Should You Insure Your Landscaping?

In addition to your home owner’s insurance policy, you’ve probably insured several things that “live” in your home, such as your jewelry, your antiques and your vehicles. But what about the $10,000 worth of landscaping that you’ve installed over the last few years? Most home owners take great pride in the trees, shrubs, flowers and other landscaping implements that give their homes “curb appeal”, so why wouldn’t you want to protect them?

Mya McGarvey, an insurance broker at EGRI, Inc. in Houston, Texas, says that most home owner’s insurance policies cover very little, if any, of the landscaping. Since most people don’t take the time to read the fine print when it comes to foliage, they don’t realize that they won’t be fully covered in the event of a disaster. Furthermore, most policies have caps on the amount that can be paid for one individual plant, which can be far less than the worth when it comes to large trees and rare flowers.

“You’ll find that certain situations just aren’t covered through your home owner’s insurance policy,” says McGarvey. “For example, if your thirty-year-old oak tree falls on your roof, you can expect the policy to cover the damage to the structure of your home, and the removal of the tree and stump, but it won’t reimburse you for the value of the tree itself.” When you insure your landscaping, however, those beloved plants will have far more coverage.

If you decide to insure your landscaping, you can expect to pay between $4 and $20 per $1,000 of coverage, claims McGarvey, depending on where you live. You can also add wind riders to your policy for an additional $10 to $20. This is especially prudent when you live in areas where severe weather is frequently a problem, such as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.

Unfortunately, you’ll find that only select insurance companies will insure landscaping, so you might have to do your homework. In Houston, for instance, only two out of every ten insurance companies offer coverage for landscaping, so make sure you ask before taking out a policy. You’ll also want to compare rates among several companies, as the premiums may be very different.

It is estimated that mature trees in the yard of a home can add between 2% and 15% of value to the selling price. In fact, large trees that offer shade for the home itself can be an enormous asset when you decide to sell. This in itself is a powerful incentive to insure your landscaping against damage and theft.

If, however, you decide not to insure your landscaping, make sure you know exactly what is covered through your home owner’s insurance policy. Ask about specific instances where landscaping might not be covered, and request information on the caps that apply to certain plants and landscaping implements. You might be able to deduct what they don’t cover from your federal income taxes, but you’ll need an experienced CPA to determine your options.

Should your landscaping sustain damage after insuring it, make sure you cover yourself so that your insurance company will pay for the damages. “The biggest mistake home owners make is failing to get an appraisal quickly after the damage is done,” says McGarvey. She recommends contacting a local arborist to come out to your home the following day. He’ll want to review the location of plants, the species, the size and the original value.