The best way to keep it rosy in the garden

Gardening is the nation's favourite hobby. Yet so much combined expenditure and effort is at risk for few gardens are insured for their proper replacement value.

Insurers are partly to blame. The budget providers offer derisory sums which would hardly cover even a basic new garden. Whilst homeowners are more savvy today on replacement costs for building and contents, few have properly valued their garden in the event of loss or damage.

So much in a garden is overlooked, particularly if it has been added to over the years. A specimen tree – perhaps a magnolia or olive – may have been bought for 30 ten years ago but could now cost over 1,000 to replace.

Under-insurance can mean an insurer either not accepting a claim or reducing the value proportionally. For all the effort put into a garden, premiums are fantastic value. Insurance is the safety net.

Halifax says garden theft rose by 58 per cent last summer and a survey by M&S Home Insurance (part of HSBC) reveals that 17 per cent of people with a garden know someone who has had plants, bushes, trees or shrubs stolen. Plants are a favourite target for vandals to maliciously damage.

Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager for Halifax Home Insurance, said: "Homeowners can forget to pay as much attention to security outside the home but with many people now realising how much value they can add to their property by improving their gardens, there are now rich pickings for thieves."

He adds that Bradford and Leeds are two of the top 10 hotspots for garden theft in the UK.

Theft and malicious damage are not the only concerns. Loss can be from storms. Five years ago a tornado hit Birmingham suburbs so severely that 1,000 trees were uprooted which, with the associated roof and other damage, caused 40m costs.

Start by recording:

n key trees and shrubs by name, height and likely age;

n portable items like a barbecue, patio furniture and occasional

benches;

n any statuary or stone troughs;

n greenhouse, fruit cage, garden shed or outhouse;

n mower, garden tools.

Take photographs and record any model numbers which will assist the police in the event of theft. It may be useful to photograph at different flowering times during the year.

The M&S survey found that the average shed contains 888 worth of property but almost a quarter of shed owners (24 per cent) have failed to take steps to secure the shed, such as using a lock on the door.

Check replacement values on a 'like for like' basis, meaning not the cost of immature trees and shrubs but the price to replace existing stock of the same age and size. The result may be a shock.

Instead of a garden value of, say, 2,500, the figure may well be 20,000 plus. This may be split between contents (roughly defined as any item which is moveable including trees and shrubs) and buildings (including greenhouse, shed and fences).

If you feel professional advice would be helpful, contact either the Institute of Horticulture (01992 707025) or a qualified landscape architect who is probably also a member of the Landscape Institute (020 7299 4500).

Check with your insurer exactly what is covered and, if their sums are inadequate, ask if they can be raised to sensible replacement values.

An independent broker is so useful, not only in sourcing the best terms but for their knowledge on settlement claims. Consider Eastwood & Partners (Halifax, Huddersfield, Sheffield), Insurance Partnership (Hull, Leeds, York), Oval Broking (Huddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield) and Towergate (Leeds) and international specialists like Bluefin and Marsh.

Oval, for example, work with such major insurers as Chartis (formerly AIG), Chubb and Hiscox. On average, providers allocate five per cent of the total contents value on the garden but this can be increased substantially where evidence can be shown. Robbie Spear, Yorkshire regional manager for Oval, recommends a professional horticulturist inspects high value gardens every five years.

MoreTh>n insure plants and shrubs up to 1,000. Lawnmowers and outdoor furniture are covered as part of the total contents up the sum insured.

Direct Line offers a 'Home Plus garden' policy with up to 2,500 per claim.

They say loss or damage to lawns, plants, shrubs or trees can be " by any cause" except a few categories such as frost and subsidence.

The Post Office uses 12 different providers but cover is only to 1,000 with 250 single article limit. Currently it is not possible to raise the limit.

Halifax cover stolen plants, trees and shrubs up to 500 and a further 500 for items in the open like furniture and barbecues. Contents of outbuildings including garages are protected up to 2,000.

The M&S policy provides unlimited cover for theft from a garden shed provided reasonable steps have been taken by the policyholder. Their policy also covers for loss or damage to plants, bushes, shrubs and trees.

Hiscox will pay up to 1,000 to remove or replace any single tree, shrub or plant.

Under its 606 policy, protection up to 10 per cent of the contents value applies to the garden but this level can be increased.

Unlike most providers, Hiscox offers an 'all risks' basis which means almost all loss events are covered from theft and storm to flood, malicious damage, accidental loss and accidental damage.

To deter garden thieves:

n ensure garden sheds, gates, garages and outbuildings remain securely locked at all times;

n place bricks or stones in the bottom of patio tubs to make them harder for thieves to carry;

n prickly bushes, spiky fences and high walls make access more difficult;

n mark valuable items (like patio furniture and ornaments) with your postcode;

n gravel on driveways help you to hear someone approaching;

n lock away tools, lawnmowers and bicycles – remembering that tools and ladders can be used to break into a home;

n join a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.

Insurance came to the rescue

John and Karen Clarke suffered quite a loss last autumn. Thieves broke into a locked shed and took two expensive lawn mowers, garden tools and a set of tailor-made golf clubs.

Fortunately, John, a 63-year-old retired banker, keeps a good inventory and the family was insured with NFU Mutual. "I was very pleased with the insurer. They handled the claim very quickly and efficiently," says John.

The claim was for 7,241 and the insurer offered the option to either replace the stolen items or make an immediate cash settlement.

NFU Mutual is the preferred insurer of the Royal Horticultural Society. Contents can be taken out separately from buildings cover or combined. Damage in the garden is covered up to 2,500 under the standard policy or up to 10,000 under the 'home and lifestyle' policy.

The insurer recommends that customers review the value of items in the garden every year to check they are not under-insured, particularly if they have purchased new items.