Price Two Home Insurance Policies Over Ten Years and One Claim — Free
The cheaper premium is not the cheaper policy. A $64-a-month policy with a $1,500 excess costs more than an $86 policy with a $250 excess the first time something happens, and the renewal letter only shows you the first number. This grid prices both over the period you choose, with one claim in it and any discount subtracted, and prints the difference in a figure you can hold against the renewal.
The proof surface
Free path: the grid computes locally in the browser with no key and no account. Where an AI step helps, any free chat assistant works — Google AI Studio's free tier and Groq's free tier were both no-card and rate-limited when this page was reviewed on 2026-09-13 (limits change; check before you rely on them).
Why the flat version breaks
A renewal notice compares this year's premium with last year's, which is a comparison between the same policy at two dates. The decision in front of you is between two different structures — premium against excess — and that only resolves over a period with a claim in it, because the excess is a cost you pay conditionally and the premium is one you pay regardless.
How to use the home insurance comparison grid in four passes
A monthly quote of $64 often carries an annual-percentage charge that makes it $800 rather than $768. The grid multiplies by ten, so an annual figure with the fees in it is the only honest input.
Insurers quote them separately. The excess you actually pay on a claim is the sum, and a voluntary excess chosen to lower the premium is the number that decides this comparison.
Run the grid as it stands, then set both excesses to zero and run it again. The gap between the two results is what the claim risk is worth to you — that gap is the decision.
A cheaper policy with a higher excess and a lower contents limit is not the same product. Read the perils, the single-item limit and the accidental-damage position first; only then does the arithmetic mean anything.
SAMPLE DATA, NOT A VERIFIED CLAIM: Renewal 1 Dec 2026 · Meridian Home $1,032 a year with a $250 excess · Dales Mutual $768 with a $1,500 excess · $180 loyalty discount on the first policy. Replace these values with your own source before you rely on anything.
What breaks first
Comparing premiums for different cover
One policy may exclude subsidence, another may cap single items at $1,500. The grid compares numbers you type; it cannot tell you that the cheaper one does not cover the thing you own.
Assuming you will never claim
That is a bet, not a plan. A burst hose, a storm or a burglary in ten years is not unusual, and the excess is paid on each one — a policy with three claims is judged almost entirely on its excess.
Ignoring what a claim does to the next renewal
Both policies will re-price you after a claim, usually for years, and a no-claims discount can be lost. That is not in this arithmetic and it is not small.
What you pay otherwise
| The usual route | What it leaves out | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| A price-comparison site | The cheapest premium on the day, with the excess buried in the documents | your details sold on as a lead |
| A broker's fee | They will read both policies properly and compare the cover | a fee or a commission that shapes the shortlist |
| Renewing without reading the excess | The saving is real until the first claim, then it is not | a $1,250 surprise at the worst possible moment |
| This page + the free home insurance comparison grid | Computed in your tab, result on screen before you type anything | $0 |
Try the free home insurance comparison grid
Two policies are already priced over ten years with one claim each: $10,140 against $8,928, with the difference boxed at the foot. Set both excesses to 0 and the ranking flips to the cheaper premium.
Open the free home insurance comparison grid →Keep the work if you will use it again
Both policies, the period, the discounts and the difference, plus copy and share-link, with no account.
The on-screen result is free and repeatable forever. The one-time tier adds a tangible file you keep and the saved history that comes with it; it never removes or degrades the free result.
Boundary: This does arithmetic on the figures you type in; it is not insurance, financial or legal advice, and it does not compare cover, exclusions, limits or an insurer's claims record. Read both policy documents and check the perils and limits yourself, and take regulated advice before you change a policy you depend on.