Can my insurance company increase my premium after I make a claim?

Yes, this is entirely legal — insurers price risk based on your claims history, and a claim generally signals higher future risk. There's no law capping how much your premium can rise after claiming. What has changed is transparency: since April 2017, FCA rules require your renewal notice to clearly show what you paid last year right next to the new price, along with a prominent message encouraging you to shop around — specifically so an increase, whatever's driving it, can't be hidden in the way it's presented.

What the FCA renewal transparency rules actually require

These rules have real teeth

The FCA has actively enforced this: it required one major insurer to contact affected customers after finding it had shown an inaccurate, pre-discount prior-year premium in renewal documents rather than what customers actually paid — and those customers were entitled to switch penalty-free with a refund if they'd been misled. The regulator has also publicly warned the wider industry for failing to properly implement the shop-around messaging and premium disclosure requirements.

Why this matters practically after a claim

• Your renewal notice should make it obvious what you paid last year versus what you're being asked to pay now — if it doesn't, that's worth querying directly.
• A large increase after a claim isn't unlawful, but the transparency rules exist precisely because insurers previously relied on customer inertia at renewal, and claim-driven increases are one of the biggest reasons to actually shop around.
• Getting quotes from other insurers costs nothing and is the most effective response to a claim-driven premium hike, since the increase itself generally isn't something you can dispute as unfair.

What to do about a post-claim premium increase

1. Check your renewal notice actually shows last year's premium clearly and accurately — not a pre-discount or otherwise misleading figure.
2. If it's unclear, missing, or looks inaccurate, raise this directly with the insurer and, if unresolved, with the Financial Ombudsman Service.
3. Get comparison quotes from other insurers before your renewal date — a claim on your record doesn't mean every insurer will price it the same way.
4. Ask your current insurer directly whether the claim is the reason for the increase, and by how much, so you understand what you're comparing against elsewhere.
5. If you switch, confirm your current policy cancellation and any refund terms before your new policy starts.

Related questions

• Can an insurance company take months to decide my claim?
• Can my insurer refuse a claim because I made a mistake on the application?
• What happens if my insurer's valuation is lower than the actual damage?

Official sources

• FCA — Transparency in insurance renewals
• FCA — PS16/21: Increasing transparency and engagement at renewal in general insurance markets