While swimming pools can provide relief from the summer heat, they can also introduce a unique set of risks for homeowners. A damaged pool can lead to flooding and other issues, and can be extremely expensive to repair out of your own pocket. That's why it's critical to understand if and when your homeowners insurance covers pool damage.
Fortunately, an independent insurance agent can help you find the right homeowners insurance to cover your backyard pool. They can also help you file claims for pool damage and many other disasters. But first, here's a behind-the-scenes look at when and how homeowners insurance covers pool damage.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Swimming Pool Damage?
In short, yes, your homeowners insurance likely covers pool damage. Your policy likely either considers your backyard swimming pool as part of your home's structure, contents, or one of your additional structures, similar to a shed. Regardless, if the cause of the damage to your pool is due to a covered peril, such as fire or lightning, your home insurance should reimburse you for it.
How Homeowners Insurance Can Cover Pool Damage
Depending on your specific policy, your homeowners insurance should reimburse you for repairs to your pool if the damage was caused by a covered disaster, such as:
- Fire
- Lightning, wind, or hail
- Fallen objects, aircraft, and trees
- Vandalism
- Explosions
Your independent insurance agent can help you review your home insurance to find its full list of covered perils. Many of these can lead to pool damage, which, fortunately, can be covered by your policy. If your pool is damaged by a listed peril, your homeowners insurance will likely reimburse you up to your policy's limit in that coverage category after you pay your deductible.
When Home Insurance Won't Cover Pool Damage
Though homeowners insurance can reimburse you for repairs to your swimming pool due to many causes, there are certain exclusions to be aware of. Your home insurance likely won't cover pool damage caused by:
- General wear and tear
- Lack of maintenance or upkeep
- Natural flooding or earthquakes
- Failure to winterize the swimming pool effectively
It's the homeowner's responsibility to maintain their pool, so home insurance won't cover any damage caused by negligence or a lack of upkeep. It's also crucial to properly winterize your swimming pool during colder seasons to prevent damage that can occur due to leaks or cracks, because home insurance is unlikely to reimburse you for these issues.
Do I Need Different Coverage for an Above-Ground Pool Than for an In-Ground Pool?
You don't necessarily need a different policy, because both above-ground and in-ground pools are covered against various disasters by standard home insurance. However, the type of pool you have could affect your coverage limits. Above-ground pools might be considered by your insurance company to be either an additional structure or personal property, while in-ground pools are likely to be categorized as part of your dwelling.
The limits for your dwelling coverage are typically the replacement value of your home, for example, $200,000 or $500,000. But for personal property, coverage is usually limited to 20%-50% of your home's total structural coverage, depending on your policy. If your pool is considered an additional structure by your insurance, you'll have significantly less coverage, often only 10% of your dwelling's limit.
What If My Homeowners Insurance Doesn't Fully Cover Pool Damage?
Depending on your specific policy and the type of pool you have, unfortunately, you may not receive full reimbursement for damage to your pool. You're also not going to receive any reimbursement for pool damage if it's caused by something your policy excludes, such as natural flood damage or earthquakes. You'd need separate flood insurance and earthquake insurance policies to cover that type of pool damage.
After you've paid your home insurance deductible, your policy will reimburse you for repairs up to your coverage limit, but this may not cover the full cost. In that case, you'd be left to pay for the remainder of the repair expense out of your own pocket. If you're concerned about not having enough coverage in any category of your homeowners insurance to cover pool repairs, etc., speak with your independent insurance agent to increase your limits.
The Importance of Liability Coverage for Swimming Pools
Homeowners insurance comes with built-in liability coverage along with the protection it provides for your home's exterior, contents, and other structures. Pools can not only be expensive to repair in case of physical damage, but they can also be a huge liability for homeowners.
If you have guests over and someone gets injured, you could end up facing a lawsuit. Then you'd be responsible for covering the cost of your legal defense on top of potentially paying for the guest's medical bills. Fortunately, liability coverage can reimburse you for both of these expenses.
While many homeowners insurance policies come with minimum liability coverage limits of $100,000, you could potentially get hit with a lawsuit that easily exhausts this limit. Especially if multiple people get injured in or because of your pool, these expenses could surpass your policy's limit quickly.
It's helpful to consider adding extra liability coverage if you have a swimming pool at your home, and even more so if you plan to invite guests over to use it.
How Umbrella Insurance Can Help
Umbrella insurance is an essential coverage to add to homeowners insurance for pool owners because it increases your liability limits dramatically. Umbrella policies are often highly affordable and come in increments of $1 million in liability coverage. Even if you got hit with a hefty lawsuit related to pool injuries at your home, an adequate umbrella policy should fully protect you from these costs.
How to Reduce Your Home Insurance Rates If You Have a Pool
As many pool owners know, your home insurance rates can increase significantly due to the mere presence of a swimming pool on your property. However, there are a few easy steps you can take to not only reduce the risk of accidents and injuries in and around your pool but also to help reduce your home insurance rates.
- Light your pool: Install lighting in and around your pool to help illuminate where it's safe to walk and how deep someone can safely dive at night.
- Build a fence: Install a fence around your pool to keep unwanted guests out. Unfortunately, as the homeowner, you can be held liable for a trespasser's injuries in your pool, even if you didn't authorize the person to use your swimming pool or be on your property.
- Cover your pool: Keep your pool covered to help keep the water clean and reduce the risk of someone falling in.
Providing evidence to your home insurance company that you've taken steps to improve the safety of your backyard swimming pool might help you achieve reduced premiums. Your independent insurance agent can help you find out if you qualify for savings on your home insurance.
The Benefits of an Independent Insurance Agent
When you need the best homeowners insurance policy to protect your home, personal property, and swimming pool, no one's better equipped to help than a local independent insurance agent. Your agent has access to multiple home insurance companies, so they're free to shop and compare policies and rates for you. They'll ensure you get set up with a policy that includes all the coverage you need against pool damage.
Sources
https://www.iii.org/article/how-much-homeowners-insurance-do-you-need
https://www.iii.org/article/what-covered-standard-homeowners-policy
https://www.progressive.com/answers/does-insurance-cover-swimming-pools/