By clicking a retailer link you consent to third-party cookies that track your onward journey. If you make a purchase, Which? will receive an affiliate commission, which supports our mission to be the UK's consumer champion.

20 Sept 2024

Best home insurance 2024

We surveyed nearly 1,700 home insurance customers and 33 companies to discover the best home insurance companies and policies in the UK.

Dean SobersSenior researcher & writer

In this article

How to choose the best home insurance provider

With home insurance prices having risen thanks to extreme weather and higher inflation, it's increasingly important to get the right policy.

We surveyed 1,678 customers who have recently claimed and analysed 75 policies from 33 companies. We asked questions on everything from clarity of home insurance policies to customer service.

Our experts used this information to name our Which? Best Buy policies - the most comprehensive insurance for your home.

Want the best policy or insurer? Use our tables below, then go to confused.com, another comparison site or direct to the insurer.
Want the cheapest policy or insurer? Follow the links to confused.com, or another comparison site, to get a list of policies. Then check what the policies scored by searching our tables.
Want standalone contents insurance or buildings insurance? Click the links to see our ratings

Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.

Compare home insurance deals

Check Which? insurance ratings and compare deals using the service provided by Confused.com

Get a quote

Best UK home insurance policies compared

We've ranked combined buildings and contents policies. Search by insurer or policy name, or use the up/down arrows to sort insurance policies.

Are you looking for policies or insurers?

Combined home insurance policies

Search this table

						Get a quote
NatWest Premier Home Insurance	88%	84%	91%	62%	64%	Check you're getting a great deal and search for a new home insurance policy using the service provided by Confused Compare home insurance deals
Royal Bank of Scotland Premier Home Insurance	88%	84%	best buy 91%	-	-
M&S Premier Home Insurance	82%	83%	80%	-	-
LV= Home Plus Insurance	79%	77%	81%	63%	60%
NatWest Elite Home Insurance	79%	78%	79%	62%	64%
Royal Bank of Scotland Elite Home Insurance	79%	78%	best buy 79%	-	-
M&S Standard Home Insurance	78%	78%	77%	-	-

Table note: last updated in September 2024. Next update in September 2025. Customer Survey: Based on an online survey of 1,678 adults (Customer Score) and 1,639 adults (Claims Score) - members of the Which? Connect Panel and members of the public - who had made a claim in the past two years. Survey conducted in June-July 2024. Sample sizes are given in brand 'info'. 'Customer Score' reflects the general satisfaction of customers with their insurer and their likelihood of recommending it. The 'Claims Score' reflects how satisfied they were with how their most recent claim was handled and their likelihood of recommending the insurer for claims. A dash (-) means not enough responses to include a Customer or Claims score. You can read our full methodology below.

Check you're getting a great deal and search for a new home insurance policy using the service provided by Confused.com. Get a quote now

Best UK home insurance policies

We found 11 Best Buy policies from Churchill, Direct Line, Ecclesiastical, NFU Mutual, Privilege, Saga, The Salvation Army General Insurance Company, and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Here we focus on the top three by combined policy score.

Royal Bank of Scotland

We like: RBS' 'Premier' policy is a Best Buy for its contents cover. When it comes to your valuables, it offers £10,000 cover per item. It also provides £2,500 cover for cash taken from your home. Its cover protects the contents of family members who take some of their possessions away with them to university (up to £15,000 cover).

Read our full review of Royal Bank of Scotland home insurance.

Ecclesiastical

We like: Its two policies are Best Buys for contents and buildings cover and rank highly among those we reviewed - particularly for buildings cover. Notably, both charge no admin fees and comparatively low interest rates if you pay monthly. And unlike most policies, the contents cover also protects against damage caused by domestic pets.

Read our full review of Ecclesiastical home insurance.

Direct Line

We like: Direct Line's Plus policy is a Best Buy for its contents and buildings cover. The policy covers the expenses for damage to belongings in outbuildings (for example, sheds or greenhouses) at the same level as items inside your home. The policy provides strong coverage for burst pipes, and if your keys are lost or stolen, you can make a claim to replace external locks.

Read our full review of Direct line home insurance.

Find the best deal on home insurance using the service provided by Confused.com.

Don't overlook accidental damage cover

Dean Sobers, Which? insurance expert, says: 'Accidental damage cover - offered with most home insurance policies - is often thought of as 'clumsiness cover'. When deciding whether to add it, we'll often end up thinking of smashed vases, spilled wine or a foot through an attic floor.

'This is probably one of the reasons why most policies make it an optional extra - a perk or luxury - and not a core part of home insurance. Some of us will reason that we're pretty careful, so can probably get on without it.

'Yet our surveys repeatedly find accidental damage to be the most commonly claimed-on part of home insurance policies.

'This could be partly down to the fact that it covers more than what most of us envision when thinking of 'accidents'. One major provider's (fairly standard) policy definition of the cover is "damage caused suddenly and unexpectedly by an outside force which can be identified". This is actually pretty broad and potentially includes events where a person - clumsy or otherwise - isn't even present. One unexpected real-life example we've heard of is a power surge breaking a TV.

'Everyone's needs and requirements are different when selecting the best cover for them, which is one of the reasons insurers are adding increasing amounts of choice into their policy selections. Nonetheless, we think it's worth giving accidental damage cover some thought before disregarding it.'

Home insurance FAQs

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) reported that from April to June 2024, the average cost of home insurance was £396 a year - up 19% on the year before.

This was for combined contents and buildings insurance. Once you break it down, buildings insurance was £321 and contents was £137.

The ABI blamed rising prices on a succession of storms in 2023 causing damage, as well as subsidence and the average payout rising.

Begin by comparing prices from trusted comparison websites, including Confused.com, Compare the Market, GoCompare, and MoneySuperMarket. Don't overlook insurers such as Direct Line and NFU Mutual, which may offer competitive rates.

Start getting quotes at least a month before your policy renewal date, allowing sufficient time for negotiation. While cashback sites like Quidco and TopCashback can provide additional savings, ensure you're not compromising essential coverage for a cash reward.

Review your coverage to ensure it aligns with your actual needs, whether it's for building insurance, contents insurance, or a combined policy. Accurately assess the rebuild value of your property and the value of your contents to avoid overpayment. Set a reasonable excess level that balances affordability with potential claims costs. If feasible, select annual payments over monthly instalments to avoid high-interest charges.

Enhancing your home's security can also contribute to reduced insurance premiums. Consider installing high-quality locks and burglar alarms or investing in smart security systems to minimise risk in the eyes of insurers.

Lastly, don't hesitate to negotiate with your current insurer using competitive quotes as leverage, as haggling could result in big savings on your premium.

Find out more by reading our full guide on how to find cheap home insurance.

In the UK, home insurance typically covers the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your property (buildings insurance) and contents within the home (contents insurance).

This could include protection against events such as fire, theft, and damage. Liability coverage, alternative accommodation, and optional add-ons for personal possessions and legal expenses may also be included in comprehensive policies.

Check out our guides on best buildings insurance and best contents insurance for more detailed information.

There are two main types of home insurance - buildings insurance and contents insurance. As their names suggest, buildings insurance covers your home’s physical structure while contents insurance covers your possessions and items within your home.

Buildings insurance covers your windows, walls and roof as well as permanent fixtures in your home such as fitted kitchens and bathrooms. Your policy will protect you against damage caused by fire, flood, fallen trees, vandalism, malicious damage, subsidence and vehicle or aircraft collisions.

Content insurance covers the cost of replacing items in your home if they are destroyed, damaged or stolen. Insurers tend to consider your ‘contents’ as items that you would take with you if you moved home. This can include furniture, kitchenware, entertainment, soft furnishings, and jewellery amongst others.

It is recommended that you purchase contents and buildings insurance together but you can buy them individually. This is more popular for renters or people who pay service charges as they do not need to have a buildings insurance policy in place.

No, unlike car insurance, home insurance is not a legal requirement. You do not have to have a home insurance policy in order to own or rent a home in the UK.

That said, most mortgage lenders will require you to hold buildings insurance.

However, if you choose to skip taking out a home insurance policy you are putting your home - both the building and the contents - at risk. If something were to happen to your home such as subsidence or a break in, you would have to pay for the repairs and loss of possessions in full.

According to the Financial Conduct Authority, in 2023, 72% of claims on combined home insurance policies were accepted - with the average claim covering £4,530 worth of damage. Without home insurance cover, you would be left to pay that figure without any financial support.

The ABI reported that only 69% of adults have contents insurance. This means that 31% of consumers are leaving their personal possessions such as their laptops, TVs, and jewellery vulnerable to theft, loss or damage.

The chances are, your home is the most expensive thing you will ever buy. So making sure it is protected and cared for will be worth it in the long run. And while prices are continuing to creep up, your policy doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

We found 8 things that you buy per week that cost more than your home insurance such as a glass of wine or a cinema ticket. Paying annually and shopping around for a competitive home insurance quote are a few ways to help keep your costs down and help you find cheap home insurance.

Home insurance typically covers damage caused by electrical faults - but usually only if this is the result of sudden damage by an external force. They usually won't cover issues related to wear-and-tear and faulty workmanship. Some policies offer extras like home emergency cover, which is designed to provide rapid assistance in urgent situations, separate from regular home insurance.

Home emergency cover can be useful for emergencies ranging from plumbing issues to problems with pests or vermin and electrical faults. The cover usually costs around £50 a year.

If your home experiences a blown fuse box or loss of power due to an electrical failure, you could potentially claim on your home emergency cover to address the problem promptly. However, home emergency cover is unlikely to cover:

Temporary electrical wiring
Wiring outside your home
The electrical supply to your outbuildings and garages

Find out more: Home insurance: add-ons, fees and charges explained.

To ensure you have the right cover, it's worth having a precise idea of how much you need to insure.

Find out the rebuild price of your property (this will be lower than the value). The Association of British Insurers provides a free-to-use calculator to help you estimate this.

The same goes for the combined cost of your contents. Our contents calculator can help you tally up the value of your possessions.

Yes you can, and it can be very effective.

Negotiating a cheaper insurance price isn't a dark art - it can be as simple as calling your insurer and asking if they can do better than the renewal offer.

If you've shopped around, you'll be able to give examples of deals you've seen elsewhere.

New rules protecting renewing customers from being charged more than if they were new don't stop your insurer offering you a cheaper price if you haggle.

Don't just let your home insurance roll over each year.

Insurers used to be able to charge you more if you were renewing with them than they would if you were new. They can't do this anymore, but you still stand to lose out by not checking if you're being offered a good deal.

Whether you're thinking about switching or want to stay put, assume that the figure posted out to you in your renewal letter is up for debate.

Take 10 minutes to run a quote on a comparison site. This will give you an indication of what your insurer's rivals are prepared to offer.

Not all of us live in 'typical' circumstances or conventional properties. If your home has a thatched roof, a history of subsidence or is of unusual construction you may need to stray off the beaten track to find reasonably priced cover.

There are insurers and brokers that specialise in particular types of risk, so it's worth including them in your search. The British Insurance Broker's Association's website has a 'Find Insurance' tool and a helpline (0370 950 1790) for this purpose.

If your house is going to be empty for more than 30 consecutive days, you'll likely need a specialist unoccupied home insurance policy.

Standard home insurance usually covers your property all year round, but it typically requires that your house isn't left unoccupied for longer than 30 days.

Some policies may give more time, sometimes up to 60 days, but it varies.

Unoccupied property insurance tends to be more expensive than regular home insurance because insurance companies see an empty house as a bigger risk.

If you're a landlord and your property is empty between tenants, landlord insurance might cover it for up to 3 months. But, depending on your insurer, you might need to add extra coverage for empty properties. It's a good idea to check with your insurer to make sure you're covered.

How we analyse home insurance

Customer scores

In June and July 2024, we surveyed 1,678 policyholders who had made a claim with their current insurer within the past two years. The customer score is based on their overall satisfaction and their likelihood of recommending their insurer.

Providers must receive a minimum sample size of 30 to be included.

We only survey customers who have recently claimed. This is because you'll only know how good an insurer's customer service really is when you have to make a claim. That's when good insurers will show their ability to deal with problems, quickly process your claim and arrange replacements or repairs as soon as possible.

Policy scores

In July 2024, we surveyed 33 insurance companies about the levels of cover in their policies. We rated 41 elements of contents cover, 26 elements of buildings cover and 25 features that apply to both - such as admin fees. The policy score reflects how well the policy did overall. The higher it is, the more comprehensive the cover.

Certain elements are weighted to have more or less of an impact on the policy score based on the general level of importance we think it has. Among the highest-weighted elements are accidental damage cover, claim limits for valuables and alternative accommodation cover.

Combined score

The combined score is the average of the policy's buildings and contents scores. We use this score to rank the policies in our main table.

Which? Best Buys

We review a lot of policies and our Best Buy award recognises the individual products that stood out as being the most comprehensive in our analysis. It doesn't reflect customer service. However, we won't make a provider a Best Buy where there's evidence - either from our surveys or from Financial Conduct Authority data - of poor service or a poorer-than-average record of paying claims.

Policies named as Best Buys for buildings cover have a minimum policy score of 75%
Policies named as Best Buys for contents cover have a minimum policy score of 68%

Additionally, we look at how consistently good the cover is in policies. To make the cut, a policy needs to have scored at least three out of five points in two-thirds of the areas we've rated (see 'How we calculate the scores' for more).

Lastly, all Best Buy policies must have - or make available - the following levels of cover as a minimum:

Buildings

Flood, storm, subsidence and accidental damage cover; cover for burst or blocked pipes; trace and access cover (£5,000); alternative accommodation (£50,000) with no time limit; property owner liability (£1m); replacement of locks or keys for external doors (£500); home emergency cover (£500 and includes the central heating system)

Contents

Accidental damage cover; theft and damage of contents in the open; theft and damage of contents from outbuildings; business equipment; alternative accommodation (£15,000); money in the home (£500); valuables (unspecified single item limit - £2,000); personal possessions (unspecified single item limit - £1,000); replacement of locks or keys for external doors (£500).