What insurance typically costs in the UK in 2026
An independent, plain-English reference for what UK personal insurance tends to cost in 2026 — life, income protection, private health, home, travel and pet cover — with clearly-labelled indicative ranges drawn from industry data. These are orientation figures to help you sanity-check a quote, not quotes themselves.
The headline numbers
- Life insurance — for a healthy non-smoker, basic level term cover commonly starts from around £5–£10 a month in your twenties and thirties, rising with age, cover amount and health.
- Income protection — typically priced at roughly 1%–3% of your gross annual income, depending mainly on age, occupation and how long you wait before benefit starts.
- Private health (PMI) — broadly £30–£80 a month for a younger or middle-aged adult, climbing well above £100 in later life.
- Home insurance — a combined buildings-and-contents policy averages around £375 a year on recent ABI data, with most standard homes falling roughly £180–£400.
- Travel insurance — a single European trip often costs around £10–£25; annual multi-trip cover commonly £15–£60+ depending on region and age.
- Pet insurance — roughly £25–£40 a month for a younger dog and £8–£15 for a younger cat, rising sharply with age.
Every figure on this page is indicative — a typical-range marker, not a price for you. What you actually pay depends on your circumstances. See How to read this index below.
Indicative monthly cost by age — healthy non-smoker, level term
Life insurance has no single price: your premium is built from your age, health, smoker status, the cover amount and the term length. The single biggest lever is age at application — the younger you start, the cheaper cover tends to be and the longer you lock in that price. The ranges below are illustrative of a healthy non-smoker taking modest level term cover; smokers typically pay substantially more for the same cover.
| Age at application | Indicative monthly premium | What tends to move it |
|---|---|---|
| 25–30 | £5–£10 | Lowest band; long terms lock in low rates |
| 35 | £8–£14 | Cover amount and term length start to matter more |
| 40 | £11–£18 | Health and family history more influential |
| 45 | £16–£25 | Premiums rise noticeably year on year |
| 50 | £27–£40 | Age and any conditions dominate the price |
Indicative ranges compiled from ABI/industry data — not a quote; your price depends on your circumstances. Whole-of-life and higher cover amounts cost more. See the life insurance hub.
Usually a small percentage of the income it protects
Income protection pays you a regular monthly income if illness or injury stops you working. Rather than a flat price, it is usually quoted as a share of the gross income it replaces — commonly 1% to 3% of gross annual earnings for a typical policy. The drivers below explain why two people on the same salary can be quoted very differently.
| Driver | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| Age | Older applicants pay more, as with all protection cover |
| Occupation | Manual or higher-risk jobs cost more than desk-based roles |
| Deferred (waiting) period | Waiting longer before benefit starts cuts the premium — a longer deferral can reduce cost materially versus the shortest option |
| Benefit amount & term | Covering more of your income, or to retirement, costs more than short-term cover |
| Smoker status & health | Non-smokers in good health pay less |
Indicative ranges compiled from ABI/industry data — not a quote; your price depends on your circumstances. Most policies replace roughly 50%–70% of gross income. See the income protection hub.
Indicative monthly cost by age — single adult
Private medical insurance buys speed and choice alongside the NHS — faster diagnosis, quicker access to consultants and planned treatment. Age is the dominant factor: an older adult can pay several times what a younger adult pays for comparable cover. Location (London is dearer), the cover level, the excess you choose and any underwriting also matter.
| Age band | Indicative monthly premium | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 20s | £25–£50 | Basic plans at the lower end |
| 30s–40s | £40–£75 | The most common range for working-age adults |
| 50s–60s | £80–£140 | Premiums climb steadily with age |
| 70+ | £140–£200+ | Comprehensive cover often well above £200 |
Indicative ranges compiled from ABI/industry data — not a quote; your price depends on your circumstances. A higher excess and a treatment-only plan reduce the premium. See the private health hub.
Indicative annual cost — combined buildings and contents
Home insurance comes as buildings cover (the structure), contents cover (your belongings) or a combined policy. On the ABI's tracker the average combined policy has been sitting at around £375 a year in early 2026, having eased back from its 2024 peak. Price is driven by your rebuild cost, location and flood or subsidence risk, the contents sum insured, and your claims history.
| Policy | Indicative annual premium | Typical for |
|---|---|---|
| Contents only | £60–£150 | Renters and flat-dwellers |
| Buildings only | £150–£300 | Owners insuring the structure alone |
| Combined buildings + contents | £180–£400 (ABI average ≈ £375) | Most owner-occupiers |
Indicative ranges compiled from ABI/industry data — not a quote; your price depends on your circumstances. High-value, flood-risk or non-standard homes cost more. See the home insurance hub.
Indicative cost — single-trip and annual multi-trip
Travel insurance is priced by where you go, how long you are away, your age and any medical conditions or higher-risk activities. Cover including the USA is markedly dearer because of medical costs there. The ranges below are per person for a healthy traveller; if you take more than a couple of trips a year, annual multi-trip cover is often better value than buying single-trip each time.
| Cover | Single trip (approx. 1 week) | Annual multi-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | £10–£25 | £15–£60 |
| Worldwide (incl. USA) | £30–£60 | £80–£140 |
Indicative ranges compiled from ABI/industry data — not a quote; your price depends on your circumstances. Older travellers and pre-existing conditions raise the price. See the travel insurance hub.
Indicative monthly cost — dog vs cat
Pet insurance costs depend on species, breed, age and the type of cover (accident-only, time-limited or lifetime). Two clear patterns hold across the market: dogs cost roughly twice as much as cats to insure, and premiums rise sharply as a pet ages, often climbing steeply from middle age onward. Lifetime cover — the most comprehensive — sits at the upper end of these ranges.
| Animal | Indicative monthly premium (younger pet) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dog | £25–£40 | Breed and size matter; ABI average roughly £30–£36/mo across all ages |
| Cat | £8–£15 | ABI average roughly £15/mo across all ages |
Indicative ranges compiled from ABI/industry data — not a quote; your price depends on your circumstances. Older pets and lifetime cover cost more. See the pet insurance hub.
What these figures are — and what they are not
This index exists to give you a reference point: a way to tell whether a quote you have been given looks broadly normal, high or low for your situation. It is not a price comparison, and it cannot tell you what you personally will pay.
- Ranges, not averages. Where we show a range it captures the typical middle of the market — real quotes fall outside it in both directions.
- Indicative, not quotes. No figure here is an offer of cover. Only an FCA-authorised broker or insurer can give you a real price.
- Compiled, not measured by us. We aggregate published ABI, industry and insurer data and present it plainly. For our sourcing and update approach, see our methodology.
- Point-in-time. Premiums move with claims trends, regulation and the economy. We refresh this index periodically; the date below shows when it wasReviewed by the BestBuilders editorial team on.
Cost Index FAQs
Information only — not financial advice. My Insurance Expert is an independent research and introducer service, ICO-registered, and is not an FCA-authorised intermediary; we do not arrange or sell policies. All figures are indicative ranges compiled from ABI and industry data, not quotes. Last updated: 2026-06-13