Analysis has revealed how some insurance bought by millions of UK households has leapt as much as 66% in recent years – but the goods news is that some are now coming down
Families have seen the cost of insurance surge by more than a third since before the Covid crisis, research has revealed.
Analysis for the Sunday Mirror by price comparison website Confused.com found a typical household is now shelling out over £1,300 a year for different types of cover – around £350 more than in 2019. It comes on top of big increases in everything from energy and water to food and a host of other household bills over the same period, compounding a cost of living crisis for millions.
Confused.com looked at four kinds of insurance – car, home, travel and pet – that many families will have. The actual amount will differ greatly depending, for example, if they have more than one vehicle, where they live, how often they go abroad and what type of pet – if any – they have. Nevertheless, it showed that – together – the insurance bill for a typical household is now £1,326 a year. In March 2019, it was £969 – leading to a near 37% jump.
Motor insurance is by far the biggest single cost, according to the research, with average annual premium leaping from £589 in 2019 to £777 in February this year. The Covid outbreak saw a fall in the number of drivers on the road, and accidents. But the easing of restrictions led to a reversal, and claims rose. The pandemic also hit production of parts, which fed into a wider increase in inflation, that was also blamed for car insurance premiums rising. While motor policies are still 32% higher than in 2019, they have begun to fall. In fact, the average was a much higher £941 a year ago, according to Confused.com.
Home insurance – building and contents – has seen an even bigger rise, rocketing 59%, from an average £173.71 to £275.27. The rising cost of materials and labour have been blamed, along with bad weather claims. But, like car insurance, prices have begun to ease. The average annual premium was just over £290 a year in May 2024.
Pet insurance has attracted a great deal of interest of late, partly due to a surge in the number of people buying dogs – and other pets – during the Covid lockdowns. According to Confused.com, the average cost of pet insurance has risen from the equivalent of £180.60 a year in 2019, to £220.08 in 2024, and now stands at £230.88.
Travel insurance tends to take up a smaller amount of household bills, but has rocketed by an average 66% since 2019 – or from £26.20 a year to £43.46.
Steve Dukes, chief executive at Confused.com, said: “Whether you’re buying car, home, travel or pet insurance, it’s likely you will be paying more today than in 2019. This is because how much you pay for your insurance is largely down to the cost of claims paid out by insurers. Inflation is making things like labour costs, medical costs, and materials much more expensive than before. And as a result, we’re seeing our insurance costs increase too.”
He added: “While prices are generally higher now than they were in 2019, we can still find ways to save money. This starts with shopping around. This is the only way we’ll know that the price we’re paying is the cheapest available to us, for what we need.”