Renters who make a home insurance claim receive an average payout of £1,423, more than 15 times their annual premium cost. Fewer than a third of UK private renters, however, hold any contents insurance at all.
That figure comes from Aviva's How We Live report, published in March 2025, based on a Censuswide survey of 4,000 UK respondents. The same report found the average household estimates its possessions at £58,210, up 38% from 2019. The private rented sector accounts for 4.7 million households in England, or 19% of all households, according to the English Housing Survey 2024-25.
That combination creates a practical conversation for brokers with landlord clients or letting agent relationships. Most home contents cover is sold alongside buildings insurance, which mortgage lenders require from owner-occupiers. Renters have no equivalent prompt.
Renters' insurance is not legally required in the UK. Landlords cannot compel tenants to take out cover under existing tenancy law.
The Tesco Insurance claims data, drawn from the insurer's own book, shows TVs top renter claim types at 16.47%. Accidental loss follows at 15.08%, then laptops (10.44%), theft (9.98%), and phones (7.89%). The average annual premium for renters' contents cover from the insurer is £92.28, less than £8 per month.
The frequency data reveals a tension relevant to adequacy conversations. Electronics dominate by volume, but fire generates the highest average renter payout at £9,031 and flooding the second-highest at £4,986. Neither ranks in the top five renter claim types by frequency.
The ABI reported in February 2026 that the average domestic flood payout across the market reached £30,000 in 2025.
Renters who hold cover may not be sizing their sum insured against the risks that carry the greatest financial consequence. For homeowners, escape of water accounts for 27.48% of all claims, followed by accidental loss (10.27%) and underground pipe damage (7.79%). The average homeowner claim is £3,747, more than double the renter figure, driven by structural repair costs.
A GoCompare survey conducted by Censuswide in September 2025, covering 2,000 UK consumers, found nearly a third (32%) admitted to having no home contents cover. That was up from 26% in an equivalent 2022 survey. Cost was cited as a barrier by 47% of the uninsured in that 2022 research.
The renter segment is also growing. In London, the private rented sector accounts for 28% of all households, against 17% in the rest of England, according to the English Housing Survey 2024-25. The Renters' Rights Act, in force since May 2026, introduced assured periodic tenancies and banned advance rent payments beyond one month.
Alex Cross, chief customer officer at Tesco Insurance, said the claims data shows renters are replacing everyday essentials after incidents rather than luxury items. "Replacing several everyday essentials like a TV and laptop after a theft, fire or accident can quickly become very expensive," he said.
For brokers already advising landlord clients, the data creates a referral and signposting opportunity. Options include advising landlords to recommend cover to tenants and developing direct routes to the renter market through letting agent partnerships.
