Garden theft costing home owners an average of £620

 

Many of us keep expensive items in our gardens, meaning it's more important than ever to ensure they are covered on our home insurance.

Stolen or damaged items from gardens are averaging claims worth £620, according to Saga Home Insurance's own claims analysis.

The research shows that 44% of over 50s cite the garden as one of their home's most important features. But while half say their garden is where they relax and a fifth feel their garden is an escape from the world, in fact, our horticultural havens can actually become a source of stress.

Two-thirds of all UK adults say they keep items ranging from barbecues and water features to countless ornamental animals, pixies and gnomes in their garden, and this figure increases to 78% for the over 50s. Adding all of this up, the research shows a quarter of gardeners over the age of 50 have more than £250 worth of these items alone in their gardens.

With startling facts such as one in 12 over 50s having items stolen from their garden, making sure your garden items are insured should be of great importance.

No matter what age range you fall into, check that your home insurance policy includes cover for garden items. Tot up the value of everything in your garden, including children's toys, lawnmowers and items kept in the shed or garage.

Find out whether your policy has a limit on the amount of cover it offers on garden items – this varies depending on the policy and can be anywhere between £250 to unlimited cover.

Roger Ramsden, chief executive, Saga Services, comments: "People enjoy creating their perfect garden, often investing a great deal of time and money in doing so, and this is particularly prevalent in the over 50s.

"With the average garden insurance claim costing around £620 I would encourage keen gardeners to ensure they have the peace of mind of insurance cover for their precious garden possessions."

(Reproduced from homeinsurance.co.uk  24th May)

Gardien Comment: Check out the level of garden cover you need with the assistance of the Inventory check sheet at http://www.garden-security.co.uk/inventory.aspx