Garden contents float away in the floods – are you covered?

Homeowners normally worry about garden furniture and plants being stolen, but this year they are more likely to be concerned about the contents of their garden floating away with the floods, says Defaqto.

Contents insurance is notoriously complex and policies vary enormously in what they do and do-not cover warns leading financial research company Defaqto.

Contents in the open

The main risks to contents in your garden, such as garden furniture, children’s bikes, trampolines, inflatable swimming pools and so on, are theft, flooding and storms.

While loss or damage through theft, storm and flooding is standard under the vast majority of policies, this can specifically be excluded under certain sections of cover such as ‘contents in the open,’ which is why it is essential to read the small print of any home contents insurance policy before signing up.

Defaqto researcher, Mel Gray says: “Approximately 10 per cent of contents insurance policies currently exclude flood damage to ‘contents in the open.’”

For instance, intune’s and Direct Line’s policies do cover for loss or damage due to flooding for contents in the open, whereas other insurers, such as Esure, Saga, Churchill and MMA Lifestyle specifically exclude damage caused by storm or flood.

You will almost certainly find with the vast majority of policies that any damage caused by storm or flood to gates, hedges and fences will be excluded.

A third category of insurer will only cover items which are ‘normally left in the open’ within the boundaries of your property, such as garden furniture and statues, but not barbecues, stereos and other items you might take outside for a party.

Insurers offering high levels of cover for ‘contents in the open’ (and which provide flood cover) include Direct Cover (£2,500) and NFU Mutual Premier Home Insurance (£1,500).

For items stored in outbuildings (such as your garden shed or garage), which are damaged due to the elements, the vast majority of insurers say they provide cover ‘up to the contents sum insured.’

This means that if your insurer does not restrict the amount of cover provided under this section, then cover will be up to the total amount insured for your overall home contents, even though it would be impossible to claim the full amount in practice (unless you had stored the entire contents of your home in an outbuilding!).

Theft of contents from outbuildings

Higher levels of cover than those provided for ‘contents in the open’ are typically for theft of items from outbuildings, with the highest level of cover given by Cornhill Direct (£7,500). Otherwise, most policies provide cover between £1,000 to £5,000.

Replacement of lost/damaged plants in the garden

The majority of insurers will not cover the cost of replacing lost or damaged plants in your garden. Of those that do, £500-£1,000 is the typical level of cover, although B& Q offers £2,500 and NFU Mutual Premier £2,000.

Kate Marsden, marketing director of Defaqto Group, says: “Homeowners need to check the small print of their policies extremely carefully and ensure that they really understand what is, and what is not, covered. In light of this year’s flooding, insurers may well change their policies, so cover may be radically different at renewal.”