Home insurance costs rise by more than 10% in 2011
The cost of home insurance has continued to rise, according to new figures from the AA.
In its latest British Insurance Premium Index, the AA showed that buildings premiums rose by 3.1 per cent in the last three months of 2011. Over the course of the entire year, the cost of insuring a building leapt by an inflation-busting 9.5 per cent - from an average price of £143.36 to £156.95.
The increase in contents insurance premiums has been even more marked - rising 4.4 per cent between the start of October and the end of December last year. Homeowners now pay an average of £80.58 for their contents cover, according to the AA. Year-on-year the increase reached double figures, rising by 11.2 per cent.
Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, claimed a number of factors had caused costs to climb. When it came to buildings insurance, "storm damage, flooding and burst pipes [were] top of insurers' lists of worries, following two harsh winters and increasingly frequent severe weather".
The rise in contents premium costs was partly due to the current economic austerity being felt in Britain and the resulting affect this has had on crime.
"In addition, economic pressures result in more theft claims. According to the British Crime Survey, domestic burglary in England and Wales grew by ten per cent over the 12 months to the end of June 2011," Mr Douglas added.
However, some regions have been far less affected, with South Yorkshire, for example, seeing crime fall to its lowest level since 1989.
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