Home insurance, for your garden – really? It sounds strange, but the contents of our gardens can actually be quite valuable. Our focus is usually on insuring expensive jewellery, our home entertainment systems and laptops and mp3 players. But, the value of our garden contents can actually amount to a rather tidy sum.

Garden furniture, tools, sheds, sporting equipment, it’s all out there and if there was a flood, a storm or a burglary, it is like to get damaged, broken, completely ruined or stolen. Summer is when we spend most time in our gardens. Therefore, we are more likely to realise just how valuable the contents are when sipping wine during a barbecue or playing football with the kids.

A recent survey from insurance company Hiscox, found 21% of homeowners have items in their gardens they consider to be valuable, plus there are plenty more that underestimate the value of their garden contents. If you take out ‘extra cover’ with Legal and General contents insurance, you’ll get £1,000 of garden contents cover, which is well worth the extra money.

There are plenty of tools on the market to help tot up the amount your garden contents are worth and make you aware of tips that will not just reduce the chance of burglary and damage, but make claiming a lot easier too.

You can now buy an iPhone app designed to help you ascertain the value of your garden contents. If you get the value you wrong, you could end up either paying too much for your insurance, or be underinsured, which means you won’t get enough money from your insurer to cover losses and damages.

It’s also a good idea to give your garden an annual or biannual security check. Make sure all the deadbolts on gates and shed doors are working in good order. Check security lights to ensure they are fit for purpose and if you own a collection of high-value items it’s worth installing other security measures such as motion sensors and burglar alarms.

Don’t let hedges and trees become too overgrown. Not only do they act as a shield for burglars when they’re doing their dirty work, but you are also risking damage to your property if they were to be blown down in a storm.

Take pictures and keep an inventory of all your garden furniture and shed contents. This will make claiming and buying replacements much easier.