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Best Home Insurance Companies in the UK 2023

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Written by, Marija Petkova

Updated September, 5, 2023

1. Admiral

  • Family legal protection
  • Up to £10,000 Trace and access cover
  • Unlimited building cover

2. Alan Boswell

  • ‘All risk’ coverage
  • Coverage for damage caused by pets
  • Cover for fine art and antiques

3. Homeprotect

  • New-for-old cover
  • Empty property cover
  • Available to people with bankruptcies

4. The AA

  • 24/7 legal helpline
  • New customers pay less
  • Accidental damage cover included

5. MoreThan

  • Up to £200 home emergency assistance
  • No automatic policy renewals
  • £2,500 bicycle coverage per family

6. Swinton

  • Cover for high-value properties (over £500,000)
  • Discount for combined policies
  • Non-portable items coverage

7. John Lewis Finance

  • £500 for utility or fuel charges
  • Tenant improvements up to £10,000
  • Loss/damage to cash up to £1000

8. Aviva

  • Garden contents up to £1,500
  • Alarm replacement up to £1,000 value
  • High-value items over £2,000

9. So Sure

  • Up to 40% cashback
  • No hidden fees
  • Low fixed excess

10. Policy Expert

  • Online policy
  • Up to £2,000 personal belongings
  • Cover for locked bicycles

Home insurance is one of the most important types of insurance a person can buy. 

But, with the number of home insurance products available, it can be hard to make the right choice. To help you narrow down your options, we’ve rounded up the best home insurance companies in the UK.  

Let’s start.

Detailed Reviews

1 . Admiral

Best Overall
  • Rating: 9.9/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: £150.000
  • Accommodation: Up to £100,000
  • Replacement locks or keys: Up to £1,000
  • Admiral is a well-known insurer that offers a wide range of insurance products, including home, landlord, and even GAP insurance.

    As the best home insurance provider in the UK, this company offers three tiers of home insurance that are available just for contents, just for buildings, or as combined contents and building insurance. 

    Extras include home emergency cover, family legal protection, boiler emergency cover, accidental damage cover that you can buy as add-ons features to lower tier plans, all of which are included in the premium plan.

    Admiral also gives the option to choose your variable excess amounts to reduce the amount you would have to pay in case you need to make a claim.

    Pros
    •  £350 bicycle cover included
    • Customisable policies 
    • Matching items cover
    Cons
    • Limited legal cover in lower tiers

    2 . Alan Boswell Group

    Best For Building Cover
  • Rating: 8.4/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: £250,00
  • Accommodation: /
  • Replacement locks or keys: Up to £1000
  • Alan Boswell Group is an FCA-regulated entity that started off as a specialist broker some 35 years ago. The company now has a range of both private and commercial insurance for businesses and private individuals.

    They offer comprehensive buildings and content cover with the option to include extra cover for home emergencies, damage caused by pets, ‘all risk’ cover for contents and personal possessions, and even travel insurance.

    Other extras include legal expenses cover, excess protection, and home emergency cover. The company also has landlord content insurance and rent guarantee cover available.

    Pros
    • ‘All risk’ cover 
    • Garden cover available
    • Plenty of add-ons
    Cons
    • Basic standard cover

    3 . Homeprotect

    Best For Non-Standard Cover
  • Rating: 9.5/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: Up to £1 million
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: Up to £6,000 (£500 per item)
  • Accomodation: Up to £75,000 per claim
  • Replacement locks or keys: Up to £1,500
  • Homeprotect is one of the biggest home insurance companies in the UK that’s widely known as one of the leading insurers that specialize in non-standard property cover, including for holiday homes, buy-to-let properties, lodgers, and unoccupied properties, among others. 

    The company provides both building and contents insurance, combined insurance, as well as accidental damage, legal expenses, and home emergency cover as optional extras.

    Homeprotect’s building policies cover for losses from flood, vandalism, burglary, storm, and subsidence, while its contents insurance includes personal possessions cover even outside of your home and contents replacement on a new for old basis.

    Pros
    • Available to people with unspent criminal convictions 
    • Non-standard material cover
    • Full accidental damage cover available
    Cons
    • Electronic gadget covers are subject to a quote

    4 . The AA

    Best For Premium Cover
  • Rating: 9.2/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Accomodation: Up to £50.000 (Home Insurance Plus)
  • Replacement locks or keys: Up to £1,000
  • The AA is the UK’s largest motoring organization and one of the best buildings and contents insurance companies in the UK. 

    The insurers offer four options for home insurance cover, including building and contents insurance as standalone policies, which you can combine, as well as Home Insurance Plus, which is an enhanced version of the combined policy. 

    They include everything from tracing and accessing leaks to unlimited rebuilding costs and new or old cover.

    The Home Insurance Plus policy features legal expenses and home emergency cover, which are available as extras in the lower tiers, as well as matching sets and suits and student possession cover.

    You can also add accidental damage and personal belongings cover to AA’s standard policies.

    Pros
    • Up to £5,000 leak fix
    • New for old in all policies
    • Comprehensive coverage in one package
    Cons
    • Accidental cover costs extras in the standard policies

    5 . MORE THAN

    Best For Comprehensive Cover
  • Rating: 9/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: Up to £1 million
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: Up to £100,000
  • Accommodation: Up to £115,000
  • Replacement locks or keys: Up to £1000
  • MORE THAN is one of the best home insurance providers that offer a host of insurance products, including home, pet, and caravan insurance products.

    This insurer offers building and contents insurance, which you can combine, and there’s also an option to pick an upgraded version of each for a more comprehensive insurance package.  

    The policies cover flood and storm damage (excluding gates, hedges, and fences) fire and lightning damage, damage caused by vandalism, theft, water leaks, subsidence, and TV and satellite aerials damage. There’s also a new cover and cover for working from home equipment, such as laptops, computers, and other office supplies.

    When it comes to extras, MORE THAN allows customers to add accidental damage, personal possession and money outside of the home, family bikes, and legal services cover.

    Pros
    • 24/7 home emergency assistance
    • Old for new cover
    • Working from home equipment cover
    Cons
    • Claim line is not open 24/7

    6 . Swinton

    Best For Add-Ons
  • Rating: 8.8/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: Up to £150,000
  • Accommodation: Up to £150,000
  • Replacement locks or keys: £500
  • Swinton is the right choice for anyone looking for the best high value home insurance companies in the UK. The company has been around for more than 60 years and offers pet and car insurance (here’s what can happen if you drive uninsured) in addition to its home insurance policies.

    Swinton has building insurance and contents insurance as separate policies, but you can combine them and get a discount. They cover temporary accommodation, matching set cover, blocked sewer pipe damage and trace and access, as well as damage to furniture, electrical, and small and large appliances.

    Some of these features may come at an extra cost depending on which policy you buy. 

    Customers can also tailor their policies to their needs and add cover for personal possessions outside the home, accident damage, and legal protection.

    Pros
    • Competitive prices
    • Different underwriters to choose from
    • Customers service available on different platforms
    Cons
    • Content protection outside of home is not included in the standard policies

    7 . John Lewis Finance

    Best for Flexible Cover
  • Rating: 8.7/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Accomodation: £10,000- Unlimited
  • Replacement locks or keys: £500- Unlimited
  • John Lewis Finance is widely considered to be one of the best UK home insurance companies on the market. 

    The insurer offers separate buildings insurance and contents insurance, which can be combined for complete home cover, and three different cover options: Bronze, Silver, and Gold for buildings, contents, or both. 

    One of the advantages of being a John Lewis customer is that you can build your own policy. Some of the extras that you can add to your policy include accidental damage, bicycle, garden, legal, home emergency, and personal possessions cover, some of which are included in the higher tiers. 

    The best part about John Lewis Finance is that it doesn’t charge existing customers more than a new customer for the same cover and allows them to change their policy at any time, without having to pay admin fees. 

    Pros
    • You can cancel or update your policy at any time
    • You won’t pay more than a new customer when it’s time to renew your policy 
    • You can insure your second home also
    Cons
    • Low alternative accommodation 

    8 . Aviva

    Best For Customer Satisfaction
  • Rating: 8.75/10
  • Types of cover: The house and buildings Cover and Contents Cover
  • Maximum building insurance sum: £80,000
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: Unlimited
  • Accommodation: up to £5,000
  • Replacement locks or keys: Up to £1,000
  • On the list of home insurance companies in the UK, Aviva is one of the largest general insurance providers that offer an extensive range of insurance products.

    Like most insurance providers, Aviva provides both buildings-only and contents-only covers, but there is an option to combine and customize them with optional extras. 

    The standard policies cover tracing and accessing leaks, emergency access, and public liability, as well as cover for valuables, personal money, home office equipment, and even food in the freezer. 

    Unlike most insurers, Aviva’s insurance products also feature fatal injury benefit, tenants’ and employers liability and occupiers liability. 

    Finally, for those who want some extra cover, Aviva has add-ons for accidental damage, pedal cycles, no claims discount, and legal service cover.

    Pros
    • Available to tenants and landlords
    • No claims discount option
    • Online claim service
    Cons
    • Accidental damage is not included in lower tiers

    9 . So-Sure

    Best For Contents Insurance
  • Rating: 8.6/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum:/
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: Up to £50,000
  • Accommodation: /
  • Replacement locks or keys:/
  • If you’re looking for a UK best home insurance provider that specializes in contents insurance, then you might want to consider SO-SURE’s policies.

    SO-SURE offers cover for damage caused by fire and smoke, storm and floods, theft, household leaks, and vandalism, and protects freezer goods, items in the garden, as well as other shared areas.

    You can customize your policy by adding business equipment, out of home, and accidental damage cover, as well as pet insurance.

    What makes SO-SURE stand out from the crowd of insurers is that it gives you back 40% of your premium at the end of the year if you don’t make any claims. It also has a user-friendly app that lets you point to the thing you want to insure with your camera and it will detect what it is and how much the insurance would cost. 

    Pros
    • No hidden fees 
    • Ability to choose your own excess amount
    • 14 day money back guarantee
    Cons
    • No bicycle cover

    10 . Policy Expert

    Best For Cheap Quotes
  • Rating: 8.1/10
  • Maximum building insurance sum: £1,000,000
  • Maximum contents insurance sum: £100,000
  • Accommodation: Up to £150,000
  • Replacement locks or keys: up to £1,000
  • Policy Expert is one of the top UK home insurance companies that’s known for cheap quotes and strong customer ratings. The company says that it manages to keep its quotes affordable by offering insurance to low-risk people, so if you’re one of those, then this insurer is probably the best choice for you. 

    Policy Expert offers three levels of cover– Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

    Unlike most home insurance providers, the standard plans from Policy Expert include every feature that you can find in the higher tier plans but are insured to a certain amount. 

    If you’d like some extra cover, you’ll have to pay more. Some of the options you can add to your policy are home emergency expenses, legal expenses, accidental damage, and away from home cover.

    Pros
    • 24/7 emergency helpline
    • New for old cover in all plans 
    • Fixed prices for 2 years
    Cons
    • Key cover is an add-on 

    Home Insurance Guide

    Although home insurance is not mandatory, it is the best way to protect your home and contents against financial loss. But, before you set out to purchase an insurance policy, here are the things you should look for:

    Cost 

    Home insurance prices vary depending on the company, the type of cover you choose, and sometimes, your personal circumstances. Some insurers offer cheaper standard policies and you’ll need to pay extra if you want more coverage. Others include more features in their policies, which are generally pricier.

    Rebuild value

    The rebuild value is the cost that you’ll need to invest, including in materials and labor, to reconstruct your home if it was destroyed from the ground up. Basing your policy on your home’s rebuild value will help you avoid over-insuring and paying unnecessarily high premiums.

    Alternative accommodation 

    Alternative accommodation is a cover that gives you secondary shelter in cases of extensive damage that renders your home completely uninhabitable. While the cover comes as a standard feature in most building insurance policies, some insurers offer it as an add-on.

    Matching sets

    Matching sets, or matching items, is a feature that provides coverage for broken or damaged items in your household. For example, if you break one of your dining chairs, you can issue a claim to your insurance provider, who will pay to replace the entire set. Note that some policies only offer a replacement for a single broken item.

    Add-ons

    Add-ons are a great way to tailor your insurance and add extras your standard policy doesn’t feature. Most insurance companies offer similar add-ons like accidental damage and emergency cover, though they are sometimes included in higher tiers.

    Additional fees and charges

    Most companies have a 14-day moneyback guarantee should you decide to back out of the deal for different reasons. Once the cooling-off period passes, insurers charge an early cancellation fee. You should also be on the lookout for admin fees and other charges.

    Bottom Line

    Purchasing home insurance won’t prevent damage to your property or belongings, but it can provide a financial safety net if the unexpected happens. Regardless of your situation, there are plenty of home insurance policies available on the market. What’s more, most insurance companies offer different cover levels and the option to tailor your insurance to your needs.

    FAQ

    Which home insurance company has the highest customer satisfaction?

    At publishing time, Aviva has the highest customer satisfaction. 

    How much is home insurance on average in the UK?

    On average, home insurance in the UK costs around £140 per year, according to MoneyHelper.

    What does home insurance cover?

    Home insurance typically covers damage to the home and its contents, as well as liability in case someone is injured on the property. It may also cover loss or damage to personal belongings. 

    What is buildings insurance?

    Buildings insurance is a home insurance policy that specifically covers the cost of rebuilding and repairing the structure of the home in case of damage caused by natural disasters, vandalism, or theft

    What is contents insurance?

    Contents insurance is a type of policy that covers loss or damage to things in your home and often, outside of your home. This can include items like furniture, clothing, electronics, jewelry, patio furniture, and gardening items.

    Can I get immediate insurance cover for my home?

    You can typically get immediate cover for your home if you need it.

    How do I cancel my home insurance?

    Policyholders can cancel their home insurance policy by contacting the insurance provider. The insurer will ask them to provide certain information like policy number, the dates of coverage, and certificate of insurance. The best home insurance companies in the UK all have good cancellation policies.