The swimming pool is open!

​As the housing market continues to be strong and the economy is holding steady, people are starting to put pools in again. Trying to find a pool contractor that is available and one that won’t rip you off can be a challenge these days. Side note, I talked with two people who recently put in pools and both got ripped off by pool contractors. What’s up with crappy pool contractors?
Now that you have a sparkling blue gem in your backyard what’s next besides getting a new swimsuit and nice towels? Before you plan your first pool party you need to take care of some business. One thing you need to do is notify your insurance company that you now have a pool. They will add additional coverage to your homeowners insurance to cover the new pool. Most home insurance policies have a standard coverage built into the policy to cover walls and fences on your property. But, now that you made this big investment they will most likely want to bump your coverage up to make sure the pool and surrounding structures are covered properly. Additionally, you may see in increase in the cost of your insurance. Pools are a higher liability risk and insurance companies charge accordingly. The insurance companies will want to know that the pool area is fenced. They may also want to know if you have a diving board or slide.
There are lots of slip and fall injuries around backyard pools. Have you ever wondered why there is no running or diving at public or community pools? They know that pool injuries are frequent and the best way to limit those injuries are to enforce the simple rules of no running or diving. Statistics show that injuries are twice as likely to happen in backyard pools. In the backyard you don’t have those signs or necessarily the supervision to limit people from doing dangerous things. Throw in slides and diving boards and your exposure to serious injuries increases even more. 
The best thing you can do as a homeowner is to make sure the kids are playing at the pool safely. Make sure they are being supervised. Make sure there is no running or diving. Make sure you keep the area around the pool free of obstacles. Make sure you have the proper safety equipment around the pool.  And an important thing to do is make sure you have the proper liability coverage on your home insurance in case someone does get injured.
When I say proper home insurance coverage that means you should be maxing out your liability limits and buying an umbrella policy. If you can afford to put a 50 thousand dollar pool in your backyard you certainly can afford to add an umbrella policy for a few hundred dollars and increase your liability on your home insurance.
In the amount of time it takes to cover the kids with sunscreen you can get a quote for an umbrella policy. Don’t go the summer without these important protections. Call me today to set up your policy. 951-395-0754