If you’re having an in-ground pool installed this spring or summer, you’ll want to review your homeowners policy before the pool installer begins breaking ground. While providing lots of fun, pools also present a potential risk -- and you’ll want to make sure you’re covered. Homeowners in Wellesley, Massachusetts who have pools typically find liability coverage through their homeowners insurance policy. You should make sure yours provides the protections you want before your pool is put in.

How Homeowners Insurance in Wellesley is Affected by Installing an In-Ground Pool

Most homeowners whose homes have pools find coverage through their homeowners insurance, but this doesn’t mean that every homeowners policy provides coverage for in-ground pools. Both coverages and limits vary from policy to policy, and yours may or may not currently provide the protections you’ll need once you have a pool in your backyard.

When checking your policy for coverage, you’ll want to focus on the liability portion of the policy. Liability coverage provides protection against lawsuits that stem from covered claims. As you review your policy, you may find that an in-ground pool:

• Is already sufficiently covered by the liability portion of your policy

• Is covered but has limits that are lower than you’d like

• Isn’t covered right now but has an optional coverage you can add

• Isn’t covered, and coverage isn’t offered by your insurer

• Is covered but requires you to take precautionary measures

You May Need to Adjust Your Insurance Policy

If your policy already provides plenty of protection, you might not need to make any changes to it before your pool is installed.

If, however, your policy doesn’t include full coverage for an inground pool right now, you may need to adjust its coverages and limits. If your current insurer doesn’t offer the coverage you want, you may even need to look at different policies that are offered by other insurers serving Wellesley.

You Might Need to Take Precautionary Measures

Even after adding coverages, increasing limits or changing policies, you may still need to take precautionary measures to protect people, particularly children.

In the insurance industry, swimming pools are considered an “attractive nuisance” (as are manmade ponds, trampolines, and some farm equipment). An attractive nuisance is something that could attract a child and poses a potential danger to that child when they’re unsupervised. A swimming pool is an attractive nuisance because a child could be enamored with the water, fall in, and potentially drown if no adults are around.

To reduce this risk, many insurance policies require homeowners to take reasonable measures to prevent children from endangering themselves. Depending on your insurance policy, a reasonable measure might be considered installing a fence around the pool, installing an automatic safety cover over the pool, posting a sign or keeping safety equipment readily available. (This is only a list of a few examples, not a comprehensive list of measures.)

To not take reasonable measures could both endanger children who play around your pool (possibly including your children or grandchildren, as well as neighborhood kids). It could also void your insurance coverage.

Check Homeowners Insurance Coverages in Wellesley

If you’re in or around Wellesley, MA, you should definitely ask a local agent to help you check your current homeowners policy before having a pool installed. One of our licensed agents can go over your policy’s current coverages, to make sure you understand both the coverages and precautionary measures requirements. If needed, an independent agent at a local office can also help you adjust your coverages, increase your limits, or find a new homeowners insurance policy.