Swimming Pools and Insurance: What You Need To Know

Is my swimming pool covered under my homeowners insurance?

Yes, if you have a swimming pool on your property it is covered on your homeowners policy.

Specifically, it is covered under the “other structures” section of your homeowners policy, which covers structures including detached structures such as sheds, fences, driveways, detached garages, and of course … swimming pools.

This means, damage to your swimming pool from covered incidents such as storms or fires will be covered up to your other structures limits.

However, even though your pool is covered under your other structures coverage, you may need to make some adjustments to your homeowners insurance. 

Places you may need to adjust homeowners insurance for your swimming pool:

Your pool is a large investment that is supposed to add fun and relaxation to your life. But before you dive in (pun intended), you need to make sure you are securing your investment with the proper insurance so you aren’t facing a stressful claim and significant financial hardship. Below are some of the steps you may need to take.

Notify your insurance company

Although there may be many areas you need to adjust your insurance, when you get a pool, the bare minimum you need to do is notify your insurance company so they are aware of the added exposure.

If your pool is a complex, valuable addition, your agent may suggest you increase your coverages. If it is an inexpensive, temporary above ground pool, just notifying your agent may be sufficient.

Increase other structures coverage

As a rule of thumb, other structures coverage is usually set at 10-20% of the value of your dwelling coverage limit. If the other structures limit does not cover the total value of your pool, you may need to buy additional insurance.

For example, if your dwelling coverage is $300,000, your other structures coverage limit may be $30,000. If your pool would cost $50,000 to replace, your coverage would not fully cover it.

In this case, you may want to pay for extra other structures coverage specifically assigned to the pool to ensure it would be completely covered in a disaster.

Increase liability insurance

When you have a pool, in addition to damage of the pool itself, the other insurance-related issue you have to worry about is injuries to people.

Pools can be dangerous. With wet surfaces, drowning risks, and running/jumping in and around the pool, there is certainly an increased risk of injuries. 

To better cover this risk, you should consider increasing your personal liability coverage on your homeowners policy (preferably to the maximum of $1 million if it isn’t already.)

Personal liability coverage (included in your homeowners policy) covers damages if someone else is injured on your property.

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