The Sitch on Swimming Pools and Homeowners Insurance

The Sitch on Swimming Pools and Homeowners Insurance

It’s hot. Really hot. So hot that even though it’s technically an impossibility you suspect you probably actually could cook an egg on the sidewalk. Summer’s knocking on your door, and it’s up to you to find a way to beat the heat. Your own backyard swimming pool is the best way to do it-but what’s a swimming pool going to do to your homeowners insurance?

Swimming pools and homeowners insurance have more of an on-again/off-again, uncertain, unpredictable and volatile relationship than most teenagers. How much your swimming pool will affect your homeowners insurance premiums and your ability to get coverage is going to depend strongly on where you live, what type of pool you have and, most importantly, what you’re willing to do to keep the people around you safe.

Why Does It Matter?

It’s easy enough to wonder why your swimming pool would have any impact at all on your homeowners insurance, particularly if you aren’t the parent of small children (or only slightly more sensible teenagers) and therefore aren’t likely to have people in and out of your swimming pool at all hours of the day and night. What most people don’t realize, however, is that they are responsible for any accidents that take place in and around their pool-even if the victim of the accident wasn’t invited, wasn’t wanted and was less welcome than a dead rat at Thanksgiving.

That’s right. If a complete stranger parks on the edge of