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Will your home insurance cover coronation celebrations?
Claims for garden fires jumped by nearly 500% around this time last year
More than 3,000 street parties will be held this weekend to celebrate the King's coronation, but if you're planning to mark the historic event in your garden or with a trip away, you'd better check your home insurance policy covers it.
Despite the cool, wet start to the year, insurer Admiral has already registered more garden fire related claims in the first three months of 2023 than the same period in any of the previous four years. Meanwhile, LV data shows thefts spiked over the Jubilee weekend last year.
For peace of mind that your party and home is protected, Which? outlines what cover you need should things go royally wrong.
What are the risks?
Before you fire up the barbecue or firepit, beware. Admiral found the number of claims for damage caused by garden fires are highest in May, June and July. Claims increased by almost 500% in those months in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Plus if you're making your lawn fit for a king using a bioethanol weed burner, be very careful. Admiral has also seen a number of claims for significant damage in recent years, including an incident where someone accidentally set fire to their shed and fence, and damaged a neighbour’s car. Another case saw an oil tank explode after a fire from a weed burner spread, causing a significant amount of damage to a neighbouring property.
If you are going away for the bank holiday weekend and leaving your home empty, there's also a risk of theft. Research by LV found home thefts increased by 36% during the Jubilee weekend last year compared to the same weekend in 2021.
The bank holiday on Monday, 6 June 2022 also saw a significant spike for home thefts, increasing by 238% compared to the same date the previous year, suggesting thieves may target homes that are left empty on the days following the coronation weekend, or during parties.
- Find out more: check out our range of gardening advice guides
Are you covered?
Home contents insurance covers the cost of replacing belongings in your home if they're damaged, destroyed or stolen. As a general rule, your 'contents' are the items you would take with you if you moved home.
To protect against loss or damage to contents left outside but within the boundaries of your home, such as your garden, you'll also need 'contents in the open' cover. A good policy will usually include it as standard.
We analysed 78 contents insurance policies from dozens of providers and found three policies didn't provide any cover at all, so it's always worth checking. Of all policies that offer it as standard or as an optional extra, the average cover limit was £4,167.
For theft of contents in the open cover, 72 contents insurance policies from the providers we reviewed offered it as standard or as an optional extra, while six didn't. The average cover limit was £3,350.
- Find out more: making a home insurance claim
Which insurers offer the best cover?
With so much choice, it can be hard to decide which insurer is right for you.
To get a clearer idea of how different contents policies compare, take a look at our contents insurance explained guide, which shows how we've rated 78 policies from dozens of insurers on a range of factors, including contents in the open cover.
- Find out more: check which insurers have been named Which? Recommended Provider in our best and worst home insurance guide
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