Garden cover

Choose home insurance with garden cover

As well as looking after the items inside your house, our home insurance products can protect your garden and outside space as standard. Now all we need is for a few sunny bank holidays, so you can actually get out and enjoy the garden.

What is garden cover?

With garden cover as part of your home insurance, some belongings in your garden and outside space could be protected against loss, damage and theft. It helps cover items you tend to leave out in the open, like garden furniture and children's toys, as well as damage to your plants, trees and shrubs. This also includes any damage caused by neighbours.

Maintaining your garden can be costly and take a lot of time. When you total up the value of your garden’s contents, you might be surprised what they’re worth. Whether you’re the occasional gardener or have green fingers, most people take pride in the appearance of their garden space. After all, a garden is an extension of your house. 

If you entertain a lot, chances are you’ll have outdoor parties when the sun is out. Insurance with garden contents protection will help make sure your BBQs, furniture and other party essentials are covered year-round, so your patio is always ready for an impromptu get-together.

With the right home and garden insurance you can avoid the full replacement costs of damage or theft.

What’s protected by home insurance with garden contents cover?

Your level of cover depends on the type of home insurance you invest in. A lot of the time, people focus on securing their house and leave their garden vulnerable. Take a look at what’s covered by our different insurance options and decide what’s best for you.

What's covered with contents insurance?

Contents insurance generally relates to any items that can be placed in and removed from your garden. As well as the growing trees, plants and shrubs in your outdoor space, our standard contents insurance could cover the loss or damage of:

• Patio and garden furniture
• BBQs
• Lawnmowers
• Children's toys

British weather can be unpredictable to say the least. When we get a spell of sunshine, everybody wants the picture-perfect garden to enjoy. Having insurance that covers your garden furniture will help you make sure your deck chairs, tables and parasols are protected for damage or theft at any point in the year. That includes items left out during the summer months, as well as any furniture locked away in sheds, greenhouses or outbuildings over winter.

Your little one’s favourite outdoor toys can also be covered, as we know things like swing sets and slides don’t come cheap. And don't worry; we can help protect your garden go-to items, like pizza ovens and power tools too.

The insurer could pay up to £2,000 for a single claim. Plus, with our home insurance with garden cover, certain gadgets that you typically use and store indoors (e.g. laptops) could also be covered for loss or damage in the garden. Just keep in mind that cover limits, exclusions and excesses may apply.

What's covered with buildings insurance?

Our buildings insurance can help cover you if your garden is damaged by emergency services gaining access to your home or preventing damage to your home. The insurer could pay up to £500 for each individual item affected.

Take a look at our policy documents for full details about contents and buildings cover, as well as excesses, exclusions and cover limits.

What's not covered?

We make every effort to build insurance policies that are just right for your home and garden, but there are a few things we don’t cover. For example, you’re not protected against loss or damage if your home is unoccupied for over 60 days, or when it's unfurnished.

Our policy documents provide more information about exclusions.

Protect your belongings and keep your garden safe

When you buy home insurance with garden cover, the last thing you want is to make a claim. Have a read of these helpful tips to keep your garden secure:

• If you have a garage or shed, put your patio furniture away when it’s not being used. This also applies to anything else you keep in the garden, like barbecues or patio heaters. In addition to guarding these items, it also prevents wear-and-tear and certain types of weather damage that aren’t covered by your policy
• Consider installing security cameras or lights to put thieves off from entering your property
• Add locks where possible, e.g. on garden gates, to make it more difficult for someone to break in during the night, or when you’re not around
• More portable valuable items, like bikes and electricals, should be kept indoors rather than in your shed. Make notes of serial numbers too
• Keep an eye on your garden valuables when they’re stored away in the winter. This way, you’ll know if something goes missing sooner rather than later

For more tips on keeping your home safe and sound, take a look at our guide to home security.

Optional extras for further peace of mind

For an additional cost, you can expand on our standard home insurance with optional extras that offer you and your belongings even more protection. 

• Key cover – could help get your keys replaced and pay out up to £1,500 worth of cover if they’re lost, stolen or damaged
• Family legal protection cover – helps to relieve the cost of going to court and provides access to our specialist lawyers
• Home emergency cover – for help with protection against unexpected boiler breakdowns, burst pipes, failed electrics, drainage problems and more
• Personal possessions cover – includes mobile phones, gadgets and bicycle cover for outside of your home, to help cover your belongings wherever you go
• Enhanced accidental damage cover – for both buildings and contents insurance, to help give you further protection for your home and contents
• Excess cover – if you make an eligible claim, this could allow you claim back the total excess you had to pay

Got a question?

If you’d like more information about any of our products, please take a look at the frequently asked questions on our insurance options.