Home insurance warning over garden items

Keen gardeners need to keep a close watch on their outdoor furniture and ornaments if they do not want to have to make a claim on their home insurance, one expert has warned.

David Rochester, head of underwriting for Halifax Home Insurance, explained that expensive items left in the garden could prove too much of a temptation for opportunistic thieves.

He said: It is important that people take measures to secure their property outside as well as indoors, and remember that equipment and furniture outside the home can add up.

Mr Rochester added that people should keep expensive items secured or locked away.

They should also ensure that their home insurance policy covers garden theft, he concluded.

Yesterday, Abbey Insurance claimed that almost three-quarters of households in the UK have had at least one item damaged by a child in the past year, leading to many home insurance claims .