How much does landlord insurance cost, and why has it gone up?

In the UK, landlord insurance pricing is set by insurers rather than statute, but tax, claims inflation, flood risk and lender requirements all affect what landlords pay. The figures below are UK-wide unless the England-only Section 21 point is stated separately.

How much does landlord insurance cost?

For most UK private landlords, landlord insurance is not a standalone legal requirement, although buy-to-let lenders usually require buildings cover and Northern Ireland HMOs are an exception; a realistic 2026 benchmark is about £250–£285 a year for buildings-only cover before optional rent guarantee, contents or legal expenses are added. Alan Boswell’s live quote analysis says, “The median cost of landlord insurance in the UK in 2026 is £284.75”, while Compare the Market reports that “51% of our customers were quoted less than £251.51 for their building cover business insurance in April-June 2026.” The cheapest visible landlord insurance UK prices sit lower than that for a small minority: MoneySuperMarket says “10% of customers paid £14.52 or less monthly” for landlord buildings and property-owners’ liability cover. The legal point matters because the cost is usually driven by the mortgage and the risk, not a statutory duty for ordinary lets: Which? says, “You generally won't be able to take out a buy-to-let mortgage without proof of buildings insurance.” Insurance Premium Tax also adds 12% to the premium, because the Finance Act says “the standard rate is 12 per cent.”

How do you get cheaper landlord insurance?

The best way to get cheaper landlord insurance is to shop around every year, then cut the risk insurers price for by paying annually, choosing a higher voluntary excess, improving security and avoiding cover you do not need. MoneySuperMarket puts the main saving plainly: “Shopping around is usually the most effective way to reduce the cost of landlord insurance,” and it adds that “It is almost always cheaper to pay for your landlord insurance policy in one lump sum.” Raising the excess can also reduce the premium because “Setting a higher excess ... can lower your premiums because you're taking on more of the risk.” For mortgaged buy-to-let landlords, annual comparison matters more than many realise: the FCA says it expects “a person taking out a policy covering property bought under a buy-to-let mortgage” to be treated as a commercial customer, but also says, “However, this doesn't capture all landlords, many of whom will not have buy-to-let mortgages.” That means landlord insurance is not blanket-excluded from the 2022 renewal-pricing ban, but buy-to-let-mortgaged landlords should assume renewal loyalty is still expensive.

Where can you compare landlord insurance quotes?

You can compare landlord insurance quotes through mainstream comparison sites and specialist landlord-insurance brokers, with Compare the Market and Simply Business both publishing landlord quote journeys. Compare the Market says, “We've teamed up with Simply Business so you can compare tailored landlord insurance quotes from 15 trusted providers,” which makes it a practical starting point if you want to compare landlord insurance across several providers without approaching each insurer separately. Simply Business also sells direct and describes itself as “one of the UK's leading landlord insurance providers, with over 300,000 landlord customers.” Confused landlord insurance searches are slightly different: Confused.com is a comparison brand, but the useful test is not the logo on the page; it is whether the quote journey asks about the property, tenants, rebuild value, rent guarantee, contents, liability, unoccupancy and flood risk before producing prices. A cheap quote that omits the cover a lender requires is not the cheapest landlord insurance UK landlords can safely rely on.

Why has landlord insurance gone up?

Landlord insurance has gone up because insurers are paying more property claims, repair costs are higher, weather claims are more frequent, flood risk is harder to reinsure for tenanted buy-to-let property, and some rent-guarantee/legal-expenses risk is being repriced. The ABI says, “Insurers paid out £6.1 billion in property claims in 2025,” the highest annual total on record, and weather claims alone reached “£1.2 billion in weather-related property claims - a 14% (£142 million) increase on 2024.” AXA points to repair inflation, saying “Rising energy prices are a big factor” and that supply-chain disruption is pushing up “the cost of building materials and labour.” Flood risk is especially awkward for landlords because Flood Re eligibility requires that “The holder of the policy, or their immediate family, must live in the property” or that it is unoccupied, excluding ordinary tenanted buy-to-let homes from that subsidised route. Market tracker Consumer Intelligence says landlord premiums are “climbing 20–25% year-on-year.” In England only, Section 21 abolition is also being priced into legal-expenses and rent-guarantee risk: possession cases are now expected to take “12–15 months on average, compared with 6–8 months previously.”

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Alan Boswell landlord insurance statistics — “The median cost of landlord insurance in the UK in 2026 is £284.75” Source
• Compare the Market landlord insurance — “51% of our customers were quoted less than £251.51 for their building cover business insurance in April-June 2026.” Source
• MoneySuperMarket landlord insurance — “10% of customers paid £14.52 or less monthly” Source
• Which? landlord insurance — “You generally won't be able to take out a buy-to-let mortgage without proof of buildings insurance, and most lenders will specify the minimum level of cover they require in their terms and conditions.” Source
• Finance Act 1994 s.51 — “the standard rate is 12 per cent” Source
• MoneySuperMarket landlord insurance — “Shopping around is usually the most effective way to reduce the cost of landlord insurance, as prices and included cover vary widely between insurers.” Source
• MoneySuperMarket landlord insurance — “It is almost always cheaper to pay for your landlord insurance policy in one lump sum, rather than spreading the costs across 12 months.” Source
• MoneySuperMarket landlord insurance — “Setting a higher excess (the amount you contribute for a claim) when you take out your policy can lower your premiums because you're taking on more of the risk.” Source
• FCA General Insurance Pricing Practices Q&As — “This states that the FCA would expect that a person taking out a policy covering property bought under a buy-to-let mortgage would be categorised as commercial customer.” Source
• FCA General Insurance Pricing Practices Q&As — “However, this doesn't capture all landlords, many of whom will not have buy-to-let mortgages.” Source
• Compare the Market landlord insurance — “We've teamed up with Simply Business so you can compare tailored landlord insurance quotes from 15 trusted providers” Source
• Simply Business landlord insurance — “Simply Business is one of the UK's leading landlord insurance providers, with over 300,000 landlord customers.” Source
• Association of British Insurers property claims data — “Insurers paid out £6.1 billion in property claims in 2025” Source
• Association of British Insurers property claims data — “£1.2 billion in weather-related property claims - a 14% (£142 million) increase on 2024.” Source
• AXA landlord insurance premium change — “Rising energy prices are a big factor” Source
• AXA landlord insurance premium change — “the cost of building materials and labour.” Source
• Flood Re property exclusions — “The holder of the policy, or their immediate family, must live in the property” Source
• Consumer Intelligence landlord insurance market analysis — “climbing 20–25% year-on-year” Source
• Consumer Intelligence landlord insurance market analysis — “12–15 months on average, compared with 6–8 months previously.” Source