Your dream is finally coming true. The swimming pool you’ve wanted for so long is going into your backyard soon. Before it’s built, you need to plan out your insurance coverage to protect your investment. The first thought in most people’s mind is liability coverage for accidents. We all know accidents are possible when you have a pool, and you definitely want to be covered for those.
Outside of the common accidents, there are unusual risks associated with pools that many people never think about as possibilities. You want your insurance policy to help you be as prepared as possible for any unusual situation. Here are a few out of the ordinary events that can happen to help you plan ahead.
- Pool Cleaning Incident – Plan to cover the pool itself and the surrounding property in case of damages. For example, your pool is emptied to be cleaned, and there is a major rain storm before it’s refilled. If the water weight in the swimming pool is not more than the water pressure in the soil surrounding the pool, the pressure will push the pool out of the ground and take the surrounding concrete with it. Pools do have a pressure valve to help stop these situations, but if it fails the pool will pop up and out of the ground. A pool that pops out this way will likely be damaged beyond repair, as well as anything attached to it, like the walkway and plumbing.
- Storms – Living in Sarasota, Florida tropical storms happen. If you have an empty pool and a tropical storm hits, the water can accumulate under the pool and push it out of the ground in the same way as described above. A storm can also pick up debris from anywhere and land it in your pool causing damage. For example, a neighbor is having their roof repaired, a storm hits, and the materials like old shingles that contain asbestos end up in your pool causing damage.
- Unfortunate Events – There are other accidents that the everyday person would ever think of happening. For example, you put in a light fixture above the pool that happens to have a mercury-vapored bulb to increase the efficiency and life expectancy of the bulb. The light explodes and rains particles into and around your swimming pool causing significant damage. The pool will need to be tested for mercury, drained, cleaned, and refilled, as well as the cost of removing any traces of mercury around the pool.
- Unexpected Landing – Someone crashes their vehicle into your pool causing damage to the structure of the pool. You will have to drain, clean, and refill your pool. Then the concrete and cool deck are damaged removing the vehicle from the pool. The driver was an uninsured motorist, and you are stuck with the bill.
Each of these situations actually happened, and the insured policy holder ran into problems with their pool coverage because they had clauses excluding certain events related to the accident. You do not want to end up in a situation without coverage for your pool. Swimming pools are great to have, but the expenses from an unusual incident can run up quickly.
Not all policies will cover specific types of accidents, and most have exclusions. It is important to discuss and plan your swimming pool policy with an insurance agent in Sarasota, Florida. Enjoy playing in your pool with the peace of mind that your investment and everything you work hard for is protected by your swimming pool insurance policy.