Home Insurance Calculator
Getting a rough home insurance estimate should not require knowing your exact rebuild cost or itemising every possession first — this calculator works from whatever you actually know, filling reasonable industry-standard gaps where needed, so you get a genuine ballpark figure for combined buildings and contents cover even before you have precise numbers to hand.
Home Insurance Calculator
Estimate your buildings and contents insurance premium. Based on ABI market data.
Don’t Know Your Exact Numbers? This Still Works
If you do not know your property’s specific rebuild cost, this calculator estimates it from your property value using a standard industry approximation, since rebuild cost is typically a proportion of market value once land value is excluded. Similarly, if you have not worked out your exact contents value, it estimates a reasonable figure based on your number of bedrooms, using typical UK household data as a starting point. Neither estimate replaces doing the more precise calculation eventually, but both give a genuinely useful figure to start comparing quotes against right away.
This matters in practice because many people delay getting any insurance estimate at all simply because they do not have precise figures ready — removing that barrier means you can get a useful, realistic starting point today, and refine it later once you have gathered more exact information, rather than putting off the whole exercise until everything is perfectly documented.
Why Three Claims Can Double Your Premium
Claims history is one of the most heavily weighted factors in this estimate, and the effect compounds sharply: a single claim in the past five years typically raises the estimate by roughly a third, a second claim pushes it up by around half, and three or more claims can genuinely double the baseline premium. This reflects real insurer pricing behaviour, not an exaggeration — each additional claim is treated by insurers as stronger evidence of an ongoing risk pattern rather than an isolated, unlucky event, which is why the loading accelerates rather than simply adding up in a straight line.
This accelerating pattern is worth understanding before deciding whether to claim for a relatively minor incident — the true cost of a small claim is not just the excess paid at the time, but the compounding effect on renewal premiums for potentially several years afterward, which can add up to considerably more than the original claim amount, particularly if it happens to be a second or third claim rather than a first.
The Floor Beneath Every Estimate
This calculator uses ABI average figures as a sensible floor — buildings cover rarely estimates below roughly £198 a year and contents rarely below roughly £109 a year, reflecting genuine UK market averages for 2026/27, even for a very small property or modest contents value. This prevents the calculator from producing an unrealistically low figure for a small home, since even modest properties carry a baseline level of risk and administrative cost that insurers price for regardless of how little there might be to insure.
The Excess Slider That Actually Moves the Needle
Voluntary excess has a genuinely meaningful effect on this estimate, more than people sometimes expect — a low excess of £100 or less carries a noticeable loading, since the insurer expects to pay out on more frequent, smaller claims, while raising the excess toward £500 or beyond earns a real discount, reflecting less frequent, smaller claim activity. This is one of the more directly controllable levers in the whole estimate, since unlike your property type or claims history, the excess is a genuine choice you make at the point of buying a policy.
As with any excess decision, the right level depends on what you could genuinely afford to pay out of pocket if a claim arose — the saving from a higher excess is only worthwhile if it does not create a real financial strain at the point a claim is actually needed, which is the same practical limit worth applying to any insurance excess decision, not just this one.
When to Switch to the More Precise Tools
This calculator is built for a fast, general estimate — once you are ready to get more precise, our Buildings and Contents Insurance Calculator lets you enter an exact rebuild cost and work through the combined-policy factors in more depth, and our Property Value Estimator can help you reach a more accurate property value if you are unsure, which in turn improves the rebuild cost estimate used here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is estimating my rebuild cost from property value accurate enough?
It is a reasonable starting approximation, but rebuild cost and market value can diverge meaningfully depending on location and property type, so a dedicated rebuild cost assessment is worth getting before finalising a policy, particularly for an unusual or high-value property.
Why does bedroom count affect the contents estimate?
More bedrooms generally correlates with a larger household and more accumulated possessions, making it a reasonable rough proxy for contents value when an exact figure has not yet been calculated, though it is only ever an approximation.
Does a claim from several years ago still count?
Most insurers look at claims within the past five years specifically, so an older claim outside that window typically has little or no effect on a new quote, though this can vary slightly by insurer.
Can I set a different excess for buildings and contents?
Yes, on many policies — some insurers allow separate excess levels for buildings and contents claims, which can be worth considering if you want more flexibility than a single combined excess figure.
Does a combined policy always include a discount?
Most insurers offering combined buildings and contents cover apply some form of bundled discount compared with buying each separately, which this calculator factors in, though the exact size of the discount varies by provider.
Should I add accidental damage cover to this estimate?
It is worth including if you want a realistic estimate that reflects the cover you actually intend to buy — accidental damage is generally an optional extra on both buildings and contents, adding a further amount to each, so leaving it out will understate the total if you plan to include it in your final policy.
Important Information
This calculator provides an estimate for general information purposes only and does not constitute insurance advice or a quote. Actual premiums are set by individual insurers based on their own underwriting criteria and may differ from the figures shown here. For an accurate quote, compare policies directly with insurers or a broker. See our Disclaimer for further information.