Home & Contents Insurance in Northern Ireland

There's plenty of choice of online insurance providers of house insurance in Northern Ireland. With companies offering buildings and / or contents insurance together with specialised contents insurance policies for those people renting rather than buying a property the home insurance market in Northern Ireland is competitive with very good premiums being offered for online buyers.

According to a BBC survey of insurance costs, Northern Ireland is the cheapest UK region for house insurance.Home insurance in London - with high crime levels - can cost three times as much as it does in Northern Ireland.

The AA compared the cost of insuring a three-bedroom semi around the UK and found vast regional differences. According to the survey, the cheapest joint premium is found in Lisnaskea (BT92) in Northern Ireland at £223. But it would cost the same person in West Norwood in London (SE27) £702 or almost £500 more.

Living in a town or city is likely to push up your premiums, but there are still wide regional variations. The cheapest city centres are Inverness (IV2) at £233; Aberdeen (AB25) at £241; Aberystwyth (SY23) at £243 and Exeter (EX1) at £278, whereas the North West, North and South East London have the highest premiums, with average premiums close to £700.

Outside London, Liverpool (L6) is a comparatively distant £574; Manchester (M5) at £536; Birmingham (B5) at £513, followed by Glasgow (G5) at £476.

The average cost of contents cover in the UK is £158.

Regionally, the Scottish Islands (£111) are the cheapest region but are closely followed by East Anglia (£122). Londoners (£250) are hardest hit for contents insurance and pay more than double that of the cheapest. The North West (£212) appears significantly more expensive than neighbouring North East and Yorkshire (£167), a difference of nearly 27%. Douglas (IM1) on the Isle of Man is the cheapest place to live for contents cover at £105, while Ardwick (M12) in Manchester has to pay the most at £402.

There are a number of ways people can cut the cost of their home insurance including :-

Shop around and get quotes from a variety of companies offering home insurance in Northern Ireland. Bear in mind the results from the survey shown above, and make sure that your premium reflects the low costs supposedly associated with home insurance in Northern Ireland. 

Home insurance arranged as part of your mortgage will almost certainly be more expensive than that available from online insurance providers. Consider switching from your mortgage company to an online general insurance provider.

Get a selection of online quotes and also get a quote from a local broker, he might have connections with insurance companies within Northern Ireland that do not offer an online quotation system.

Fit high-quality locks on exit doors and windows.

For the safety of yourself and your family fit at least one smoke alarm in the house. They may not reduce your premium but they will bring the priceless insurance of peace of mind. You might also consider fitting an insurer-approved burglar alarm especially if the house is left empty for any length of time either during the day time or overnight. 

Join your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme.