Contents insurance 'needs to cover gardens'

Britons should check home insurance policies. Summer means people tend to spend more time in their gardens, but homeowners need to make sure items they use outside are covered by their home insurance. According to Cheshire Building Society, rates of garden theft increase at this time of year as householders are more likely to leave items out in their gardens overnight. Because of this it is important to double check home insurance policies to ensure adequate cover is in place for garden equipment and accessories, the company advised. Karen Torson, product manager at Cheshire Building Society, said: "Many people automatically assume they're covered when they take a policy out, but this isn't always the case and it can leave people feeling hugely let down by their insurance providers if their claim is not met in full or, worse still, declined."She added that having insurance in place means that, in the event of belongings being lost or stolen, homeowners can quickly and easily get them replaced - without ending up out of pocket.Insurance provider More Than recently advised householders to take precautions such as trimming hedges and locking sheds to prevent thieves from stealing items from the garden.

(Reproduced from CompareandSave.com , 5th June)

GARDIEN TIP: Use the free Inventory on the Gardien web site (http://www.garden-security.co.uk/inventory.aspx) to get a true valuation of your garden and then check your insurance policy using the advice at http://www.garden-security.co.uk/garden-insurance.aspx