Garden Sheds Insurance – Adequate Home Insurance Can Cover Your Garden

This year, over £5 billion will be spent on our gardens and Sainsbury’s Bank Home Insurance believes that in part this is being fuelled by the fact that they are now seen as ‘extra rooms’ to a property and can dramatically increase the value of your home.

However, spending more on your garden can attract thieves and the bank estimates that up to 800,000 people will fall victim to garden crime this year, each losing on average just over £500. It is urging people to increase security around their gardens and ensure they have adequate home insurance cover.

Sainsbury’s Bank home insurance cover provides up to £2,000 for items in garages or outbuildings. It also provides cover for up to £500 for the cost of replacing contents kept in the open, be it furniture, equipment, decorative ornaments or plants.

Robert O’May, home insurance manager, Sainsbury’s Bank said: 'The popularity of gardens has been increased by television programmes such as Ground Force. However, it is important that people protect their gardens and ensure they have adequate insurance.'

The bank’s research shows that bicycles are the most common items stolen from gardens followed by pots and containers and then power tools. Some strange thefts have included an entire lawn that was later discovered being sold at a car boot sale and a 6ft x 4ft pond with the 17 fish it contained.

Sainsbury’s Bank offers the following tips to help people protect themselves from garden thieves:

Photograph valuable garden ornaments and where possible mark property with your postcode
Start up or join a local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
Put a brick or two into the bottom of large pots to weigh them down
Keep garden statutes near the house and if possible bolt them to the ground. If this is not possible, weigh them down with heavy objects
Spread gravel on driveways. This will help alert you to anyone approaching the house/garden
If you have expensive items in your garden, consult with your home insurance provider to see whether you need a specialist policy to cover them
Install outside security lighting that turns on automatically
If you have a burglar alarm, consider extending it to cover your shed and other outbuildings
Make sure the shed is securely locked. Remember that tools could be used to break into your home, so don’t leave them lying around the garden or in an unlocked shed.
Consider planting prickly plants around the edge of the garden to deter any burglars.

About The Author:

Dan Simon is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.garden-n-storage-sheds.com. Build yourself a gazebo, tool shed, potting shed, greenhouse, bridge, or outdoor garden & storage shed using free building plans found online.