Does home insurance cover robotic lawn mowers?
Yes, your robotic mower counts as domestic garden machinery, so any loss or damage caused by the insured perils is covered under the Contents section while it’s on your property.
- Theft from an open garden is capped by the “Contents in the open” limit on your Schedule (typically £1,000).
- Storing the mower in a locked attached garage or lean-to moves cover up to your full Contents sum-insured (standard £100 k).
- In a locked detached outbuilding, it comes under the combined Outbuildings-contents pool of £5 k (extendable to £10 k).
- Away-from-home cover isn’t available. Personal Belongings only applies to items “you might wear or carry”; it excludes motor-powered devices (other than small carve-outs such as mobility scooters
- Mechanical or electrical breakdown and gradual wear-and-tear aren’t insured.
How the policy treats a robot mower
| Scenario | Where the cover sits | Key limits & conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Fire, storm, flood, impact, malicious damage or theft while the mower is inside the home or an attached garage / lean-to | See Contents – Section 2 | Up to your overall Contents sum-insured (typically £100 k). No single-article limit because the mower isn’t High-Risk Property. |
| Same perils while the mower is stored in a locked, detached shed, standalone garage or garden room | Outbuildings-contents pool | Combined limit £5,000 for all detached outbuildings (can be increased to £10,000 on request). |
| Theft from the garden in the open (while mowing or docked outside) | “Contents in the open” benefit | Payout capped at the garden-contents limit on your Schedule (usually £1,000). |
| Accidental Damage (e.g. driving over it, dropped while carrying) | Optional Accidental Damage to Contents | Available if you selected this add-on; Contents excess applies |
| Taken off-site (neighbour’s lawn, holiday home) | Not covered | Personal Belongings excludes motorised vehicles and their accessories, so a robot mower can’t be added |
What isn’t covered
- Mechanical/electrical breakdown or wear-and-tear.
- Theft while unattended with security features disabled (policy may deem this “carelessness”).
- Amounts above your Contents sum-insured or the garden-contents limit if you haven’t increased them to reflect the mower’s value.
Protection tips
- Anchor the charging dock to a solid surface and enable the PIN/GPS lock.
- Store overnight in a locked shed/garage to avoid the garden-limit cap
- Keep purchase receipts & serial number – they speed up claims.