How much should you pay for house insurance where you live in France?

Property insurance costs can rise by almost 50% between the cheapest and most expensive regions of France, according to data from a new study.

Crime, urbanisation, proximity to major services and even weather events affect the final price, with an annual difference of more than €60 in costs between the cheapest and most expensive areas.

Insurance company Acheel looked at 100,000 general multirisk (multirisques habitation) policies between the years of 2021 and 2024 to assess the average cost for each region. 

The information below is the average amount for a 92m² house in each region or city, with this being the average size of all the homes whose insurance information was included in the study.

North-west hosts the cheapest regions

The three cheapest regions for home insurance were: 

• Pays de la Loire: €136.97
• Brittany: €137.87
• Normandy: €153.64

These three regions – all in the north or north-west of France – performed well due to the generally lower costs of property, especially in major cities. 

Six of the top ten cheapest cities for property insurance (more on this below) can be found in one of these three regions. 

In addition, the lower levels of burglaries in the regions also helped keep costs low.

However, there is the caveat, particularly in Brittany, that natural disasters may begin to see costs increase.

This is especially the case after recent flooding, and the damage of Storm Ciaran in late 2023. 

Read more: Insurers refuse to cover properties in ‘flood risk’ Brittany town

Popular regions are most expensive

Unsurprisingly, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (Paca) and Île de France were the most expensive regions, with average insurance costs of €197.28 and €192.92 respectively. 

Alongside the general higher property costs in these regions, crime statistics have also pushed premiums up.

There were 5.7 burglaries per 1,000 inhabitants in the Paca region – rising to 7.36 per 1,000 in Île-de-France – according to the Interior Ministry. This is significantly higher than other departments. 

Read more: Where are homes most at risk of burglary in France?

Average prices in the other mainland departments are as follows: 

• Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: €156.05 
• Nouvelle-Aquitaine: €163.56
• Hauts-de-France: €167.33
• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: €169.52
• Centre-Val de Loire: €170.47
• Occitanie: €175.16
• Grand-Est: €181.35

A map comparing the costs in each region can be found below:

It is also a similar story for flats, with Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire being the three cheapest, and Paca and Île-de-France the most expensive.

Cheapest cities also in north-west 

It is a similar story when looking at statistics for property insurance inside cities, with the north-west again coming out on top.

Brest (€69.70) was the cheapest, followed by Rennes (€70.17) with both cities in Brittany. 

The remaining eight cheapest were: 

• Angers: €72.82
• Caen: €77.97
• Limoges: €79.03
• Tours: €80.13
• Nantes: €80.65
• Rouen: €81.39
• Strasbourg: €82.92
• Metz: €83.93

In contrast, the ten most expensive were: 

• Paris: €138.41
• Boulogne-Billancourt: €130.21
• Marseille: €129.06
• Montreuil: €128.41
• Saint-Denis: €124.53
• Argenteuil: €123.41
• Nice: €121.99
• Aix-en-Provence: €121.51
• Nîmes: €121.08
• Montpellier: €116.33

All ten of these are either found in Île-de-France, Paca, or Occitanie regions, with five of the top six being Paris or one of its direct suburbs. 

You can find more information about the study on the Acheel website.

Do these figures seem right to you? Do you think you are under – or over – paying for your insurance? Let us know via news@connexionfrance.com.