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How much would it cost to insure my large home?
If you own a larger house in the UK, you’ll usually pay more than the national average for home insurance. Recent figures put typical combined buildings and contents cover at around £380–£390 a year, with standalone buildings at roughly £320 and contents about £130. Larger four or five bedroom high value homes often sit in the £450–£800 range, and very high value or complex properties can exceed £1,000.
If you have a large or high value home, rivr focuses on digital-first cover for primary residences, with combined buildings and contents policies built around realistic rebuild costs and limits (up to £3,000,000) that suit substantial properties.
What is home insurance for large homes?
Home insurance is a package of buildings cover and contents cover that helps protect your property and belongings if certain insured events happen. Buildings cover usually insures the cost to rebuild the main structure: walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchen, bathroom and built-in furniture. Contents cover applies to movable belongings such as furniture, clothing, electricals and other items you would take with you if you moved house.
High value homes and large houses often have higher rebuild values, more rooms to repair and more valuable belongings. That means you may need higher limits, different types of cover, and, in some cases, specialist large home insurance; especially if your rebuild estimate is over £1 million, your contents limit is very high, or you have unusual features like a pool house, extensive garden buildings or non-standard construction.
How much does home insurance cost for large UK homes?
Many homeowners ask a simple question: how much would it cost to insure a large home in the UK right now? There is no fixed figure, because every insurance policy is priced on risk and sums insured, but we can use recent averages as a starting point.
Average prices vs larger homes
*Illustrative ranges based on ABI average home insurance costs, bedroom-based comparisons and specialist high-value home insurance surveys: they are not personalised advice or guarantees.
ABI’s tracker shows customers paying about £384 a year on average for combined home insurance, slightly down from around £391 earlier in 2025 after sharp rises in 2023 and 2024.
MoneyWeek suggests a one-bedroom home might pay around £175 a year for combined cover, while a five-bedroom house can be a little over £400, reflecting higher rebuild cost and contents value as bedroom count increases.
For high value homes with high rebuild values, extensive contents and higher limits for alternative accommodation and personal possessions, insurers typically charge higher premiums to reflect the larger sums they might need to pay if a serious incident occurs. Exact prices always depend on your circumstances, risk profile and chosen coverage.
What factors determine the price of insuring a large home?
Insurers look at a mix of property factors, customer details and coverage choices when they determine home insurance costs. For large and high value homes, the following areas usually matter most.
Property and rebuild related factors
- Rebuild cost: the estimated cost to rebuild the buildings if they were destroyed, including materials and labour. Higher rebuild values drive higher buildings sums insured.
- Bedrooms and size: more bedrooms typically mean more space to repair and more belongings to replace, which increases the potential claim amount.
- Age, roof and construction: older buildings, complex roofs, non-standard materials and listed features can be more expensive to repair after damage caused by storms, water leaks or subsidence.
- Location and access: flood risk, crime rates, distance from fire services and how easy it is to reach the property all influence risk and can affect premiums.
These factors help insurers estimate the cost of repairing or rebuilding after a serious incident.
Customer, usage and security factors
- How you use the house: a full time family home usually suits standard cover, but frequent lets or long periods unoccupied are different risks.
- Claims history: previous home insurance claims, especially for theft, escape of water or accidental damage, can push premiums up for future years.
- Security and maintenance: good locks, lighting, alarms and prompt repairs help protect the property and may reduce the price you pay to insure it.
- Excess and voluntary excess: choosing a higher voluntary excess means you will pay more if you claim but can reduce the annual premium, which some homeowners use to balance budget and coverage.
Because every risk profile is different, insurers use internal models and claims data to compare your circumstances with similar customers and then set an insurance premium that suits their appetite for those risks.
What cover does a large home typically need?
Larger properties usually need more than the minimum buildings insurance and contents insurance. You may also want additional cover for home emergency, legal expenses or higher limits that suit high value homes.
Buildings insurance and buildings cover
Buildings insurance is designed to cover damage caused to the physical structure: the walls, roof, floors, built in kitchen, bathroom and fixed fittings. Buildings cover should be based on the rebuild estimate, not market value, so it reflects what it would cost to repair or rebuild the property, not what you paid to purchase it.
For large houses, it's essential to estimate rebuild cost carefully, because being underinsured can limit what insurers pay if there is a major incident and being overinsured can lead to unnecessarily high premiums. High value homes sometimes need policy limits in the millions to give realistic coverage for repair or full rebuild.
Contents insurance, contents cover and personal possessions
Contents insurance covers belongings you would take with you if you moved: furniture, clothing, tech, toys, books and similar items. Contents cover limits need to reflect the full value of what you own, not just what is in the main rooms. For large homes with several bedrooms and reception rooms, that total can be higher than many people expect once they add everything up.
Most policies let you extend cover to personal possessions outside the home, for example jewellery, watches, laptops or bikes. For high value homes with higher value items, it's important to list expensive belongings separately and to compare single item limits between insurers so you know which policy documents actually suit your needs.
High value home insurance and optional extras
Standard home insurance cover is not always enough for very high value homes. High value home insurance can offer higher limits, more flexible valuations and extras designed for larger properties, such as generous alternative accommodation cover, wider accidental damage options and higher limits for art, antiques or collections.
Common optional extras for large homes include:
- Accidental damage: for example: dropping a TV, spilling paint on carpets or cracking a stone worktop.
- Home emergency cover: quick help if there is an urgent problem with heating, serious water leaks, blocked drains or sudden roof damage.
- Legal expenses: a contribution towards legal fees for certain disputes, such as issues with neighbours, contracts or employment, within defined limits.
- Home emergency schemes: broader home emergency options that may include boiler cover and call outs for urgent repair.
These extras can give extra protection but add to the total cost, so it is important to decide which ones genuinely suit your property and circumstances.
What is usually not covered?
Even for high value homes, most home insurance policies exclude:
- Routine wear and tear or gradual deterioration.
- Damage caused by poor maintenance or pre existing problems.
- Malicious damage by people insured under the policy.
- Some types of incident in the garden, such as damage to fences or plants, unless stated.
Theft from outbuildings or garden areas, certain water leaks and some types of accidental damage may be treated differently from events inside the main house, so it is essential to read the sections on exclusions carefully.
How to keep home insurance costs proportionate
You cannot make a large home as cheap to insure as a small flat, but you can keep premiums proportionate to the risks you actually face. The goal is to protect your family and property without paying for cover that does not fit.
Practical ways to manage price
- Get a solid rebuild estimate: use a reputable calculator and, if necessary, a surveyor to estimate rebuild cost rather than guessing from market value or purchase price.
- Review sums insured every year: especially after you add bedrooms, extend the house or buy new furniture and technology, so coverage keeps pace with the real value at risk.
- Set a realistic voluntary excess: higher excess can cut premiums, but you need to be comfortable paying it if a claim happens. It should suit your budget, not just the quote screen.
- Invest in security: better locks, alarms, lighting and visible deterrents can reduce theft risks and may improve how insurers view the property.
- Shop around online in good time: comparing quotes online a couple of weeks before renewal can help you compare coverage and price without rushing the process.
For complex situations or high value homes, you may also want regulated financial advice so a professional can help you compare different types of insurance policy and decide what level of coverage is essential for your circumstances.
Reading the small print for large homes
For large and high value homes, it is especially important to understand:
- Which incidents and perils are covered and which are excluded.
- How much alternative accommodation is available if your home is uninhabitable during repair.
- How the claims process works for expensive belongings and how quickly insurers usually handle home insurance claims.
- Any security conditions you must meet to keep coverage valid.
If you're unsure, it is reasonable to ask the insurer to assist you in understanding the wording. This article is for information only and is not personal advice.
Final checklist before you insure your large home
How rivr cover approaches large and high value homes
rivr is a digital first specialist for high value homes and larger primary residences in the UK. For these properties, rivr focuses on structuring buildings insurance and contents insurance within a combined home insurance policy that reflects realistic rebuild cost, generous limits for belongings and the specific risks that come with owning a substantial property.
Talk to a professional adviser to explore how rivr could support you in the future, with a human team available to assist when it matters most.
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Frequently asked questions
Home insurance for a large house is typically higher than the average combined premium, because rebuild values, room counts and contents totals are greater. That said, a well maintained property with good security in a low risk area may still pay less than a smaller home in a higher risk area, so there is no fixed rule for every homeowner.
You might need specialist large home insurance if the cost to rebuild your property is above standard limits, if your contents value is very high, or if you own many individual items that exceed common single item limits. High value homes with pools, large gardens, outbuildings or non standard construction can also benefit from tailored coverage and higher limits for alternative accommodation.
When you ask for a home insurance quote, insurers usually ask about the address, number of bedrooms, construction type, estimated rebuild cost, security features and any previous claims. They then compare those details with similar customers and use internal data on risks, claims and expenses to estimate the premiums that would suit that profile.
For large UK properties it is sensible for homeowners to review home insurance cover every year and after major changes, such as an extension, loft conversion or significant purchases. Regular reviews help you keep sums insured in line with rebuild cost and contents value, compare prices in the market and check that your home insurance policy still suits your family and future plans.
Martin Lewis focuses mainly on the mass market: don’t auto-renew, shop around, time your renewal and check you’re properly covered rather than just chasing the lowest price. Those tips are useful context, but our article explains why high value homes often sit outside typical comparison-site deals and may need a more specialist approach than general money-saving advice assumes.
The latest ABI data suggests the average cost of a combined buildings and contents policy is around £380–£390 a year, with buildings-only policies averaging just over £320 and contents-only around £130. These are averages across millions of customers, so individual premiums for large or high value homes can sit significantly above those figures.
