Pricing consultancy Pearson Ham has launched a new Landlord Insurance Price Tracking service, with analysis that uncovers significant disparities in what landlords pay for property insurance.
The new tool aggregates market data and Pearson Ham’s own pricing insights to track how premiums are moving and why, and has been designed to support insurers and landlords with up-to-date intelligence on pricing trends in the buy-to-let insurance sector.
Updated regularly, the tracker covers a range of indicators, from base buildings-cover costs to the impact of extras and unique landlord circumstances. The latest figures show that factors such as landlord experience, portfolio size, tenant profile and location can lead to widely varying premiums, often clashing with conventional expectations.
Stephen Kennedy, director at Pearson Ham, believes the Landlord Insurance Tracker comes at a crucial time.
He commented: “With the landlord insurance market in flux, we’re seeing a lot of misconceptions. We want to bring transparency to these pricing dynamics.
“By continually monitoring these trends, we can help insurers price more fairly and help landlords navigate further flux in the market. Ultimately, we aim to help informed landlords shop around or negotiate better, and enable insurers to refine their offerings – providing benefits to both through better information.”
Regional variation
The data highlights a striking geographic variation in landlord insurance premiums. Where a property is located remains one of the biggest price drivers. Annual premiums can range from as low as £66 in some low-risk areas (eg parts of Romford or Birmingham) to well over £1,100 in higher-risk postcodes. Pearson Ham’s analysis corroborates these extremes – whilst the median sits at around £300, local factors such as crime rates, rebuild costs and flood risk can swing prices dramatically.
Experience and multiple properties
Conventional wisdom suggests experienced landlords and those with large portfolios get better deals. Pearson Ham finds that a landlord with years of experience will enjoy lower premiums on average – but the difference is on the order of tens of pounds, not a dramatic reduction. First-time landlords, by contrast, are effectively paying a “novice tax” of around £40 more in annual premium, it says.
Whilst many insurers advertise discounted portfolio landlord insurance policies that cover two or more properties under a single policy, the latest price tracking findings from Pearson Ham finds that the effect is modest. For example, landlords with four properties pay roughly £20 less per property in median annual premium compared to those with just one.
Portfolio policies can reduce costs (particularly on add-ons) and simplify administration, but they won’t override fundamental risk factors such as location and property type. In short, owning more houses isn’t a ‘free pass’ to very cheap insurance.
Tenants matter
Policies for tenants with steady employment tend to cost less, whereas renting to higher-risk groups can increase premiums. For example, market data indicates that a landlord letting to working professionals might see an average premium of around £215, but if renting to students, it rises to roughly £320.
Impact of letting agents
The analysis also indicates that using a professional letting agent offers a slight advantage. Pearson Ham observed that some insurers give better quotes for properties under full management. The rationale is that professionally managed properties may be better maintained and tenants more thoroughly vetted, reducing the likelihood of costly claims – although this benefit is relatively minor compared to other factors.
