Homeowners insurance for pools with a cover but no fence

[RecurveArcher]

I did some searching but couldn't find anything for this specifically. Does anybody happen to know which insurance companies will insure a house with a pool that has an automatic safety cover, but no fence? That meets local codes (have to have one or the other), but I've had a harder time finding an insurance company with the same policy.

When we first purchased we used eSurance (Allstate); said we had the cover, no fence, they said it was fine. A week after closing we got a letter that we had to have a fence installed else the policy would be cancelled, gave us like 4 days to have one installed, wasn't even realistic. After several others that wouldn't insure us, or rates were crazy high, I ended up with American Family and moved home, auto, and umbrella to them for pretty good rates. The home policy has now gone up 50% in 5 years, auto 55%, and umbrella 35%. I'm now trying to price some other options to see if that's still competitive, but hoping somebody knows who I shouldn't even bother checking with before spending numerous hours trying to find that out again.

 

[JohnT]

I've looked at insurance a lot and know of no one who will insure with a cover only. We have a diving board and we raise livestock which has driven us to only one remaining company. Had to get rid of our wood stove as we couldn't find a single company that would cover both a pool with a diving board and solid fuel heaters. We do have a fence.

My first thought when I saw your question is that there is no way a safety cover would meet state code without a fence, but it does.

Good luck!

 

[Mdragger88]

It sounds like the extra cost to put up a fence would be paid back with insurance savings in short order. Also there’s the peace of mind having one as well.

 

[PoolGate]

Geico Homesite didn't care at all what I had with the pool. Some care, some don't. Perhaps it is time to shop new insurance.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Are you military or were your parents?? USAA insurance is rated like #1, if you can get it.

We carry homeowners but *also* a large Umbrella policy, which in my opinion all pool owners should get. Its cheap for the level of extra protection it gives you.

Maddie

 

[RecurveArcher]

No military, but we do have the umbrella policy. I can check Geico.

I'd be interested in stats on safety of covers vs fences. Seems to me anybody could climb a fence if they wanted to, but with the cover there's no way to get access to the pool without the key or disassembling the track, which would be a lot more effort than hopping a fence. I guess insurance is all about liability (vs safety) and from their standpoint the cover relies on correct usage by the homeowner vs. somebody hopping a fence would probably exempt the homeowner from liability.

 

[PoolGate]

Did you check Homesite?

 

[Mdragger88]

No military, but we do have the umbrella policy. I can check Geico.

I'd be interested in stats on safety of covers vs fences. Seems to me anybody could climb a fence if they wanted to, but with the cover there's no way to get access to the pool without the key or disassembling the track, which would be a lot more effort than hopping a fence. I guess insurance is all about liability (vs safety) and from their standpoint the cover relies on correct usage by the homeowner vs. somebody hopping a fence would probably exempt the homeowner from liability.

Yes- Someone could leave the cover open because they’ll “be right back”. I know i go in & out alot when pooling.
Having a properly functioning self locking gate is an added layer of passive protection that requires no action from the user.
I don’t see it as a -vs - situation-
there should ideally be both. Although everyone can’t afford an automatic safety cover.
Safety/security in layers is best. One standalone item is ok but more layers is better. Like also adding door/window alarms. Whether required by local government or not.

 

[RecurveArcher]

We're good about keeping the cover closed if nobody is outside. The main issue I could see is water pooling on top as it's not pulled tight across the top of the pool deck, but when closed we also keep the pump on top, so even pooled water is minimal. We do have a 6' shadowbox cedar fence that along with the pool house surrounds about half of the pool, but just for privacy from the neighbor on that side and the street side. Don't want to surround the rest because it'd block off property views as well as the (wood) deck, or significantly obstruct property views if we surrounded the deck as well.

Anyhow, The Homesite Direct website wouldn't let me do the quote online because I selected no to monitored alarms, sprinklers, and not in the purchasing process. The Geico site did show the initial cost of Homesite as $1920 but the dwelling coverage was really low, Liberty Mutual was higher and $1783. I put in details for that (including pool with no fence) and it jumped to $2166. That would be slightly cheaper than our non-discounted American Family coverage, but not much, and I need to compare the detailed coverage between the two. But at a glance the options don't seem like they're going to be much cheaper than what we have. I'm assuming increased home value, material costs, and inflation are the main factors in increase that we've seen.