Is My Landscaping Covered Under My Homeowners Insurance Policy?

Question: Is My Landscaping Covered Under My Homeowners Insurance Policy?

Answer: Landscaping adds value to one's home. In addition, the plants that are used in landscaping can be expensive. Insurance companies realize if one's landscaping was destroyed it could be a huge financial loss and therefore do include some coverage for one's landscaping under their homeowners insurance policy.

Coverage for landscaping falls under Coverage C under one's homeowners insurance policy. It is also known as the contents coverage or personal property coverage and is the part of one's homeowner insurance policy that covers their "stuff."

Personal property under Coverage C is usually 50-70% of Coverage A. Coverage A is the amount one's home is insured for. For example, in a $100,000 homeowners insurance policy one would have up to $50,000 for their personal property or coverage C.

There are certain items under Coverage C that have special limits and landscaping plants is one of these items. Trees, plants, and shrubs in one's landscaping is usually only covered for 5% of the homeowners policy value. So, on that same $100,000 homeowners insurance policy one would have up to $5,000 of coverage. There also are usually dollar limits on each tree, plant or shrub too which is usually about $500 per item. Landscaping items are covered for the perils listed in the homeowners insurance policy but are not covered by damage caused by wind or disease.