Pool Safety Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

Stay safe this summer by knowing important pool safety tips and carrying the right amount of pool insurance coverage.

Alani Asis
Written byAlani Asis
Alani Asis
Alani Asis
  • 3 años de experiencia en redacción de contenidos

  • Artículos en destacadas publicaciones financieras

Alani es una escritora independiente especializada en finanzas personales. Su objetivo es hacer que los temas complejos sean más accesibles a través de contenidos divertidos y digestibles.

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Sarah Archambault
Sarah Archambault
  • Experienced personal finance writer

  • Background working with banks and insurance companies

Sarah enjoys helping people find smarter ways to spend their money. She covers auto financing, banking, credit cards, credit health, insurance, and personal loans.

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Updated July 7, 2024

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Swimming pools are a fun way to spend quality time with family and friends and cool off in the summer. But swimming can lead to drowning, slips, falls, and even death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks drowning as the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 514.[1]

Owning a pool likely requires an increase in home insurance property and liability coverage, resulting in an increase in your premiums. But taking pool safety measures can help decrease your risk and lower your rates.

Learn about important steps you can take to help keep young children and adults safe in and near your swimming pool.

What to know about swimming pool barriers

Swimming pool barriers prevent easy access to your pool. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends installing the following safeguards in and around your pool to provide maximum protection against drowning and other injuries:[2]

  • Pool fences: Pool safety fences deter small children from climbing into the pool area. Install fences around all sides of your pool, and make sure they’re at least four feet high.

  • Gates: Pool gates prevent unsupervised access to swimming pools. Install a self-closing, self-latching gate at your pool’s entrance. This can be a gate that attaches to your above-ground pool, such as a gate on a pool deck or locking pool ladder, a gate on your pool fence, or a yard gate.

  • Pool alarms: Door alarms alert you if someone attempts to enter your pool area. Install alarms at various entrances to your pool area, such as the gate entrance, windows, backyard door, pool gate, and doggy door.

  • Drain covers: Children’s hair, toys, jewelry, and even limbs can get sucked in and trapped in your drains. For added safety, be sure your drain cover meets the safety standards of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.

  • Window guards: Place window guards on windows of your home or other substructures, like cabanas, that face your pool to help prevent children from climbing or falling into the pool area.

  • Pool covers: Install automatic or manual pool covers to avoid unsupervised pool access. For added safety, consider a pool cover that you can use during the swimming season and not just in the winter.

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Must-have pool safety equipment

Proper safety equipment near your pool or home spa prepares you for the worst-case scenario, which can save a life. Equip your pool area with the following safety gear:[3][4]

  • First-aid kit: Keep a first-aid kit within arm’s reach of your pool in case someone hurts or injures themselves. Check your kit regularly to ensure it contains non-expired bandages, antiseptic wipes, antibiotics, and other medical supplies.

  • Life ring with rope: Mount this flotation device to a wall or a fence so it’s within reach of anyone in the pool area. In an emergency, you can throw the ring to help a drowning swimmer.

  • Rescue hook: Keep a rescue hook on hand to help a swimmer who may need assistance getting back to the pool’s edge, stairs, or ladder.

  • Life preservers or life jackets: Flotation devices and life vests keep one’s head out of water and help prevent drowning. Weak swimmers, children, or anyone uncomfortable in the water should use a floatation device when swimming in your pool.

  • Security cameras: Install security cameras around your pool to increase safety and surveillance. Depending on your camera system, you may be able to receive alerts on your mobile devices.

  • Door alarms: Alarms alert you when someone is trying to gain unauthorized access to the pool area. This prevents accidents and injuries from occurring when you’re not around. Consider installing door alarms on any doors.

  • Non-skid flooring in the pool area: Non-slip floors in the pool area minimize accidents and injuries caused by slips and falls.

Pool safety practices for kids and adults

Adult supervision, preparation, and vigilance around your pool help lower the chance of injuries and, worst of all, fatalities. Practice these simple safety steps every time someone is around your swimming pool:[4]

  • Designate a “water watcher.” Like a lifeguard, a water watcher is an adult who monitors pool activities and ensures a safe environment. They should remain sober and free from distractions. The water watcher should also enforce pool rules and know how to take action if necessary.

  • Take swimming lessons. Swimming is an excellent life skill for both parents and kids. Learning basic water rescue skills helps you build confidence and learn how to respond to water emergencies. Make sure that all people using your pool know how to swim and that those who don’t aren’t allowed near the pool without adult supervision.

  • Get certified in first aid and CPR. Consider taking first-aid and CPR classes. Knowing emergency protocols can increase an injured person’s chances of survival until emergency responders arrive.

  • Enforce pool rules. Establish clear pool rules, post them somewhere visible, and ensure an adult enforces them.

  • Maintain an emergency contact list. Keep and update your emergency contact list for all participants. This should include their full name, relationship, contact information, and medical information.

  • Create an emergency procedures list. Keep an emergency procedures list near the pool area with steps to take during emergencies, such as first-aid and basic CPR instructions, emergency department numbers, and evacuation procedures.

  • Know the signs of drowning. Drowning signs aren’t always obvious, especially from a distance. It’s a good idea to keep your eyes peeled when your kids are near water — even in shallow pools.

How a pool affects homeowners insurance

Home insurance covers risk events, like damage to your pool from a peril or injuries that happen in your pool area. Insurance companies consider swimming pools an attractive nuisance. Attractive nuisances refer to a clause in homeowners insurance that increases liability risk. These features of your house are attractive to children but pose potential hazards, increasing your insurance premiums.

Advice from the experts

Mallory Mooney

Mallory Mooney

Director of Sales and Service

“A swimming pool can increase homeowners insurance costs, mostly due to the amount of coverage needed to replace it if it’s damaged, and partly due to the extra liability coverage needed to be protected if someone is injured in your pool.”

If you own an attractive nuisance, like a swimming pool, it’s your responsibility as a property owner to ensure property safety measures are in place. This may help you save on your home insurance premium.

How homeowners insurance covers swimming pools

A standard homeowners policy covers residential pools under dwellings, other structures, or personal property coverage. How your insurer covers your pool depends on the type of pool you own:

  • In-ground pools: Pools built into the ground typically receive dwelling or other structures coverage.

  • Above-ground pools: Pools built above ground generally receive personal property coverage.

Good to Know

In general, dwellings receive more insurance coverage than other structures (or your personal belongings). Contact your insurance company to determine the specific coverage designation needed to protect your pool and wallet.

Swimming pools and liability insurance

Home insurance offers personal liability coverage, providing financial protection for liability events or lawsuits. A pool increases the risk of incurring litigation expenses from injuries in or near your pool. To offset this risk, your insurer may increase your liability coverage and premiums. But making pool safety improvements may lower your insurance bill.

If your risk profile is too high, insurance companies can deny coverage.

“Each carrier is different for how it will assess for liability risks. More often than not, it’s an underwriting decision on whether to offer coverage or not unless the customer puts up a fence that locks and takes other risk mitigation measures the carrier might request,” says Mooney.

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Cost of homeowners insurance with a swimming pool

The U.S. average annual cost of homeowners insurance is $2,457 for a $300,000 policy with a $500 deductible. But having a pool will likely increase your insurance costs.

If you live in a state where pools are common, like Arizona and Florida, the average cost of homeowners insurance varies widely. For example, in Arizona, homeowners insurance typically costs around $2,031 per year. But Florida’s average premium sits at $11,064 per year.

For added protection, the Insurance Information Institute recommends purchasing personal umbrella insurance if your home has attractive nuisances like a pool or a trampoline. These policies typically offer more liability protection than a standard homeowners policy. For example, a $1 million umbrella policy generally only costs about $150$300 per year — which is a great deal for the amount of extra coverage you get.

Pool safety FAQs

The additional information below can help you and your family have a fun — and more importantly, safe — pool experience.

  • What are the five rules in a swimming pool?

    The five pool rules are: 

    • Walk, don’t run.

    • No diving in the shallow end.

    • No roughhousing.

    • Stay away from pool drains and covers.

    • Don’t swim alone.

  • What’s the most effective pool safety measure?

    The best way to reduce the risk of drowning and injury is to designate an official “water watcher.” Ensure the water watcher can provide constant attention, enforce pool rules, and take action when others are in danger.

  • How does a swimming pool affect home insurance?

    Since a swimming pool increases your home’s replacement costs and personal liability, insurance companies assume more responsibility to insure it. As a result, you’ll likely see higher premiums on your policy.

  • Are there home insurance requirements for a swimming pool?

    Often, yes. Pools pose serious safety issues. So, many insurance companies require homeowners to install pool safety features. Some examples include fences, covers, and anti-entrapment drain covers. Insurance can deny coverage if you don’t have these safeguards.

Sources

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Drowning Data."
  2. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools."
  3. Insurance Information Institute. "Pool safety and insurance."
  4. Pool Safely. "Safety Tips."
Alani Asis
Alani Asis

Alani Asis is a personal finance freelance writer with nearly three years of experience in content creation. She has landed bylines with leading publications and brands like Insider, Fortune, LendingTree, and more. Alani aims to make personal finance approachable through fun, relatable, and digestible content.

Alani has been a contributor at Insurify since January 2023.

Sarah Archambault
Sarah Archambault
  • Experienced personal finance writer

  • Background working with banks and insurance companies

Sarah enjoys helping people find smarter ways to spend their money. She covers auto financing, banking, credit cards, credit health, insurance, and personal loans.

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