Headstone Insurance

Vandalism or accidental damage to headstones can be costly to repair. Graffiti, falling trees, subsidence and lawnmowers are examples of how gravestones can suffer damage, whether it be accidental or wanton.

Earlier this year thirty Storm Damaged Gravestone in Ohio (Anne Mitchell Flickr)gravestones were damaged in Rhymney in South Wales when a tree fell during a storm, while last year nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale’s memorial in Hampshire was removed from its plinth by a tree falling in high winds. Sadly damage to headstones can also be deliberate, as was the case in July 2014 when three youths went on a wrecking spree in a cemetery in Bidston and caused damage estimated at a total of £300,000 to one hundred gravestones

Peace of mind is available though with Stoneguard, which has been the leading headstone insurance policy for over thirty years. Sarsfield Memorials can value the memorial and set up the policy, including issuing a Certificate so you have immediate cover. We will do all the paperwork and correspondence with Bridge Insurance Brokers who are underwritten by Royal Sun Alliance, with cover available for as little as £5.60 per year renewable every five years. Claims are processed and repairs or replacement carried out to get your loved one’s gravestone back to it’s original state as quickly as possible.

Stoneguard’s policy is a straight forward ‘all risk one’ in that you can not choose to insure against certain causes of damage but not others. It covers damage to your headstone caused by storms, accidents, vandalism, subsidence and falling trees, allowing for replacement if necessary.  It also provides personal liability of up to £2 million for any injuries caused by your headstone to members of the public but there are exemptions in respect of the insured and certain family members. The insurance policy does not cover wear and tear and damage to the headstone appearance caused by sunlight, weathering, nuclear incidents, terrorism or acts of war.

Premiums are available for headstones in all UK cemeteries and churchyards and are based on the value of your headstone, with no variations according to your geographical region. For gravestones up to the value of £400, cover costs £28 for five years, while a headstone valued at £751-1000 costs £59 and for a memorial worth £2501-3250 it is £167. For any gravestones that have a higher value than this, please call Sarsfield Memorials on 0151 228 5616 for a quote. A full list of premiums up to the value of £3250 can be found here.

Given payouts for claims made include £419 for graffiti in Glasgow, £1,056 for a falling tree in Surrey and £4,560 for vandalism in Devon, you really ought to give headstone insurance serious consideration. In fact some local authorities will not allow new headstones to be erected in their cemeteries without insurance. With the Chancellor raising insurance premium tax from 6.5% to 9% on 1st November, now is the time to take out cover for your gravestone. Here at Sarsfield Memorials we can arrange cover for you and will also be happy to discuss the policy in more detail. If you would like to do this please call Ursula Sarsfield on 0151 228 5616