How valuable is your shed?

Home owners have been warned to ensure their sheds are locked and insured after new research revealed Brits keep thousands of pounds worth of valuables outside in their gardens. Research by shed specialists BillyOh.com has revealed that the average UK homeowner stores as much as £2,234 worth of valuable furniture, tools and bikes in their gardens. They hope the news will act as a wake-up call to the scores of households who still regularly fail to provide adequate security or insurance to protect their outdoor contents. Some of the more valuable items that are stored outside are expensive power tools, bikes for the entire family and garden furniture – all of which can be worth hundreds of pounds each. Despite keeping these valuable purchases stored in their gardens, the public are putting themselves at risk of burglary by failing to provide proper security. Some households are leaving their expensive purchases at risk by failing to even provide a basic padlock on their shed’s door. However, even a properly fastened lock protecting your shed won’t completely deter the threat of burglary, making it all the more important to insure your outdoor contents. Even with this threat, many families still fail to get necessary insurance to cover against theft – with many assuming it is automatically included in their house coverage. This means that homeowners across the UK are at risk of losing thousands of pounds if their prized garden possessions are stolen. A spokesperson for BillyOh.com said: “Many of us use our sheds to store valuable items. The good news is modern sheds are strong and can easily be secured with a simple lock but many people fail to ensure their valuables are safe. “We want to remind the general public that is really is worth investing in a lock for your shed and also to check with your insurer that your shed contents are covered in your policy. “As this research reveals, there are literally thousands of pounds worth of goods stored away in our gardens, so making sure it’s all safe and secure is vital. “In some cases, we’ve seen households that don’t lock their shed at all, which seems crazy when you consider the worth of the equipment they hold. “Even if you have a properly secured lock on your shed’s door, they can still be broken into, so make sure your insurance properly covers the valuables you store inside. “A lot of Brits still assume that their shed is covered by contents insurance, but if yours doesn’t explicitly include outdoors items, you risk having to pay thousands to replace them if stolen. “Our total is based on what the average UK shed contains, but if you own several power tools, an expensive bike or pricy furniture, yours could be worth thousands more. “Our advice is to never take any chances. Make sure that your shed is securely locked every night, and that the terms of your insurance plan covers your outdoors contents.”