Keeping Your Pool Covered – By Insurance

Published with permission from Vero Insurance New Zealand

If you own a swimming pool, you know how important it is to keep it covered so it stays clean, but what about making sure it’s covered by insurance? As well as keeping up your pool maintenance, you also want to make sure your insurance policy will cover your pool in case something goes wrong.

Tips to protect your pool

1. You don’t need to specify your pool on your insurance policy. Permanent pools (like in-ground pools) are covered by your Home policy, but portable pools and spa pools are covered by your Contents policy.

2. You need to ensure the cost of rebuilding or replacing your pool is included in your Sum Insured calculation.

3. Make sure you keep up with regular pool maintenance – keep it cleaned, check the filter regularly and schedule an annual maintenance check.

What’s not covered?

It’s important to check your policy so you are aware of what’s not covered, but there are some common types of damage which you might not know are excluded from most policies:

1. Gradual damage

If your pool springs a leak or suffers wear and damage over time, it won’t be covered under your policy. It’s important to check your pool regularly, fix any leaks immediately and keep up with maintenance so that any damage doesn’t go from bad to worse.

1. Hydrostatic pressure

This is a type of damage that’s excluded from most insurance policies. Hydrostatic pressure refers to the pressure exerted by water, like the water in your pool and the water in the surrounding land. If the pressure outside your pool becomes too high, it can force up the base of your pool or cause the sides to buckle. This can happen when flooding or excess rain increases the amount of water in the ground around your pool, and is most common when the pool is drained and the pressure from the water inside the pool is lost. If you need to drain your pool for any reason, consult an expert first.

Damage over your sum insured amount

The maximum pay out on your policy is the sum insured you’ve set – so make sure you’re comfortable you’ve got enough cover in place to replace both your pool, and your home, if the worst should happen.

If you’re new to pool ownership, seek expert advice

If you have a pool or a spa, the best protection is to keep up with maintenance and ensure you’re caring for your pool appropriately. If you’ve recently purchased a new home or installed a pool, it’s a good idea to seek expert advice to ensure you take the right steps to care for it.

If you’d like to talk to someone about your home or contents insurance, send Brian from Over Fifty Insurance a message.

By Richard Godman