Chelsea Flower Show green fingers but don’t be the next victim of garden theft

The Chelsea Flower Show is underway and many a budding gardener will be venturing into the garden but expensive garden tools and furniture can be a goldmine for garden thieves.

Even if you’re not the green fingered type, as Confused.com points out, as we hope for a hot summer many gardens will start to be filled with barbeques and patio furniture.

The message is though

• try and take some precautions to protect your garden equipment and
• make sure you have appropriate home insurance in place just in case you are the unfortunate victim of garden theft

In terms of precautions to take against garden theft, suggestions include

• Keep valuable items, including lawnmowers, bikes and BBQ’s out of site and locked away
• Deter thieves by adding security lighting and high prickly hedges
• Deter thieves by becoming a member of the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme

You can also mark your valuable items using ultraviolet pens so that if stolen but recovered by police you can identify them.

With home insurance you need to ensure that the policy you have provides you with the insurance cover you need for the contents both in and outside your home.

Darren Black, head of Home Insurance at Confused.com said ‘While some insurers include garden cover as standard, others offer it as an add on.’

It is therefore important to shop around for your home insurance and make sure you get the cover you need for any garden tools and furniture you have.

Home insurance comparison web sites can be very helpful in enabling you to get insurance quotes quickly and easily from a range of providers – you can see what’s on offer and choose the cover that best suits your needs.