Phase 4 · Waiting for keys
What does buildings insurance cost for your new house?
Same house, 13 insurers: from 5.506 to 10.966 kr. a year. The year of construction matters most, the floor area less, and your household almost nothing.
Short answer
Detached house (parcelhus), 135 m², built 1971, brick with a tiled roof, district heating, Roskilde. Full cover incl. concealed pipes and dry rot/decay, excess 2.000 kr. 13 insurers, September 2026.
Buildings insurance for your new house
Buildings insurance (husforsikring) is the one insurance you cannot put off: the mortgage credit institution (realkreditinstitut) will not pay out the loan until the house is, at a minimum, insured against fire. It covers the building itself: fire, storm, water, and with add-ons also concealed pipes and dry rot and decay. The price depends on the house more than on you, and it does so in ways that are hard to guess. Sammenligner.dk measured 13 insurers' prices for the same house in September 2026, and measured again each time one thing about the house was changed. Postcode and the big add-ons have their own guide on buildings insurance add-ons, excess and region, and the overview of all the policies is in insurance when buying a home.
What the same house costs with each insurer
The spread is wider than for contents insurance. The difference between the lowest and highest price for exactly the same house and cover was 5.460 kr. a year in the measurement. See the full comparison in the review of what buildings insurance costs.
| Insurer | Price per year | Above lowest |
|---|---|---|
1 Popermo Lowest price Requires membership | 5.506 | 0 |
2 Alm. Brand | 6.018 | +512 |
3 Bauta Requires membership | 6.134 | +628 |
4 LB Forsikring Requires membership | 6.134 | +628 |
5 Runa Requires membership | 6.134 | +628 |
6 Forsia | 6.872 | +1.366 |
7 GF Forsikring Requires membership | 7.136 | +1.630 |
8 TJM Requires membership | 7.353 | +1.847 |
9 Topdanmark | 7.531 | +2.025 |
10 Alka | 7.571 | +2.065 |
11 FDM Requires membership | 8.105 | +2.599 |
12 If | 8.579 | +3.073 |
13 Tryg | 10.966 | +5.460 |
Year of construction: a new house is markedly cheaper to insure
The most decisive thing about the house is when it was built. A house from 2015 costs a median of 3.878 kr. a year to insure against 7.531 kr. for the same house built in 1971 (median of the 9 insurers that changed their price when the building was changed), which is 49 per cent less. This is mainly down to the pipes: in a new house the risk of concealed pipe damage and decay is low, and insurers price accordingly. A house from 1930, on the other hand, cost less than one from 1971 in the measurement: a median of 6.316 kr. with the same insurers. The measurement does not say why. Read the terms of the pipe cover before you take out a policy on a pre-war house; that is typically where the exclusions are most numerous. If you are buying an older house, read about buildings insurance for older houses; if you are buying new, read about buildings insurance for new builds.
Black = the example from Short answer (Built 1971)
Size, thatched roof and basement
The floor area matters, but less than the year of construction: from 90 to 220 m² the median rises from 6.504 to 10.360 kr. A thatched roof is the single most expensive feature in the measurement: the same house with thatch instead of tiles costs a median of 10.719 kr., and 2 of the insurers (Popermo, Forsia) gave no quote at all for a thatched roof. A 60 m² basement adds a median of 1.067 kr. See the insurers' terms for thatched roofs.
Black = the example from Short answer (Reference house, 9 insurers)
You: age counts, your household does not
For buildings insurance the household makes almost no difference: the family with two children pays a median of 7.244 kr. against 7.136 kr. for the 35-year-old living alone. Age, on the other hand, counts: the 25-year-old pays a median of 7.702 kr., the 65-year-old 6.300 kr.
The practical side
Ask for a quote on exactly your house: the BBR figures (year of construction, floor area, roof, basement, heating) are in the condition report (tilstandsrapport) and on boligejer.dk, and the insurers fetch them themselves. Check that they are correct. A wrong roof type in BBR can cost you both in price and when you make a claim. The mortgage credit institution requires the house to be, at a minimum, insured against fire before the loan is paid out, and fire is included in all the buildings insurance policies in the table. Ask for cover from the handover day (overtagelsesdag), or from the access date (dispositionsdag) if you get the keys early, and send the policy to the mortgage credit institution before the payout. Do not rely on the seller's insurance from the handover day; have your own policy start that day. Remember that change-of-ownership insurance (ejerskifteforsikring) is a different insurance, which does not replace buildings insurance. Before you move your old policy across, check whether switching pays off: how to switch buildings insurance. See also which insurers are cheapest.
What many people misunderstand
Cheap buildings insurance does not necessarily mean poor cover, but the four most expensive insurers in the table do not necessarily have the best cover either. The price reflects the insurer's risk assessment and business model, not the quality. What actually sets the insurers apart is the add-ons for concealed pipes and dry rot/decay, the excess (selvrisiko) and the exclusions, and there is a separate guide on that: Buildings insurance: concealed pipes, dry rot and excess. See also the cover overview for buildings insurance.
Questions and answers
How much does buildings insurance cost for a detached house?
For a 135 m² detached house from 1971 in Roskilde with full cover, the price ranged from 5.506 to 10.966 kr. a year across 13 insurers, measured September 2026. The median was 7.136 kr.
Is a new house cheaper to insure?
Yes. The same house built in 2015 cost a median of 3.878 kr. against 7.531 kr. for 1971 with the 9 insurers that priced the building.
Do I need buildings insurance before the loan is paid out?
Yes. The mortgage credit institution requires the house to be, at a minimum, insured against fire before the loan is paid out, and the policy must apply from the handover day or the access date.
All prices were measured by the Sammenligner.dk pricing team in September 2026 for one specific reference house, so the insurers can be compared on equal terms. In the measurements of the house's features, only the insurers that changed their price when the building was changed are counted (9 of 13); Alm. Brand, LB Forsikring, Bauta and Runa gave the same price regardless of the building and are therefore only included in the overall table. Your price depends on your house, your address, age, excess and claims history. Member-owned insurers require membership. The guide was produced in collaboration with Sammenligner.dk, which measured the prices and may receive commission if you take out a policy via their site; BoligKlar may receive a referral fee. The price is the same for you.
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