UK Buildings & Contents Insurance Calculator
Estimate your UK home insurance premium including rebuild cost (BCIS), contents sum insured, postcode flood/subsidence loading, and 2026 Flood Re context.
Your Property
Home Insurance Premium
Annual Premium
£323
£26.88/month (incl. 12% IPT)
Buildings
£216
Contents
£106
Monthly
£26.88
Rebuild/m²
£1700
Buildings vs Contents — what's covered
Buildings insurance pays to rebuild the property after fire, flood, subsidence, or storm — mandatory if you have a mortgage. Contents covers everything you'd take if you moved: furniture, electronics, clothes, jewellery. Landlords need buildings; tenants need contents only.
Rebuild cost ≠ market value
Insure buildings at the cost to rebuild from foundations, not market value. For most UK homes this is 40–70% of market value — land cost isn't insurable. Use the BCIS Residential Rebuild Index (or ABI calculator) — 2026 UK average is ~£1,700/m². Under-insure and you trigger the average clause: a £100k claim on a home insured at 80% of rebuild is scaled to £80k.
2026 ABI premium benchmarks
Standard-risk £250k rebuild, £35k contents: buildings ~£193/yr, contents ~£95/yr, combined ~£293/yr. Flood-risk postcodes pay 1.4× buildings. Subsidence-prone London clay adds ~30%. All premiums include 12% Insurance Premium Tax.
Flood Re and high-risk postcodes
The Flood Re reinsurance scheme caps buildings premiums for homes built before 2009 in flood-zone postcodes — without it, many coastal and river-valley homes would be uninsurable. New-build post-2009 homes are excluded (developers bear the risk). Check ABI postcode flood map before buying.
Common questions about Home Insurance
Should buildings cover equal my property's market value?+
No. Buildings insurance covers the rebuild cost (structure, foundations, fixed fittings) — usually 60-80% of market value in most of the UK, but higher in cheap-land rural areas. Use the BCIS rebuilding calculator (free, via ABI) or a RICS surveyor for period/listed property. Under-insuring triggers the "average clause" — partial claims get scaled down proportionally.
Buildings and contents together or separately?+
A single combined policy is typically 15-25% cheaper and avoids gaps at the interface (e.g., who pays for the kitchen units after a flood). Separate policies only make sense if you rent (contents only) or are a freehold landlord (buildings only). Shopping both together through comparison sites (Compare the Market, GoCompare) catches the best multi-cover discounts.
What is Flood Re and do I benefit?+
Flood Re is a government-backed reinsurance pool that caps flood-risk premiums for eligible homes (homes built before 2009, in council tax bands A-H). Your insurer (if a Flood Re participant) offers you a "with Flood Re" option and cedes the flood part to the pool. For homes in flood risk zones this can cut premiums by 50-80%. Always ask "do you offer Flood Re terms?" if your postcode has any flood history.
How much contents cover do I need?+
Walk the house room-by-room valuing everything at replacement cost: a 3-bed semi typically has £30k-£50k of contents; a higher-end home with good electronics, designer items, and jewellery can easily reach £75k-£150k. Sublimits apply: single item ~£1,500 (schedule valuables separately), cash ~£500, bicycles ~£500. Under-insuring triggers the average clause — scale up your cover to the true replacement value.
Accidental damage, legal expenses, home emergency — worth it?+
Accidental damage (children, pets, DIY mishaps) — worth ~£20-£40/yr, often saves a five-figure claim. Legal expenses — cheap (~£15/yr) and gives access to a solicitor for disputes. Home emergency (plumber/locksmith) — convenience product, duplicates what many UK mortgages and bank accounts already include, so check existing benefits before paying again.
Does home insurance cover subsidence?+
Standard UK buildings policies include subsidence, heave, and landslip, but with a large separate excess (£1,000-£2,500). A past subsidence claim on the property history materially raises future premiums and can restrict which insurers will quote. If buying a home with subsidence history, get a structural engineer's report (not just a surveyor) and budget for limited market access on renewal.
No-claim discount and how to preserve it?+
Typical home insurance NCD steps are 5%-30% over 5-7 years. Unlike motor, home NCD is not statutorily protected but many insurers offer "protected NCD" for £10-£20/yr — worth it once you hit the top step. Keep all minor claims under the excess out of the policy — a £600 laptop claim can cost you £150/yr of lost NCD over 4 years.