The price of home insurance is set to rise as insurers pass on the cost of flood and bad weather damage. That's according to a report by Datamonitor.
The report found that last year the average household insurance premium rose by 2.3%.
The value of premiums rose by 14% in 2001 to bring the value of the market to £5.6bn. The rise was caused largely by increases in premium rates as insures pushed to regain profitability after years of losses.
While insurers claimed in the report that they have no choice but to raise the price of cover, report author George Wigley said: "The effect of September 11 on the reinsurance market means that premium increases are likely to continue.
"Weather damage claims in 2002 were up 26% from 2001. This was mainly due to storm claims, which rose by 54% in 2002. Whether this is the beginning of a long-term change in UK weather patterns is currently a hot topic for insurers."
