Average premium for combined buildings and contents policy fell 1.8% in Q3

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The imminent rise in insurance premium tax to 9.5% from 6% will push up home insurance premiums, the ABI has said.

The comment comes as the association’s price index found that the average premium for a combined buildings and contents policy fell by 1.8% to £290 in the third quarter of 2015 from £296 in the same quarter of 2014.

However the £290 premium is a 0.7% increase on the £288 recorded in the second quarter.

The average annual premium for a buildings-only policy was down 7% year on year to £226, while the average annual premium for a contents-only policy fell 6.8% year on year to £121.

ABI general insurance manager Mark Shepherd said: “UK consumers benefit from a very competitive home insurance market which helps to ensure affordability, but the imminent increase in Insurance Premium Tax from November is set to push up premiums for customers buying home insurance.”