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Homeowners in Newry, Mourne and Down are paying more for home insurance than anywhere else in Northern Ireland, with average premiums in the district now standing at over £800 a year, more than twice the average premium for Ards and North Down.
New data from CompareNI.com shows the area remains by far the most expensive in Northern Ireland, with prices rising by 6.5% from £769 to £819.22 in just one year.
Northern Ireland has been hit by several extreme weather events in recent years, most notably the severe flooding that hit the South East in autumn 2023, which inundated hundreds of properties and cost upwards of £40 million worth of damage. Homeowners in Newry, Mourne and Down continue to be severely impacted by this event, with premiums in the district rising by 235% over the past three years. The scale of the incident prompted a government review, which found the flooding was due to unprecedented rainfall and warned that with climate change, the frequency of such events will double. As insurers factor long-term risk into their pricing, this partly explains why premiums in Newry, Mourne and Down remain high and continue to climb, almost three years after the flood waters subsided.
The figures form part of wider research showing that homeowners in Northern Ireland are paying over three times more for insurance than the rest of the UK on average. While average premiums have fallen year-on-year across the UK, households in Northern Ireland still face far higher costs than any other region, and even the cheapest Northern Ireland district has significantly higher premiums than every region in Great Britain.
The gap between the cheapest (Ards and North Down) and most expensive (Newry, Mourne and Down District Council) districts in Northern Ireland has widened to over £400. Along with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Antrim and Newtownabbey was the only other district to see a rise, up 3.5% to £456, while Ards and North Down continues to have the lowest average premiums, with costs falling 5.3% to £411. The biggest year-on-year reductions were seen in Fermanagh and Omagh, down 11%, Mid and East Antrim, down 8.5%, and Causeway Coast and Glens, down 7.4%.
The higher home insurance prices in Northern Ireland compared with Great Britain are mainly due to a combination of risk and market issues. Building repairs in the region tend to be more expensive because of inflation, labour shortages and material costs, and there are fewer providers here, making costs less competitive than in England, Scotland and Wales.
Ian Wilson, home insurance expert and Managing Director at CompareNI.com, said: "While it is positive to see home insurance prices dropping across the UK, Northern Ireland is unfortunately not keeping pace with other regions and homeowners here are missing out on big savings." He continued: "While Londoners saw premiums fall by 11%, prices in Northern Ireland dropped by just 5% on average, the smallest reduction anywhere in the UK. Average premiums here are now more than three times higher than across the water, adding extra strain to household budgets that are already being stretched by rising living costs."
Wilson added: "The latest figures also highlight just how much postcodes can influence insurance costs - with the gap between the highest and lowest-priced areas in Northern Ireland continuing to grow over the past year. The steady rise in costs in Newry, Mourne and Down shows the lasting impact that extreme weather events can have on insurance prices, with providers factoring increased flood risk into their calculations for years afterwards. While location isn't something that homeowners can easily change, there are still some simple steps they can take to help bring insurance costs down, such as paying annually if possible, reviewing their level of cover and always shopping around."
Homeowners looking to reduce their premiums are advised to improve home security through measures such as burglar alarms, deadbolts or motion sensor lighting, to accurately value their property and contents rather than over insuring, and to keep on top of minor repairs to build a no-claims history. Paying the annual premium in a lump sum, where affordable, avoids the interest charges that come with monthly instalments, and homeowners are also encouraged not to allow policies to auto-renew without shopping around for a better price first. CompareNI.com can help households in Northern Ireland compare and find savings on their home insurance, as well as niche products such as landlord, holiday home or unoccupied property insurance.
