If you live in a gorgeous place with fantastic summer sunny days, then you likely have a pool or are looking to purchase a home that has a pool. One of the biggest questions regarding buying a home with a pool is how it will affect your homeowner's insurance. Homeowners with a pool will typically see higher interest rates due to the additional piece of potential property damage and the increase in potential liability.
How Does Owning A Pool Affect Your Homeowners Insurance?
Your homeowner's insurance will usually cover damage to your pool and liability if someone gets hurt using your pool and decides to sue you for their injury. This is why having a pool increases your liability because there is always the possibility that someone gets injured or even worse drowns while using it. A pool with a diving board or without a safety net will increase your rates even more.
The cost of your homeowner's insurance regarding a pool has several determining factors. It depends on the type of pool you have and how much liability coverage you choose to purchase. Your pool will be classified as personal property or other structure.
Your homeowner's insurance should help cover any repairs needed if your pool is damaged for a covered reason. Typically these include natural disasters like fire. You want to make sure you fully understand our coverage because the main component of your homeowner's insurance is to cover the structure of your home. Homeowner's insurance rarely covers flood or earthquake damage. You typically have to purchase these separately and both of these usually exclude swimming pools.
Liability Coverage
Pools are looked at as a big liability hazard. Standard homeowners insurance policies will cover medical bills or legal fees of a guest that may be injured in your home, however, you will need additional umbrella insurance coverage if you own a swimming pool. You want to have the maximum range possible and put all safety measures in place. If your insurance company agrees to coverage but only with certain safety measures present, you need to have them present in the case of an injury, otherwise, you will be liable. You can reduce your risk of having to file a liability claim by building a child safety fence around the pool, installing lights around the pool, using a safety cover over the pool when you are swimming, post pool rules for the safety of others, and keep a first aid kit nearby. Consider a nonslip surface around your pool area too. You always need to be supervising children no matter how great of a swimmer they claim to be.
In Conclusion
A swimming pool can offer an abundance of fun and can be stress-free as long as you take all the proper precautions and get the correct insurance. For more information on finding your home with a pool, where you can relax in all summer, contact us. We are here to make all of your Palm Desert home dreams come true!