7, January 2013 MoneySupermarket Monitor 6

7 % Buildings insurance claims by quarter Man Made Accidental Winter 2011 Man Made Malicious Contents insurance claims by quarter Spring Quarter Natural Summer Unspecified Weather Related claims made for damage to property and possessions don t yet appear in our data, given the time period analysed. However, it is estimated that insurers will have to pay out as much as 500 million to rectify damage (source PricewaterhouseCoopers) and these events serve as a stark reminder that it is vital to make sure you have adequate insurance in place to support you should your home suffer a man made incident or equally a weather related incident which our data demonstrates may be significantly more likely as we go into the winter Burglary hotspots across the UK % Man Made Accidental Winter 2011 Man Made Malicious Man-made malicious actions account for 23% of claims From the overall the figure, 23.3% are down to theft. Weather the cause of 2.5% of contents claims When it comes to contents insurance claims, the weather plays a smaller role than it does with buildings insurance. Just 2.5% of claims are prompted by weather-related damage and of this 1.1% are down to flooding and 1.4% storms. Spring Quarter Natural Summer Unspecified it is vital to make sure you have adequate insurance in place Weather Related Hannah Jones said: A number of regions across the UK were plagued by flooding in November but any Our latest data sheds some light on the postal regions in the UK that have made the most insurance claims for burglary in the 12 months from 1 December 2011 to 30 November. Top of our list was the Leeds LS13 postal district. Out of every 1,000 residents from this area visiting MoneySupermarket for an insurance quote, 34.8 said they had made a previous claim for burglary. Next on the list was the Bradford postal district BD12 with 34.2 claims, followed by N12 in London with 31.9 claims. At the other end of the spectrum, the postal district of SA9 in Swansea recorded no theft claims per thousand quotes and the situation was the same in SA62 in Pembrokeshire and LA14 in Cumbria. 7 MoneySupermarket Monitor Issue 7, January 2013

8 Highest number of burglary claims per postal district Postcode Area Claims Quotes Lowest number of burglary claims per postal district Rate (per Thousand) LS13 Leeds BD12 Bradford N12 London M30 Manchester RM3 London SW12 London LS18 Leeds UB3 London SE22 London LS28 Leeds Table: Highest number of burglary claims per postal district,1 December November Postcode Area Claims Quotes Rate (per Thousand) SA9 Swansea SA62 Pembrokeshire LA14 Cumbria TQ3 Devon EX31 Devon DD8 Angus KY7 Fife PL21 Devon PL26 Cornwall NR29 Norfolk Table: Lowest number of burglary claims per postal district, 1 December November Hannah Jones said: Those living in areas included in our top-10 burglary hotspots don t necessarily live in bad areas. In fact, the opposite can be true because burglars often target more affluent areas with wealthy residents. However, the number of claims for burglary can have an impact on premiums in an area. To help keep burglars at bay, Hannah suggests a few measures: Keep your valuable possessions out of view of windows; Make sure windows and doors are locked when going out; Install a good home security system; Time your lights; Install security lighting. Our possessions Data gathered by MoneySupermarket also helps build up a picture of the possessions we own across the UK and their value. Average value of specified items The MoneySupermarket Monitor has demonstrated that the average value of specified items on insurance policies has crept up over the past few years. In autumn this figure was 3,167 up from 3,095 in summer. If we look back further we can see that the autumn 2011 figure was 2,934 and the autumn 2010 figure 2,686. Value by age looking at the value of specified items by age paints an interesting picture. Those in the age bracket are specifying items with a total value of 4,074. This compares with 3,489 in the age bracket and 1,668 for those between Value by gender Men appear to have specified items with a higher value than women ( 3,418 and 2,833 respectively). Value by region in the Channel Islands residents listed specified items with an average of 4,604 during autumn. Those living in Greater London weren t far behind ( 4,060) but these figures were in marked contrast to those from Mid Wales, which show residents here specified items with a value of 2,453. Issue 7, January 2013 MoneySupermarket Monitor 8

9 Items people are most likely to specify Laptops are by far the most commonly specified items on insurance policies (41.5% in autumn ). Next on the list are bicycles (21.9%) and then jewellery (19.0%). This data reveals no surprises because these items are our top three in every monitor. However, in the case of laptops and bicycles, these are not listed because of their value but instead probably because people feel they are vulnerable to theft. In autumn, the average value of laptops specified on insurance policies was 657 and the figure for bicycles was 679. Hannah Jones said: The data for this Monitor shows that the overall value of items specified on insurance policies is continuing to creep up. In autumn people were insuring items worth 233 more than in autumn 2011 on average. While this may be because people have accumulated more expensive possessions, in the current environment, it is more likely to indicate that they are paying close attention to Average value of items specified on insurance policies Winter 2011 Spring Summer 2,934 2,963 2,979 3,095 3,167 Possessions valuations by quarter 2011 Winter 2011 Spring Summer Antiques 3,396 3,325 3,565 3,360 3,342 Articles of gold 3,386 3,630 3,454 3,445 3,518 Articles of precious metals 3,087 3,199 3,251 3,165 3,045 Articles of silver 3,333 3,384 3,476 3,158 3,326 Audio equipment 3,062 3,139 3,059 3,015 3,127 Bicycle Binoculars 1,727 1,954 1,850 1,971 1,746 Cameras 1,997 1,977 2,022 1,991 2,021 Clocks 3,215 3,204 3,358 3,316 3,184 Coin collection 5,705 5,435 5,276 5,894 5,841 Computer equipment (not laptops) 1,823 1,826 1,800 1,778 1,819 Curios 3,345 3,547 3,320 3,489 3,339 DVD equipment 2,653 2,879 2,374 2,440 2,339 Furs 2,718 3,179 2,851 2,734 3,018 Jewellery 3,246 3,307 3,304 3,283 3,300 Laptop Medal collection 4,446 4,448 4,018 3,820 4,188 Painting/Works of art 3,938 4,035 4,023 3,944 3,907 Photographic equipment 2,344 2,344 2,345 2,312 2,218 Stamp collection 6,002 4,957 5,920 5,880 6,677 Televisions 1,799 1,800 1,806 1,801 1,796 Video equipment 2,270 2,503 2,417 2,258 2,343 Watches 3,025 3,075 3,162 3,161 3,190 Table: Average cost of possessions quotations through MoneySupermarket, compared to MoneySupermarket Monitor Issue 7, January 2013

10 how much their possessions are worth and making sure, if they are damaged or stolen, insurance is in place to help replace them. Collections are our most valuable possessions Stamp collections are the most valuable items specified on insurance policies. In autumn these were valued at 6,677. Next on the list are coin collections, which were valued at 5,841 and then medal collections ( 4,188). residents of Greater London face the most space constraints with just 2.6 and those in Northern Ireland enjoy more space with 3.3. Adults and children per household The average number of adults per household across the UK is 2 and the average number of children is 0.7. Homes in the Channel Islands have the most children (0.9) whereas those in Greater London have the least (0.6). The size of our homes and who lives in them Data collected by MoneySupermarket also sheds light on the average size of homes in the UK and the number of people living in each household. Average number of bedrooms Our autumn figures show that on average, UK homes have three bedrooms. Across the UK this picture is largely the same although Sources All data in this edition of MoneySupermarket Monitor is representative of quotes run on MoneySupermarket.com from 1st December 2011 to 30th November and is based on 3,493,586 quotes run during this period. Issue 7, January 2013 MoneySupermarket Monitor 10

11 For more information on MoneySupermarket Monitor reports contact MoneySupermarket Press Office Tel: PRTeam@moneysupermarket.com