NORTHERN Ireland is the second most expensive region for home insurance in the UK, with premiums a whopping 30 per cent higher than average across all its regions, according to figures from comparison website CompareNI.com.
Its research says a standard home insurance policy will cost home-owners here an average of £171.19, with only London is more expensive at £173.94.
But in some other regions the figure is more than £50 a year cheaper, including in the north east of England (£111.51), Wales (£115.29), the West Midlands (£117.37) and Scotland (£120.63).
The overall UK average is just £132.33, and the survey showed little variation in property type, with just £25 separating a detached house at £149 and a terraced house, the least expensive at £124.
The firm's new Home Insurance Index is based on a sample of more than 20,000 UK properties, and uses the cheapest home insurance premium offered to each policyholder to calculate regional and national averages.
Broken down by council area, home-owners in Newry, Mourne and Down pay the highest home insurance premiums at an average £189.41 for a standard buildings and contents insurance policy. It's cheapest in Ards and North Down at just £160.87.
Greg Wilson, founder of CompareNI.com, said: “Most home owners have mortgages, which means they usually have a contractual obligation to take out home insurance.
“But it isn’t always obvious what’s a fair price to pay for a standard building and contents insurance policy, which is what our new quarterly Home Insurance Index is designed to address.
He added: “Northern Ireland has a slightly different legal system to the rest of the UK, and as a general rule insurance pay-outs tend to be higher, which can mean insurance policies can be more expensive, to cover the higher rate of compensation.
“Of course, these are averages, and the actual cost of a policy can vary dramatically from one provider to the next.”
