Whether you garden as a fun hobby or to turn your backyard into your oasis, a garden can be a precious and honored part of your home. It can also have a surprising amount of monetary value, especially when you factor in gardening tools, furniture, expensive plants, produce yield, and fencing. A storm or burglary can completely ruin expensive items and months of hard work.

So you want to protect the value of your garden. That’s where home insurance comes in.

What insurance do you need to safeguard your garden?

General Home Insurance

Some home insurance policies consider a garden a “permanent feature” of the home. Thus, the home insurance policy may cover your garden as it would other parts of your home and property.

This coverage generally includes “acts of God,” like storms, snow, and high winds. This would apply if something out of your control—usually caused by weather—damages your garden. For example, a falling tree crushes your prized tomatoes or a storm knocks neighbor’s porch light into your garden. 

Be sure to talk to your insurance agent about which types of incidents your policy considers “acts of God” in your general home insurance. You may find certain events, especially earthquakes and floods, are not covered by your home policy. In those cases, you'll want to work with your agent to consider additional coverage. Give one of our agents a call to review your policy at (844) 824-2887.

In some cases, a garden and the landscaping you choose for your yard can actually help prevent your property from flooding. Learn how to reduce your risk of flood here.

Contents Insurance

“Contents” under your homeowners insurance can help protect those items in your garden that aren’t permanent fixtures. This can include potting, garden equipment, sundials, lawnmowers, and anything you keep in your garden or shed. Yes, your garden decorations—like your gnomes—may be included in that.

Learn more about contents coverage here.

Liability

Someone is walking through your garden when they trip and get hurt. They step on a loose nail or cut their hand on your fence. They trip on a rake and have to go to the hospital. If someone gets hurt in your garden, you could be liable for his or her injuries.

The injured party could sue you for a significant amount of money in damages and medical bills if your garden caused their damage. If you don’t have proper insurance, you would have to pay for any and all expenses out of pocket. Homeowners liability can help protect you from these potential financial burdens. 

What if you hire someone to work in your garden? Maybe you’ve hired a part-time landscaper or full-time grower to tend to your garden. In most cases, you will need liability insurance to cover any workers you employ on your property. You should also make sure they are insured through their business or employer.

Click to find out more about the importance of homeowners liability insurance.

Theft

Garden theft is more common than you might expect. It’s easier for a thief to break into the yard or shed than a house, and they can find ways to resell your expensive equipment to turn a nice profit. From lawnmowers to rakes to seeds, garden theft can rack up a hefty bill. Luckily, most theft is covered under your general comprehensive homeowners insurance and contents insurance. 

Other tips to protect your garden from theft:

  • Motion-detected security lights in front and back of house
  • High fences
  • Thorny bushes around back and sides of garden
  • Always lock shed and gates
  • Affix decorations to the ground (also great to protect in storms)

Fun Fact: If a trespasser is injured on your property, you are likely not liable for their damages. But you would be liable if you were to booby trap your house to knowingly injure or damage a potential burglar.

Pests

If you’re a gardener, you know that one infestation can dramatically damage your entire crop and harvest. But does insurance cover pest or disease infestations?

In most cases, no. A pest infestation is generally considered “preventable damage,” meaning you can take certain precautions to prevent it from occurring. You need regular maintenance and upkeep to prevent infestations.

In rare cases, a pest infestation may be covered under your home insurance it was not preventable and it seriously damaged the structure. For example, if you find termites eating away at the back of your garden, you may be able to file a claim for termite removal.

Another example would be if you have a sudden and unexpected hurricane that causes standing water in your garden for a period of time. This could cause mosquito or other pest infestations that you couldn’t control, as it stemmed from a storm.

The Bottom Line

You may have protection for your beautiful garden already in place. Finding out is as simple as a conversation with your insurance agent. Talk to an agent about how much of your homeowners policy will cover theft, storms, and liability in your garden.

Talk with one of our expert insurance advisors about your home insurance today at (844) 824-2887.

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