Home insurance: the guide to good lawn maintenance

How can I maintain my lawn properly?

Several small actions, repeated over the seasons, will help you obtain a lush lawn:

• In spring and fall, apply fertilizer to nourish your soil better;
• Seed during these same two periods, spreading a little enriched lawn soil and varied seeds, adapted to the type of sunlight;
• During the summer period, mow the lawn regularly and leave the grass clippings in place;
• Set your mower to 3 inches (nearly 8 cm) so that your lawn retains moisture better and resists heatwaves more easily.
• Using a manual weeder, uproot dandelions and other weeds and add soil and seeds to fill the holes created.
• Water less often but deeply, complying with your municipality’s by-laws.

Lawn maintenance: don’t underestimate these risks

Regularly watering favours a beautiful lawn, but excessive watering can also have unexpected consequences. When the soil is continually saturated, the accumulated water increases the risk of gradual infiltration for the foundations, especially if the land’s drainage is deficient.

A healthy lawn rests on soil capable of absorbing and discharging water efficiently. If some areas remain constantly soggy, if puddles persist long after rain, or if subsidences appear on the land, it’s better to deploy actions — addition of land to restore the slope or installation of a surface drain, for example — to improve the soil’s surface water drainage capacity.

Correct the problem situation quickly to reduce the risks of water infiltration into the basement through the foundations. Terrain that naturally moves water away from the house is still one of the best protections against water damage!

Poor management of the watering hose

The watering hose also requires some precautions. Avoid leaving it permanently under pressure or connected to the tap when temperatures approach the freezing point. How do you protect an outdoor tap from frost? Drain the hose completely in the fall, put it in storage and close the water supply to the outdoor tap, if your installation allows. These few actions reduce the risk that that an outdoor tap or pipe will freeze and burst during the winter.

Although the majority of basic home insurance policies cover water damage with a sudden, accidental cause coming from inside your welling (such as a burst pipe!), the loss might not be covered if it is caused by negligence, or when the heating is deliberately shut off, for example.

Water damage and home insurance: know the essentials

• Damage caused by a sanitary installation — a dishwasher pipe that cracks, for example — are covered by the basic home insurance policy.
• Most other water damage is covered if the insured holds certain endorsements that are added to an all risks home insurance policy.
  • Water damage – water above ground
    This optional coverage applies to water damage caused by infiltration that occurs suddenly and accidentally above ground, such as water infiltration through the roof, the doors or the windows.
  • Water damage – groundwater and sewer
    This optional coverage applies, in particular, to sudden and accidental water damage following a sewer or septic tank backup, water infiltration through the foundations, or a breakdown or failure of our submersible pump.
• However, this optional coverage is subject to maximum amounts of insurance.
• Property owners must follow their insurer’s recommendations to avoid exclusion from coverage or the imposition of an increased deductible for this type of damage. For example, it is the property owner’s responsibility to replace the water heater before the end of the appliance's useful life, in accordance with the insurer’s requirements.

Maintenance equipment: are you well protected against theft?

To ensure maintenance of your lawn, several expensive tools have been purchased over time: a battery-powered mower, an edger, a leaf blower or even a robot lawn mower. Depending on the chosen coverage, home insurance generally covers movable goods against theft when this risk is specified in the contract.

What can be covered in the garden?

As a general rule, landscaping equipment is considered movable goods. Depending on the coverage taken out, the theft of a lawn mover, a hedge trimmer, a leaf blower or other gardening tools can be covered. However, the coverage always depends on the circumstances of the loss and the limitations and exclusions specified in the contract. A deductible usually applies, and some goods may be subject to indemnity limits.

What happens in case of theft of a robot lawn mower?

Robot lawn mowers are increasingly popular, but their high value may also attract thieves. Since they generally are goods, their theft may be covered by home insurance, subject to the limitations and exclusions specified in the contract. Several models nonetheless offer anti-theft functions, such an access code, an audible alarm or a GPS geopositioning system, to limit the risk of having to submit a claim to your insurer.

Before investing in a robot lawn mower that could cost several thousand dollars, take a few minutes to check with your insurer if special limits apply to this type of lawn-mowing tool.

Natural disasters: what does your home insurance cover?

Due to climate change, natural disasters are very present in Québec and Canada. Extreme weather events are not only more frequent but also cause more and damage. In general, basic home insurance covers damage attributable to violent winds, hail, ice storms and lightning, for example. But what happens in case of torrential rain or the absence of rain?

Extreme weather and surface water: is this covered?

Well-maintained land and a dense lawn help limit the risks of water damage. Could your home insurance cover damage caused by surface water infiltration if you purchased the appropriate additional coverage. This coverage generally isn’t included in home insurance policies: iA Auto and Home, a subsidiary of iA Financial Group, offers it under Water damage – groundwater and sewer water.

Extreme heat: is my lawn covered?

During a heatwave, it’s normal for grass to turn yellow despite adequate maintenance. This type of damage isn’t covered by home insurance. The contracts don’t cover the effects of weather conditions on vegetation or landscaping. In periods of extreme heat, judicious watering and choosing to seed with adapted grass species (clover, for example) remain the best ways to preserve a healthy lawn. As mentioned by CAA-Québec, other types of damage are never covered by insurers.