In partnership with MoneySuperMarket.
Let’s be honest – reviewing your home insurance costs is one of those tasks that always falls to the bottom of your to-do list. Especially when you’re juggling long shifts and early wake-up calls, comparing policy quotes in your free time feels like a chore.
However, getting a lower home insurance premium is simpler than you think. With a few quick checks, you could end up saving extra money on the price of your cover – so consider this your sign to get the task ticked off.
One of the most common reasons for overpaying on home insurance in the UK? Having more cover than you need, especially when it comes to buildings insurance.
Buildings insurance covers the structure of the home itself. If you’re a renter, that means you won't need it – your landlord should have this covered. If you’re a leaseholder, it’s likely to be included within your service charge, so make sure to check that you’re not doubling up.
For freehold homeowners, it’s worth knowing that buildings insurance should be based on the rebuild cost, not the market value of your home. That means when you’re filling in your policy details, you should give the cost of rebuilding the property, which is often lower than the price you’ve paid for your home. If you’re not sure how much that is, use an online tool like the BCIS calculator or check previous survey results to give you an estimate.
Contents insurance covers your personal belongings in the property. If your policy hasn’t been reviewed for a while, consider giving your home a room-by-room check to help you estimate a realistic cost figure.
Getting these numbers roughly right can help ensure you’re not overpaying or underinsured if you ever need to claim.
Your excess is the amount you pay towards a claim if and when you make one. Your excess often has a direct impact on your home insurance premium – a higher voluntary excess will usually bring down the cost of your insurance. However, it also means that you’ll need to pay more upfront if something goes wrong.
It’s worth checking what your excess is currently set at. If it’s very low, increasing it slightly could reduce your premium. If it’s already high, make sure it’s still at a level you’d be comfortable paying if you need to claim.
The right balance for you will depend on your circumstances, but it’s one of the simpler ways to adjust the cost of your cover.
Home insurance is based on how your property is used. Any changes can make a difference to the price you’re quoted – things like installing a security alarm, taking in a lodger or getting home renovations done. If your policy hasn’t been reviewed in a while, some of your information may no longer reflect your current situation.
As a Blue Light Card member, you may well have an irregular routine. Night shifts, changing hours and being on call could mean that your home is left unoccupied for long or unusual periods of time. Insurers take into account how often homes are empty, so make sure that your details are up to date with your current arrangement.
If you’re regularly deployed to different locations for work, it’s worth knowing that some home insurance policies have unoccupancy clauses, too. That means your coverage might change if your home is empty for a certain amount of time (like 30 days or more). Remember to inform your insurer of any address changes, even if they’re just short-term placements. By keeping your information accurate, you’ll ensure that you’re paying the right amount.
Home insurance policies often include optional extras that can increase the overall cost. These include things like accidental damage cover, home emergency assistance or legal expenses.
These add-ons can be useful when they’re suited to your situation. For example, accidental damage cover is handy if you have young children or pets running around. Home emergency cover, meanwhile, can help you out if you don’t think you’d have time to deal with urgent repairs yourself.
If you added the extras when you first signed on for your home insurance policy and you no longer think you need them, they could be racking up unnecessary costs for you. Go through your cover documents and weigh up what you do and don’t need – removing any unnecessary cover can reduce the overall cost of your policy.
Once you’ve reviewed your cover, excess, personal details and extras, the next step is to see how your price compares with other providers. Home insurers look at properties in slightly different ways, which means that even when you provide the same information, you might get a different quote from another provider. Having a shop around means you may be able to snap up a better deal for your needs.
Plus, it’s easy to end up paying more on their home insurance long-term by letting your policy auto-renew rather than looking elsewhere. Try setting yourself a reminder for when your renewal date is coming up, so that you have time to compare options and find the best offer ahead of making your decision.
As a Blue Light Card member, you can use the new home insurance comparison service, in partnership with MoneySuperMarket, to compare quotes from a wide range of UK insurers on the panel and get a £30 gift card when purchasing a policy*.
If you do take out an insurance policy via MoneySuperMarket, Blue Light Card may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Moneysupermarket.com Limited is an appointed representative of MONY Group Financial Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN 303190).
Blue Light Card is an introducer appointed representative of MONY Group Financial Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN 303190).
Ready to explore your options? Use Blue Light Card’s comparison service with MoneySuperMarket to get started.
You can reduce the cost of your home insurance by reviewing your cover levels, adjusting your excess, checking your details are up to date, removing unnecessary add-ons and comparing quotes from different insurers.
Increasing your excess can lower your premium, but it also means you’ll pay more if you make a claim. It's best to choose an excess that you’re comfortable paying if something goes wrong.
The rebuild cost is the amount it would take to rebuild your home from scratch if it were destroyed. It’s usually different from the market value of your property and is what insurers use to calculate buildings cover.
You may be overpaying if you're covered for more than you need, your details are out of date, you have unnecessary add-ons, or you haven’t compared prices across the market recently.
Yes, it’s worth reviewing your home insurance each year to make sure your cover still reflects your circumstances and that you’re not paying more than you need to.
*Gift card subject to availability, see full Terms & Conditions for details. The £30 gift card is only available to customers who complete a quote through Blue Light Card’s offer journey. Customers are only entitled to one voucher per completed journey if not cancelled during the 60-day validation period.
