Do You Need Insurance for Your Allotment Garden? Here’s What You Should Know

By Catherine Regenthal | Sep 01, 2023 at 5:02 p.m

Allotment gardens are becoming small, green oases in the middle of the city. But do you actually need insurance for this special spot? myHOMEBOOK has the answers.

Is insurance necessary for the allotment garden?

In principle, insurance for an allotment garden is not compulsory – at least for most systems. However, from time to time it may be stipulated in the articles of association that allotment gardeners must insure their arbor accordingly. You should find out about this in advance.

In some cases there may already be a framework insurance offered by the allotment garden association, which all allotment gardeners can join. Depending on what is to be protected, however, you have to check whether everything is covered or whether additional insurance would be worthwhile.

Insurance really makes sense if there are corresponding values ​​in the allotment garden, says Felicitas Eckert from the insurance company “die Bayerische” to myHOMEBOOK.

Existing household contents insurance does not apply

Allotment gardeners must note that their existing household contents insurance does not necessarily apply to damage in the allotment garden. So if you want to be on the safe side so that you don’t have to pay the costs in the event of damage – for example in the event of a burglary or storm damage – you should take out separate insurance. There are special models for small gardens. With some insurance companies, you can also extend the existing household contents insurance.

What can you insure?

What you can secure with insurance for the allotment garden depends on the respective tariff. As a rule, damage caused by fire, burglary or glass breakage is insured. You can also insure against damage caused by storm and hail. Anyone who has a photovoltaic system, for example, can also include this in the insurance.

Notice: Basically, you should always clarify in advance what is covered by the insurance for the allotment garden in order not to be stuck with the costs in the event of damage.

How high should the sum insured be for the allotment garden?

The sum insured can also vary. The small garden and the arbour, for example, are often insured for 5000 euros – the household effects, i.e. what is in the arbor, are then insured for 2000 euros. These sums can and must be individually adjusted in order to receive appropriate compensation in the event of damage. When taking out insurance, you should also make sure that it is not the current value but the replacement value that is agreed. This decides on the amount of compensation in the event of damage.

Beware of underinsurance

It is important that when you take out insurance for the allotment garden, you state the value of the arbor and its contents as precisely as possible. The insured items should never have a higher value than the sum insured. In the event of damage, you are left with considerable costs. In such a case, the insurance only has to reimburse the damage proportionately, even if the total damage is even lower than the sum insured.