Written by George Sweeney Reviewed by Lee Trett
9 July 2026
First Published
If you’ve got a less-than-perfect credit history, getting the best home insurance policy can be a more complex - or sometimes a more expensive process. Plenty of homeowners worry that missed payments, defaults, or a low credit score will prevent them from finding the cover they need to insure their property.
However, arranging home insurance with bad credit is still a possibility, and there’s no need to feel stressed. Here we’ll explain exactly how insurers view your credit history, where to find bad credit home insurance, what types of adverse credit cause the most issues, and where to get the cheapest policy for your circumstances.
Is there home insurance for people with bad credit?
Yes, having a poor credit history doesn’t automatically disqualify you from getting home insurance. It’s quite common for people with varying degrees of bad credit to get buildings or contents insurance, since adverse credit doesn’t necessarily stop you from getting a mortgage.
However, unlike applying for a mortgage or a large personal loan, where the lender is taking on significant financial risk by giving you cash, an insurance company is simply agreeing to cover your property and contents against damage.
Because the dynamic is different, insurers are generally much more lenient regarding your credit history. The primary issue you will face is not usually getting the cover, but rather how you are allowed to pay for it.
How adverse credit impacts your applications
When you apply for cover, home insurance providers will typically run a credit check. They do this to assess the risk of you defaulting on your premiums, particularly if you want to pay your premiums in monthly instalments.
Although bad credit doesn’t necessarily stop you from getting home insurance, different types of adverse credit can impact your application or policy in different ways:
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Missed or late payments: Generally, minor blips like this will simply result in higher interest rates if you choose to pay monthly, or the insurer may insist you pay for the entire year upfront.
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CCJs and defaults: A history of defaults or County Court Judgments (CCJs) indicates a more significant pattern of unpaid debt. Mainstream insurers may not allow you to pay monthly for your policy, but many will still provide cover if you can pay the annual premium in one lump sum.
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IVAs and DMPs: Entering into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or a Debt Management Plan (DMP) shows you are formally managing severe debt. Because this heavily restricts your disposable income, most standard providers will automatically decline a monthly credit agreement.
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Bankruptcy: The most severe form of adverse credit. If you have an undischarged bankruptcy, most insurers will decline your application entirely. You will likely need to approach a specialist non-standard insurance provider. If the bankruptcy has been discharged for at least 6 years, you should be fine.
How to get home insurance with bad credit
The single most effective way to secure home insurance with bad credit is to pay your policy premium annually in a lump sum.
When you pay for your insurance upfront, the insurer doesn’t need to “loan” you any funds (by way of a monthly finance agreement). Because there’s no loan, there’s no credit risk to the insurer. Also, many providers will bypass hard credit checks altogether, meaning your bad credit becomes largely irrelevant to the application process.
If you can’t afford to pay the annual sum upfront, you’ll need to apply for monthly instalments. In this scenario, it’s well worth using an independent insurance broker who knows exactly which providers are most accepting of adverse credit.
If you’d like to speak to an experienced insurance adviser for a free initial chat to discuss your home insurance options, you can get started below.
Explore your home insurance options
What to do if your application is declined
Being rejected for home insurance can be disheartening, but it’s not the end of the road. If an insurance provider declines your application, take the following steps:
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Check your credit report: Get a free copy of your credit file from agencies like Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. Look for any errors or fraudulent activity that might be artificially impacting your file, and request corrections if necessary.
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Don’t reapply immediately: Don't rush to another comparison site and submit a dozen more home insurance applications. Multiple hard credit searches in a short space of time could restrict your ability to secure a policy.
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Speak to a specialist: Reach out to a specialist insurance broker experienced with bad credit applicants. These brokers can introduce you to a more flexible insurer because they have access to underwriters who manually assess applications rather than relying on automated credit-scoring algorithms.
Home insurance providers for bad credit
When comparing home insurance quotes, bad credit can make the process slightly more complex. Standard price comparison websites are built for straightforward, low-risk applications.
To give you an idea of what’s currently available, here are a few specialist home insurance providers that are open to considering applicants with adverse credit:
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Homeprotect: Rather than automatically declining applicants with bad credit, Homeprotect doesn’t require you to declare CCJs or IVAs; you only have to tell them if you’ve been bankrupt in the last 5 years. Their policies are underwritten by AXA, offering excellent financial security.
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Everywhen (formerly Towergate): Everywhen has a dedicated specialist home insurance team that manually reviews applications and will consider CCJs or poor credit on a case-by-case basis. They are sometimes willing to offer home insurance if you were previously bankrupt (depending on how much it was for, when it was, and the circumstances).
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Intelligent Insurance: Offers home insurance policies to applicants with low credit scores or those with CCJs. Because they specialise in home insurance for people with bad credit, Intelligent Insurance aims to offer cover at a competitive price, even if you’ve been rejected by other insurers.
Tips for getting cheap home insurance with bad credit
Securing home insurance with bad credit is only half the battle; ensuring the cover is affordable is just as important.
Here are some tips to help keep your home insurance policy as cheap as possible:
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Pay annually: As mentioned, this avoids finance interest charges entirely. According to the ABI, the average combined buildings and contents insurance policy is £375, and this could be significantly higher if you pay monthly.
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Increase your voluntary excess: Agreeing to pay a higher amount out of your own pocket in the event of a claim reduces the financial risk to the insurer, which can lead to lower premiums.
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Improve home security: Fitting industry-approved burglar alarms, five-lever mortice deadlocks, and security lighting can sometimes result in substantial discounts from standard insurers.
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Only buy what you need: Avoid paying for unnecessary add-ons like accidental damage cover or away-from-home cover if you do not genuinely need them. You can use our home insurance calculator to estimate how much cover you need.
What if you have a low credit score?
It’s important to remember that a low credit score is just a number generated by a credit reference agency. If you need bad credit home owners insurance, insurers are far more interested in the reasons behind that score.
If your score is low simply because you haven't taken out much credit in the past or you missed a single payment years ago, this will rarely prevent you from getting home insurance. Only severe, unresolved debts typically cause underwriters to decline an application.
Why choose Money Helpdesk for your home insurance?
Navigating the insurance market with adverse credit requires specialist knowledge to ensure you get adequate cover without facing high premiums or outright rejections.
Here’s why people choose Money Helpdesk to assist when trying to find the best bad credit home insurance policy:
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Access to independent, FCA-regulated home insurance advisers
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Expertise with bad credit insurance applications
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Help comparing quotes from specialist insurers
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A free initial consultation with no obligation to proceed further
If you’d like help finding the best home insurance policy for your specific financial circumstances, you can arrange a free, no-obligation chat with an independent insurance adviser here.
FAQs
The best way to find cheap home insurance with bad credit is to use an independent broker who specialises in applicants with adverse credit.
They have existing relationships with insurers and underwriters who look past automated credit checks. Also, paying your premium annually rather than monthly is another easy way to secure a lower cost for your premiums.
This depends on how you choose to pay. If you pay your premium upfront for the whole year, the insurer will usually only run a soft credit check to verify your identity, which doesn’t impact your credit score.
If you apply to pay in monthly instalments, the insurer is providing you with a line of credit and will typically run a hard credit check, which leaves a visible footprint on your file.
Yes, but it usually only happens in severe cases. While minor missed payments won't typically result in a refusal, mainstream insurers may refuse to offer you a policy if you have a history of CCJs, IVAs, or if you are currently an undischarged bankrupt.
In these situations, you’re better off approaching a specialist non-standard home insurance provider.
The decline itself doesn’t directly lower your credit score. However, if the insurer performed a hard credit check during the application process, that search footprint will remain on your file.
If you rack up multiple hard searches in a short period due to repeated declines, other insurers may view this negatively, which can indirectly harm your ability to find policies in the near future.