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After the storm, the house is usually covered and the fence isn't
Another windy spell is due in the north this weekend. Where home insurance usually stops in the garden, and how to check your own wording before the wind arrives.
Storm Austen is clearing the south, and the Met Office UK forecast has strong winds and heavy rain on Saturday before a brief settled spell on Sunday, with another low expected to bring strong winds to northern parts of the UK. If you live in the north, this is a good moment to look at the garden as well as the forecast.
The house itself is usually well protected. Home policies cover storm damage, and they separately cover impact from a falling tree or branch. The Hastings Premier home policy and the Allianz home insurance policy both do this, and neither asks whose tree it was.
The garden is where cover tends to stop. The Association of British Insurers says gates and fences are excluded by most standard buildings policies, because they are often not well maintained and blow down easily. Hastings Premier excludes hedges too. Both wordings exclude fences or gates flattened by a falling tree, and the cost of removing a fallen tree unless it damaged the building itself.
Here is the detail worth sitting with. Not every policy means the same thing by a storm. The ABI describes a storm as gusts of at least 55mph, and Hastings uses that figure. Allianz sets its bar lower, at 47mph. Your own definition is in the definitions section of your policy booklet.
If your tree falls on a neighbour's property and they hold you responsible, the ABI says to contact your buildings insurer, because buildings policies usually include liability cover for occupiers. If a neighbour's tree looks unsafe, the ABI suggests talking to its owner now.
Before the weekend, secure bins, garden furniture and anything loose, and photograph your fences, roof and trees as they are today. Afterwards, make only safe, emergency repairs, keep the receipts and tell your insurer as soon as you reasonably can.
To check your own cover, find "storm" in the definitions, then read what isn't covered under storm and impact. Fences sit under buildings cover, so a contents-only policy will not help.
That is the kind of question Am I Covered is being built for: plain English, with the policy wording in sight. We explain wording, not advice, and we cannot say whether a claim will be paid.