Do you need insurance when you open your garden for charity?
Opening your garden as part of a village or town group is a great way of raising money for charity. Even if the gardens aren’t quite Chelsea standard, everyone loves having a nose about. And it draws communities together. But there is one fly in this otherwise delightful ointment. Insurance.
Are you providing refreshments? Or selling produce? Your insurers will want to know.
You have to have insurance. It’s unwise – these days – to open your garden to the public without it. And, unless you have a relevant professional liability insurance, your household cover won’t, er, cover it. We open our garden as part of Faversham Open Gardens & Market Day (last Sunday of June every year – put it in your diary!). When we told our household insurers, they reacted as if we were opening a terrorist training camp on the lawn and turning the potting shed into an arms store.
Are there dangerous chemicals in your potting shed? And did you know that fertiliser is an ingredient in some explosives?
The event is a fund-raiser for the Faversham Society, and many charities – such as the Cystic Fibrosis Trust – have insurance that will cover you if you run an open garden event. But some charity insurance cover only covers the volunteers working on the day, and doesn’t cover anything that happens on private premises. So check!
Are there any broken branches or tree hazards in your garden?
While we were waiting to hear if the Faversham Society’s insurance covered public liability to the visitors to our garden , I contacted a few insurers to find out how much it would cost for us to insure the event ourselves. It would be about £150-190 for our 30 gardens and expectation of fewer than 100 visitors per garden. That’s a big chunk out of any Open Gardens funds.
Tidy away gardening tools before opening your garden – this rake could hurt someone
You will also have to spend about fifteen minutes on the phone answering questions. Is there access to the house? Will there be a bouncy castle? Will dangerous sports be held? Is there a pond? Or a swimming pool? Will refreshments be served? Are you selling produce? Or dancing girls? Or drugs or firearms? Will there be extremists preaching under the pergola? etcetera. (I admit to having made some of these up….)
Uneven paving stones can be hazardous for those in high heels or anyone who’s had a bit too much to drink.
The NGS (National Gardens Scheme) insurance covers those opening their gardens for the NGS. They also field dozens of calls a week from people organising town or village open gardens. Many have, presumably, have been daunted by the CIA-style interrogation from their own insurers on the subject of doing something as dangerous and irresponsible as allowing people to see their garden. The NGS can’t give insurance advice themselves, but refer people to their own insurers, Pavey Group Insurance (call them on 0800 0746187 rather than ringing the NGS). Lycetts also specialise in this kind of insurance.
Even the smallest water feature can be dangerous to toddlers – watch children carefully.
Just as the Faversham Society’s insurers confirmed that they would cover public liability for visitors to the open gardens, our own insurers got back to us to say that they would put a note on our files to say we would have no cover at all on the day of Open Gardens. But what if the house burns down and it’s nothing to do with the people in the garden? I asked.
‘You are not covered for anything that happens as a result of the Open Gardens,’ she said, patiently. ‘but if something happens that is not connected to the Open Gardens, then your normal cover is in place.’ Phew. So we’re safe. As is everyone else opening their gardens for the Faversham Society.
The Faversham Society has been running an Open Garden Scheme for years. So far no-one has been poisoned by home-made cake, knocked out by stepping on a rake or been tripped over by uneven paving stones. But there’s always a first time – so if you feel brave enough, do join us at the end of June. Tickets from the Faversham Society.
If you’ve found this piece useful, I’d be really grateful if you shared it with one of these buttons below. Thank you!
Thanks! This might just close us.
I really do sympathise. We have had to stop doing Faversham Open Gardens for a local charity and do it under the NGS banner for insurance reasons. Still, the NGS raises money for good causes and we will be able to support some local charities.
All someone has to do is twist their ankle on an uneven patch of ground, or slip where someone has spilt some harmless lemonade , and you’ll have a liability claim against you for loss of earnings if they can’t work, as well as ongoing treatment and physiotherapy etc etc. Insurance is a very crucial part of this type of activity. Many people do not see a clothing shop as being a dangerous environment but they still take public liability insurance. And naturally insurers need to know what they are insuring!!!!
However there are plenty of brokers out there, and policies available, where you would probably be asked about 3 or 4 questions if you suggested you were holding such an event or open garden, and they would have no issue at all. “fly in the ointment” – ridiculous
Insurance is indeed necessary!
Was thinking of opening our 3.5 acre Garden for charity you have certainly put doubt in my mind, but I will do some research.
It’s definitely worth doing – so don’t be put off!
Thank you – we’ve got our village garden festival next Saturday here in the beautiful village of Barnsley, near Cirencester. Fantastic gardens by Rosemary Verey who lived here for most of her life. Celebrity judge is Fiona Fullerton (ex-Bond girl and Strictly finalist!!)
Sounds fab. Hope it goes well, and what a shame that Kent is so far from Barnsley or I would drop in.
Very helpful article, thank you.