Insurance for snowdrops

[steve owen]

Just looking at last night'as Ebay selling prices for David's snowdrops, and I'm prompted to ask whether anyone has insured their snowdrops or indeed any other things growing in their garden? Some collections must be quite valuable.

[Neil]

Yes I have Garden cover, this is from the policy

Garden cover
• loss or damage to plants, trees and contents in the open up to £5,000.

You have got me thinking, does this mean every time a plant dies I can make a claim   Will have to give them a ring to clarify what they mean.

[MR GRUMPY]

No steve i don't have insurance for my collection.Just don't tell anybody where i live.

[Lori S.]

Yes I have Garden cover, this is from the policy

Garden cover
• loss or damage to plants, trees and contents in the open up to £5,000.

You have got me thinking, does this mean every time a plant dies I can make a claim   Will have to give them a ring to clarify what they mean.

Only if you have REALLY valuable plants (monetary value, that is - not value to fellow plant nuts!) or an extremely low deductible... assuming insurance works the same there as here!

[Brian Ellis]

Only if you have REALLY valuable plants (monetary value, that is - not value to fellow plant nuts!) or an extremely low deductible... assuming insurance works the same there as here!

The question then becomes "What is it worth"? Just because a plant is sold on eBay a large amount doesn't necessarily confer that value on it.  I am always aware of this when the weedy plants in your own garden are offered by nurseries at £5 a pot.

[steve owen]

Only if you have REALLY valuable plants (monetary value, that is - not value to fellow plant nuts!) or an extremely low deductible... assuming insurance works the same there as here!

I think they are the same. The current market value is the current market value.

I recall a snowdrop enthusiast who had much of his valuable collection wiped out three or four years ago by stagonospora. Will an insurance policy cover the loss of, say, £20,000 for an entire collection in this way - and the cost of removing/replacing/treating the infected soil?

[Lori S.]

I think they are the same. The current market value is the current market value.

That would certainly show the difference in gardening culture between here and there... What I meant was a value that was generally agreed upon by society including the insurers.  I suspect insurers here would compensate you for what they'd see as the equivalent, that is, the same number/volume of generic plants as supplied by Home Depot!   

I recall a snowdrop enthusiast who had much of his valuable collection wiped out three or four years ago by stagonospora. Will an insurance policy cover the loss of, say, £20,000 for an entire collection in this way - and the cost of removing/replacing/treating the infected soil?

Again, I think here an actual appraisal of the collection would be required - and how on earth would one get such a thing here? 

[steve owen]

Lori
Well, if you had a clump of Wendy's Gold showing twenty flowers and you know that you can buy a Wendy's bulb at the Snowdrop Gala or a dealer for £15, (or a bit more on Ebay), then your clump is probably worth £300.

Going on, you might say, well you grow around 100 varieties, average clump size is six flowering bulbs, average cost/value per bulb around £10 (here I'm cheerfully averaging across low cost S Arnott and high price Trumps), multiply the three together means you have  £6,000 buried in the garden.

Or you could apply the Wendy's approach to each variety separately and arrive at a different figure. Maybe a task for the dark nights now arriving!
Steve

[David Nicholson]

I think I can hear the acturial laughter from the Insurance industry!

[Neil]

Damn got the reply about loss as per their email

Loss is anything that is stolen from the garden and damage would include any accidental damage to garden furniture, barbeques, garden tools and equipment, beehives and bird tables, ornaments including statues, urns and gnomes, garden pots and greenhouse accessories, paddling pools and sandpits.
 
Cover does not include plants dying or being damaged by garden pests and there is no cover for loss or damage to valuables or money, business equipment or any loss or damage caused by storm or flood.

[Maggi Young]

As I understand it, insurance cover can be obtained for almost any purpose/eventuality - providing one is able to find a willing provider and one is prepared to pay the premiums sought for that cover - it is often the case that these can be prohibitively expensive for more esoteric projects.

[David Nicholson]

That's why I could hear the acturial laughter, it was the as a result of their vision of all those premiums coming in with very little prospect of paying out

[Tony Willis]

Damn got the reply about loss as per their email

Loss is anything that is stolen from the garden and damage would include any accidental damage to garden furniture, barbeques, garden tools and equipment, beehives and bird tables, ornaments including statues, urns and gnomes, garden pots and greenhouse accessories, paddling pools and sandpits.
 
Cover does not include plants dying or being damaged by garden pests and there is no cover for loss or damage to valuables or money, business equipment or any loss or damage caused by storm or flood.

How do you steal a sandpit?

[Neil]

one of these

http://www.johnlewis.com/231553375/Product.aspx

[Anthony Darby]

Or the plastic variety that my children had. It was shaped like a scallop shell with a scalloped lid.