GuideHQ

Why has my insurance renewal gone up?

Market-wide increases, your own circumstances, and what actually happens when you challenge it.

Difficulty
beginner
Time
20 min
Read
2 min
Safety
caution

Short answer

Insurers must show last year's price on the renewal notice — check it. Then get quotes elsewhere, including from the same insurer as a new customer, and call them with the number. Renewal prices are frequently negotiable.

A renewal increase has three possible causes and they are worth separating: the whole market moved, your own risk changed, or you are simply being quoted a renewal price rather than a competitive one.

Safety

General information about how renewal pricing works, not advice on what to buy. Never cancel a policy before the replacement is confirmed in force — a gap in cover, however brief, is a serious risk.

Step by step

  1. Compare with last year's price on the notice.Insurers are required to show the previous premium on the renewal document. Start there — it tells you the size of the increase rather than the size of the bill.
  2. Check whether anything changed at your end.A claim, a change of address, added drivers, a new roof, a lodger, a change in the sum insured. Any of these legitimately moves the price.
  3. Check the cover has not changed.Sometimes the increase comes with a higher excess or reduced cover. Compare the policy summary as well as the price — a cheaper renewal with worse cover is not a saving.
  4. Understand the market-wide element.Claims costs, repair costs, materials and weather events all push premiums across the whole market. Some of any increase may have nothing to do with you.
  5. Get quotes elsewhere, including from your own insurer.Comparison sites, and check the insurer's own site as a new customer. Rules restrict charging existing customers more than new ones for the equivalent policy, so a large gap is worth raising.
  6. Call them with the alternative quote.Renewal prices are frequently negotiable when you have a specific number. Ask for the retentions team. This costs a phone call and often works.
  7. Set the same excess and cover before comparing.Comparison sites vary the excess to produce a lower headline. Set them identical or you are not comparing the same product.
  8. Never let it auto-renew unchecked.The single most expensive habit in household insurance. Diarise the renewal date and treat it as a decision every year.

Tips

  • Paying annually rather than monthly is usually cheaper — monthly payment is typically credit with interest attached.
  • Do not cancel until the new policy is confirmed in force. Even a day without cover is a serious risk.
  • Loyalty is not rewarded in insurance. Checking the market every year is normal and expected behaviour.

Questions people ask

Can I negotiate an insurance renewal?

Often, yes — particularly with a specific alternative quote to hand. Ask for the retentions team and give them the number.

Why has my premium gone up when nothing changed?

Market-wide costs — claims, repairs, materials, weather — push premiums generally. But get quotes anyway, including from your own insurer as a new customer.

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