Did you know that lots of homeowners policies won’t cover swimming pools due to their high risk of accidents? This goes especially for pools that include slides and/or diving boards. Fortunately, you can purchase umbrella insurance or excess liability insurance to cover your swimming pool when your homeowners policy does not include it. However, it’s still a good idea to keep your pool as safe as it can possibly be.

Here are a few tips on making sure your pool area is a place for fun, not worry:

• Possibly the Number One Rule: never, ever leave children unsupervised near the pool, not even for a quick moment.

• If your pool has suctions of any kind, warn people and especially children not to go near them. They can be very dangerous.

• Take precautions for children that don’t know how to swim (floaties, etc.).

• Install or build a fence around your pool and always make sure it’s locked. If you have a pool, a fence is an absolute must.

• Excessive alcohol and swimming don’t mix! If you or a guest is drunk, they should not go in the pool.

• While supervising teenagers around the pool is unnecessary, it’s a good idea to at least be at home if there are more than three or four using the pool.

• Never dive into the shallow end or allow anyone else to. Warn children of this danger especially.

• Make sure your pool is tightly covered when it’s off-season.

• Consistently check your pool for dangerous things that may be at the bottom (glass, rubber, rope, etc.).

A pool is a place to have fun, not accidents. Make sure to follow these safety rules along with many others that come with the responsibility of having a swimming pool. We suggest that if your homeowners policy doesn’t cover your pool, you get umbrella coverage to back yourself up. If another parent’s child were to get injured at your pool, it could cost you thousands of dollars.

Umbrella coverage also protects you for a number of other things. To learn more about excess liability insurance, contact us today! We’re Humphries Insurance, an independent agency based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.