Does my homeowners insurance policy cover my landscaping?

2012-01-21T04:04:00.001-08:00

If you’ve just landscaped yourhome, you know that the process is both rewarding and very expensive. Nicetrees and shrubs can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, and you may beafraid of what could happen to those investments in the event of a fire or amajor storm. Depending on what type of homeowners insurance policy you have,you may be able to get coverage for your landscaping, and if you’re looking fornew homeowners insurance, this may be something that you want to consider. Home Insurance

To discover whether or not yourhomeowners insurance policy already covers your landscaping, you can talk toyour insurance agent or company, or you may be able to find this informationjust by looking in the policy information packet that you should have kept in afile drawer somewhere. Different homeowners insurance policies will havedifferent limits for landscaping coverage. They might pay to replace trees andsuch in the event of a fire, but you may get no coverage for storm damage. Besure that you understand exactly what your homeowners insurance policy does anddoes not cover before you count on it to protect your landscaping.

If you’re shopping for homeownersinsurance and you have very expensive landscaping around your home, you may addlandscaping coverage to your list of requisites for homeowners insurance. Youmay have to ask detailed questions of different insurance companies and agentsbefore you can find a plan that suits you, but knowing that you’ll be able toreplace your oak trees or heirloom rose bushes when disaster strikes will beworth the extra time. Don’t, though, forget to price compare for plans thatprotect your landscaping. Sometimes it may be worthwhile to go with a cheaperplan that doesn’t give you as much coverage; you can always put back what yousave in premiums in order to have some backup savings specifically for yourlandscaping. Home Insurance

One other way to look at thisdilemma is from the perspective of actually putting in new landscaping. Beforeyou buy the most expensive trees and shrubs, you might want to check yourhomeowners insurance policy to see how much it will cover. That way, you’llknow just how much financial risk you’re taking with these plants and trees,and you’ll be able to plan your landscaping accordingly. Of course, you can putin landscaping that isn’t covered by your homeowners insurance, but if you livein an area where the risk of fires, floods, or major storms is high, wewouldn’t recommend it.

Hopefully this will help you findout whether or not your homeowners insurance policy covers your landscaping; ifit doesn’t, be sure that you look for that small detail if you go searching fora new homeowners insurance policy. Happy planting! Home Insurance