Get A Free iPhone App To Check The Value Of Your Garden And Home Contents

Many find they are underinsured for just their internal home contents but with many homeowners having valuable items outside, what about these? Are they correctly valued and protected and would a free iPhone app help ensure they were?


According to specialist home insurer, Hiscox, the value of an English country garden soon adds up.
Some 21% of homeowners have items in their outdoor space they consider valuable and as homeowners use the summer months to attend their gardens, it’s vital to consider the collective value of these items and ensure they have adequate protection in place.
The poll of high net worth individuals found that in the next six months over half are planning some landscaping and planting new shrubs and bushes and almost 10% are planning on buying new outdoor furniture.

Many already have display sculptures, garden art or a fountain and some 12% store their sporting equipment in their garden.
Home insurance claims do arise from the garden
Hiscox’s homeowner customers have experienced unexpected damage to their gardens, for example

• a 19th century garden urn knocked over by a workman
• a family member falling onto a garden sculpture when they slipped
• a storm blew a tree onto George II style stone garden bench.

Austyn Tusler, high value household insurance expert at Hiscox, comments:  “When thinking about insurance for the home, it’s all too easy to overlook the value of the contents in your garden.
“But it’s crucial that these items aren’t forgotten when arranging your home insurance policy, as favourite items – a luxury furniture set, exotic plants and sophisticated gardening equipment – can be costly to replace.
“Garden items such as furniture, sculptures and statues as well as exotic plants can add up to be a significant amount, in addition to expensive garden equipment, such as ride-on lawnmowers, and tools.

He added: “People may not consider the value of their garden when thinking about insurance. It is important to remember that home and contents is not just the items under the traditional family roof, but all assets on the property.”
You can protect your gardens by such as locking items in a shed, having some outdoor lighting and having a high fence.

FREE iPhone app – Gardens and home contents calculator
Whether it be high value jewellery, antiques or a sit-on lawnmower, Hiscox has a contents calculator free iPhone app which you can use to record the approximate value of all your home and garden contents.

MoneyHighStreet.com says: “Summer certainly is a time when many spend out on their garden. Its rising value can all too easily be forgotten when assessing values for home contents insurance and yet equally easily can be the target for a burglar.
A smartphone app to help record the value of your possessions is well worth using – it might seem tedious but should you be the unfortunate victim of a burglary you will be very pleased to find you are not inadvertently underinsured.

And you also might want to consider taking photos of at least your high value items”
The home contents calculator app is free to download via the App store on the iPhone, or using the Quick Response (QR) code at www.hiscox.co.uk/apps.

27/06/11 - moneyhighstreet.com

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