Whether you've picked out new sun loungers or bought a brand new barbecue in recent weeks chances are that the value of the items you keep in your garden reaches £1,000s - indeed the average garden contains more than £700 worth of plants, trees, bushes and shrubs alone according to research from Marks & Spencer.
Yet despite this, most home insurance policies only cover outdoor items up to a value of around £500 - meaning you could be well under-insured in the event of a theft, malicious damage, storm or other type of loss.
Is your garden covered?
Damage to structural elements of your garden, such as fences, patios, conservatories, gates and outbuildings, should come under the buildings section of your home insurance policy and so as long as this cover is in place, you shouldn't need any additional protection for these items.
What's more contentious is the amount of cover you'll have for garden contents. Most home insurance policies limit the cover for garden protection to a few hundred pounds, but there are a handful of home insurers that will offer higher levels of protection. Esure home insurance for example, includes £2,000 worth of garden cover with its policy; while More Than covers up to £2,000 for plants, gardens and trees; and Marks & Spencer offers unlimited cover for plants in the garden.
However, it's not just about finding the highest policy limit for your garden cover - you also need to check the policies for exclusions, for example:
- Individual item limits: Even if your insurer offers a high level of garden contents cover there may still be restrictions on how much you can claim for individual items. Expensive patio furniture or a top of the range gas barbecue may exceed such limits.
- Specified risks: Some home insurers will not cover garden contents against risks such as storms, subsidence or landslip so check for exclusions.
- Outbuildings: Items kept in outbuildings such as a garden shed or greenhouse may not be covered unless specified. Some insurers will only cover outbuildings if they are fitted with approved locks.
- Unoccupied homes: It's not uncommon for an opportunist thief to watch you drive away from your home and then swoop for easy-pickings in your garden. If you've left items outside and your home is unoccupied you may not be covered.
- Items left outside: While insurers may be willing to cover items such as lawnmowers and barbecues, they may only apply this protection if they are locked away at night.
You can compare home insurance cover using a comparison website. However, before you apply for a policy make sure you read the terms and conditions thoroughly so you know what is and isn't covered.
What if you need more extensive cover?
If you're a real gardening nut, you may wish to consider a specialist policy from a home and garden insurance provider.
These insurers set limits on garden claims as high as £10,000 and may offer extended cover for equipment kept in outbuildings and for higher limit items such as ride-on lawnmowers. Among the specialists in the UK are the Alan Boswell Group and Regal Garden Cover.
Tips to keep your garden secure
While it's important to have protection in place for your garden, home insurance claims should be avoided because chances are your premiums will leap if you do make a claim. So here are our top 10 tips to help keep your garden safe:
- Where possible, keep items in a locked shed or garage and consult your insurer about the standard of padlock to use on the door as it may offer a discount for a high quality lock.
- Use a security pen to mark valuables that are left out in the open such as ornaments and trampolines with your postcode.
- Consider installing security lighting and cameras which could earn a discount with an insurer.
- Use gravel on paths to make it more likely that an intruder is heard.
- Cut back trees and bushes to reduce hiding places in the garden and consider planting prickly bushes around the boundary of your property to make entry more difficult. Though some hedges look green at the top they may have dead wood lower down which is easy to crawl through.
- Check fences for missing or loose panels.
- Secure expensive plants with wire pegs that are dug into the ground around the root ball.
- For garden furniture that can't be moved easily, consider securing it to the ground to prevent it moving and causing damage in high winds.
- Check trees for loose branches that could cause damage in high winds.
- Keep an inventory of garden items, with photographs if possible, just in case a claim is necessary.
Disclaimer: Please note that any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing.
Rate This Article
Click on a star to rate this article.
