Owners of period homes pay more than double the annual home insurance costs of those in modern properties, with research from Compare the Market revealing a 110% premium gap between pre-First World War properties and those built after 2000.
Data from February 2026 puts the average annual premium for period homes at £376, against £179 for post-2000 properties. Stuart-era homes (1603–1714) carry the highest average premiums at £545, followed by Georgian properties (1714–1830) at £446 and Tudor homes (1485–1603) at £418. Victorian (£252) and Edwardian (£243) properties sit at the lower end of the period scale.
The premium gap reflects structural characteristics common to older properties: unconventional building materials, ageing electrical systems and outdated plumbing all raise the likelihood of claims. Rebuild costs also run higher, with specialist tradespeople often required and certain materials difficult to source.
For listed buildings – a distinct and more acutely affected subset – the challenge goes further. Owners are legally obliged to repair using period-appropriate materials and craftspeople, with rebuild costs running two to three times higher than for standard properties, according to specialist insurers.
Standard home insurance policies, designed for conventionally built homes, calculate rebuild costs based on modern construction methods and do not account for the additional expenses associated with listed building repairs, leaving many owners significantly underinsured.
Despite the gap with modern homes, premiums for period properties have declined year on year. The average stood at £442 in February 2025, a 15% fall – in line with a broader market softening that saw average UK home insurance premiums drop 9% in January 2026, per Compare the Market's Monthly Home Premiums research.
Deloitte forecasts that consumer premiums will fall a further 7% in 2026 to £306, driven by declining claims and a competitive market. Yet its projected net combined ratio (NCR) of 102.1% for the year signals industry-wide losses even as prices ease.
An NCR above 100% means an insurer is paying out more in claims and overheads than it collects in premiums – a dynamic that could place upward pressure on rates for higher-risk segments, including period homes. EY's own analysis puts the 2026 NCR at 103%, with rising costs, market competition and geopolitical risk all cited as contributing factors.
Looking further ahead, climate trends present a mounting structural risk for older housing stock. Based on 2025 figures published by the ABI, the Met Office recorded summer 2025 as the UK's hottest on record, driving domestic subsidence payouts up 10% to £307 million – their highest level on record.
Weather damage claims that year totalled £1.4 billion, with storm-related damage up 32% and the average flood payout rising 60% to £30,000. Deloitte estimates that weather-related claims for 2025 likely reached £1.6 billion in total, more than double annual levels seen between 2017 and 2021. WTW warns that one in five UK properties currently faces flood risk, a figure it expects to rise to one in four by 2050.
Period homes, often lacking modern damp-proofing and drainage upgrades, are disproportionately exposed to these shifts - and given that flood and subsidence-related claims rose 58% between 2016 and 2024, the trajectory points in one direction.
Amy Rootham, home insurance expert at Compare the Market, acknowledged the ongoing cost gap but pointed to the wider market trend.
"It's encouraging to see premiums for period homes fall over the past year, in line with wider market trends," she said, adding that homeowners should "regularly review their cover and shop around to ensure they're getting the right deal for their needs."
