Is Garden Insurance Included in Home Insurance?

08/04/2025

Lauren McAfee Insurance Editor and Writer

Last Updated: 8 April 2025
Read time: 5 minutes

Written by: Lauren McAfee
Insurance Writer and Editor

Reviewed by: Mark McKeown

Written in line with our Editorial Guidelines

While the vast majority of home insurance policies will cover your garden, to what extent is another question. If you want comprehensive protection for garden buildings, built-in features, or expensive equipment, you will need to be aware of the limits of this cover.

How does garden insurance work?

Garden insurance is typically bundled within your home insurance. There are a few policies that will be an exception to this rule, but they are few and far between. Just like your home coverage, what is covered will be split between buildings and contents as follows:

Garden protection under building insurance

Additional sheds, garages, summerhouses or outbuildings that are not attached to your home
Fences, walls, posts or gates
Surfacing like slabs, driveways or decking
Built-in garden features like a pool, gazebo, pond or awning
Electric vehicle charging ports
Oil, gas or septic tanks
Wind turbines or solar panels
Carports

Garden cover under contents insurance

Garden furniture or heaters
Stand-alone water features, statues or ornaments
Plants like trees, bushes or flowers
Children’s toys including swings, slides, or climbing frames
Exercise equipment
Gardening equipment or tools like a lawnmower
Barbecues or pizza ovens

What are the limits of garden insurance?

Single item limits

Home policies will set an upper limit for how much you can claim for a single item. This can range from £1,000 up to £5,000, so it’s something to be aware of when you take out your policy.

Items left in an unoccupied home

If you leave your home unoccupied for an extended period of time, typically from 30-60 days in a row, your home insurer could exclude losses after this time. This will also apply to your garden.

Items without proper security

Items that are not locked securely in a shed or inside the house could be excluded. Likewise, if you have a larger item that is not properly secured, claims on this could be rejected.

Lack of maintenance

Insurance does not cover general wear and tear of your garden or its contents. If you leave items to rust or do not make reasonable repairs when needed, they may not be covered.

DIY or bad workmanship

Damage or loss that results from DIY will not be covered. If you hire professionals to work in your garden, any damage they cause should be covered by their insurance.

Items not mentioned in the policy

If you fail to include the value of your garden or its contents in your valuations when you take out your insurance, they are unlikely to be covered when you make a claim. Likewise, if you do not add on an item that exceeds the single item limit, it will not be protected.

Pests or vermin

Damage or loss caused by pests or vermin are typically not covered. Keeping possessions safe from pests and animals is your responsibility as a homeowner.

Storm damage

With wind and storm damage becoming more common in the UK, a lot of insurers will exclude this cover. This is why home maintenance and storm preparation are so important when extreme weather is forecast.

How can I be sure my garden is fully covered?

Check your policy details thoroughly

Checking your home insurance documents to find out exactly what is and isn’t covered is important to avoid any nasty surprises when it comes time to make a claim. If you are renewing your home policy, you can check these details before you buy and choose a policy that covers all of your needs.

Calculate the value of your garden and its contents

When you take out a contents and buildings insurance policy, you will be asked to estimate two values. One is the total cost of rebuilding your home, and the other is the total value of the contents of your home. Including your garden, outbuildings and their contents in these values will ensure they are accounted for.

Add cover for items that exceed the single item limit

When you want to cover an item that exceeds the insurer’s single item limit you will need to add this item to the policy individually, specifying what it is and its value. For example, if you need to cover a ride-on lawnmower with a market value of £3,000. You can do this with any high value items.

Consider accidental damage cover

Accidental damage protection is an additional level of cover you can add to a home policy. This covers one off accidents that cause damage and can be particularly important for gardens. An example of this cover could include a ball smashing an outhouse window, or a car reversing into a fence or gate.

Secure your belongings

Adding and using locks on outhouses and gates is an essential step to securing your garden. Securing garden houses, children’s toys, and large furniture into the ground is one way to secure them from theft or storms. If you need a more flexible solution, sandbags or chains can act as a more temporary deterrent.

Improve security

Adding features like locks, outdoor lights with movement sensors, doorbell cameras or CCTV can all help deter opportunist thieves.

Invest in your boundaries

Investing in strong and secure fences and gates is key, particularly because storm damage is unlikely to be covered.

Take storm prep seriously

Using covers, ropes and moving items to a more sheltered area in your garden can help you to avoid damage when storms come.

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Last Updated: 11 Oct 2024Read time: 5 minutes Written by: Lauren McAfeeInsurance Writer and Editor Reviewed by: Mark McKeown Written…

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