Every year, the summers in Britain get longer and hotter, so we spend more and more time and money in our gardens. The Horticultural Trades Association says that we spend more than £3 billion a year on furniture, plants, and garden tools.
But many of us don't realise that our home insurance may not cover our gardens if they are stolen, lost, or damaged.
Garden insurance is probably something that most of us have never even thought about. But protecting our investment makes sense. As we've seen, things like garden furniture, decorations, and top-of-the-line grills can add up quickly, and if something goes wrong, you could be in a lot of financial trouble.
No matter how hard we try to keep our gardens safe, they will never be as safe as our homes. This means that thieves and vandals can easily take advantage of them.
A recent study by the insurance company Direct Line found that one in ten homeowners will have something stolen from their gardens. People say that hanging baskets, lawnmowers, gnomes, furniture, tools, and even plants are the most common things to be stolen.
In the same way, the Nationwide says that garden furniture, bicycles, garden ornaments, and statues are the most common things that get stolen. Even clothes on a clothesline aren't safe because they are the seventh most common thing to go missing from a garden.
And theft isn't the only problem. Snowstorms and gales can do a lot of damage to your garden, and mindless vandalism is a problem that happens all too often.
Check your home insurance policy carefully to find out what, if any, coverage you have. If it covers the garden by default, keep in mind that only a small number of insurers do that, and even then, it's probably just basic coverage.
Most policies will cover sheds and other outbuildings, but don't assume that the rest of the garden is covered, because it probably isn't.
If your garden is not covered, you might want to think about getting a new insurance policy. And if you're still not sure, walk around your garden and figure out how much it would cost to replace everything, plants included. You might be surprised!
