Northern Ireland is the cheapest UK region for home insurance, according to a new survey of insurance costs.

Home insurance in London - with high crime levels - can cost three times as much as it does in Northern Ireland.

The AA compared the cost of insuring a three-bedroom semi around the UK and found vast regional differences.

According to the survey, the cheapest joint premium is found in Lisnaskea (BT92) in Northern Ireland at �223.

But it would cost the same person in West Norwood in London (SE27) �702 or almost �500 more.

Expensive cities

Living in a town or city is likely to push up your premiums, but there are still wide regional variations.

The cheapest city centres are Inverness (IV2) at �233; Aberdeen (AB25) at �241; Aberystwyth (SY23) at �243 and Exeter (EX1) at �278.

North West, North and South East London have the highest premiums, with average premiums close to �700.

Outside London, Liverpool (L6) is a comparatively distant �574; Manchester (M5) at �536; Birmingham (B5) at �513, followed by Glasgow (G5) at �476.

Content premiums

The average cost of contents cover in the UK is �158.

Regionally, the Scottish Islands (�111) are the cheapest region but are closely followed by East Anglia (�122).

But Londoners (�250) are hardest hit for contents insurance and pay more than double that of the cheapest. The North West (�212) appears significantly more expensive than neighbouring North East and Yorkshire (�167), a difference of nearly 27%.

Douglas (IM1) on the Isle of Man is the cheapest place to live for contents cover at �105, while Ardwick (M12) in Manchester has to pay the most at �402.

Cost-cutting

There are a number of ways people can cut the cost of their home insurance:

• Shop around

• Consider switching from your mortgage company to a general insurance provider;

• Use a good broker that will shop around at renewal time for competitive quotes;

• Fit high-quality locks on exit doors and windows;

• Fit a smoke alarm and insurer-approved burglar alarm;

• Join your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme;

• Keep valuables to a minimum.

Costs by regions:

East Anglia Bury St Edmunds (IP33) �250 Cambridge (CB5) �279 Ipswich (IP4) �263 King's Lynn (PE30) �292 Lowestoft (NR33) �259 Norwich (NR3) �302 Regional average: �279

London Bow (E3) �572 Camden Town (NW1) �584 Finsbury (EC1) �542 Highbury (N5) �627 Notting Hill (W11) �547 Peckham (SE15) �678 Putney (SW15) �415 Wapping (E1) �570 Regional average �476

Midlands Aston (B6) �548 Derby (DE23) �270 Melton Mowbray (LE13) �258 Milton Keynes (MK1) �287 Solihull (B91) �289 Telford (TF3) �279 West Bromwich (B70) �357 Wolverhampton (WV2) �385 Regional average: �292

Northern Ireland Bangor (BT20) �232 Belfast (BT3) �263 Enniskillen (BT74) �231 Londonderry (BT48) �241 Portadown (BT62) �228 Portrush (BT56) �239 Regional average: �241

North East & Yorks Bishop Auckland (DL14) �262 Gateshead (NE8) �472 Kingston Upon Hull (HU2) �372 Leeds (LS2) �443 Selby (YO8) �253 Sheffield (S2) �353 Sunderland (SR1) �373 Whitby (YO21) �263 Regional average: �306

North West Blackpool (FY4) �305 Bootle (L20) �582 Carlisle (CA2) �263 Kendal (LA9) �237 Oldham (OL1) �397 Preston (PR1) �318 Standish (WN6) �318 Stretford (M32) �402 Regional average: �363

Scotland Aberdeen (AB25) �241 Campbeltown (PA28) �247 Crieff (PH7) �236 Dingwall (IV15) �237 Dundee (DD2) �255 Leith (EH6) �290 Mallaig (PH41) �236 Partick (G11) �390 Regional average: �264

South East Basildon (SS14) �376 Canterbury (CT1) �293 Crawley (RH11) �341 Eastbourne (BN21) �281 Harpenden (AL5) �288 Reading (RG1) �331 Sevenoaks (TN13) �312 Woking (GU22) �279 Regional average: �315

South West Bristol (BS2) �478 Glastonbury (BA6) �276 Ilfracombe (EX34) �252 Newton Abbot (TQ12) �261 Penzance (TR18) �263 Plymouth (PL1) �296 Regional average: �270

Wales Cardiff (CF3) �338 Flint (CH6) �281 Lampeter (SA48) �240 Llandrindod Wells (LD1) �227 Rhyl (LL18) �289 Swansea (SA1) �288 Regional average: 267

Islands Barra (HS9) �281 Douglas (IM1) �248 Lerwick (ZE1) �252 Stornoway (HS1) �272 Regional average: �260