Insuring a good summer

As the sun breaks through the spring rain clouds and the evenings get longer sunscreen is not the only protection you need.

The summer months are a time for holidays, weddings, lazy evenings in the garden or out with friends, and taking advantage of bank holidays.

But while sunshine and smiles are the order of the day, people neglecting their insurance cover could end up getting as burned as those sunbathing without sunscreen.

The first area of concern over the summer months comes with home insurance.

As the sun comes out Britons spend more time outdoors, spruce up their gardens for barbeques and parties, and generally convert to a more outdoor lifestyle.

But this could spell trouble as well as fun in the sun.

Each year gardeners spend more than £4 billion making the most of their lawns, patios, decking and flower-beds, but once spent Britons make little effort to protect their investment. And protection is often needed.

One person in 11 has reported their garden has been damaged by their children or grandchildren, and some 1.6 million households a year report thefts from their garden with another 60,000 suffering garden vandalism, figures from RIAS show.

For as little as £2 a month garden insurance could be added to home insurance policies.

"Nowadays people are spending increasing sums of money on their gardens, in particular when the sun is shining. However, many people fail to appreciate the total value of their garden items and, more importantly, how to safeguard them," said David Neave, director of general insurance at Co-operative Insurance.

"Garden valuables can be protected through your home insurance, but it is important to pay special attention to your policy and check exactly what is covered.

"Given the amount of time and money we now spend looking after our gardens, it should only be expected that we devote the same care and attention to the outside as well as the inside of our homes."

And thieves are not the only risk to gardens.

Research from Direct Line home insurance reveals 37 per cent of people throwing a summer party complained about the damage caused by children rampaging around the garden.

And more general risks increase over the summer - with July the worst month of the year for burglaries.

More than a million British holidaymakers return from a holiday to find their home disrupted as burglaries, leaks, storms, and even friends and families left looking after houses cause damage.

"Home disasters can be extremely distressing at the best of times, so returning to one after a relaxing holiday would certainly bring you back down to earth with a bump, so having adequate home insurance cover to protect your property - whether it's occupied or not - is absolutely critical," said Vicky Emmott, senior manager of underwriting at Halifax home insurance.

And it is not just home insurance that needs to be carefully checked this summer.

The summer months see both an increase in short breaks to take an advantage of bank holidays and sunny weather, as well as the more traditional summer break over the school holidays.

Of those who do remember to take out travel insurance, more than one in four have little or no idea of what their travel insurance covers, HSBC figures show, with 55 per cent not knowing what is included in or excluded and 27 per cent having no intention of checking their policy before flying out.

"Few people would dream of taking their family on a holiday abroad without travel insurance, but many are potentially leaving themselves and their loved ones exposed by not ensuring that they are adequately covered by the policy they have," said Michael Oliver, head of current accounts at HSBC.