If the recent heat wave has you thinking about putting in a pool or moving to a home that already has one, you should know that pool safety rules are changing. And a backyard swimming pool could affect your ability to get homeowners insurance.

Insurers are increasingly treating pools not just as a reason to raise premiums but as a condition that can lead to a denial of coverage.

“Pools are no longer considered amenities by insurers; they’re treating them as liabilities when underwriting, period,” said Kate Wilhelms, director of marketing and operations at Gateway Realty Group in St. Louis. “Some insurance companies are refusing to issue new coverage for houses with older pools or missing necessary safety features such as auto-covers and fencing.”

The risk is real and concentrated in the backyard

Insurers generally consider swimming pools to be an “attractive nuisance” that increases a homeowner’s liability risk.

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 to 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And about 80% of those child drowning deaths occur at a private residence — the child’s own pool or that of a neighbor, friend, or family member.

More than 4,500 people died from drowning annually in the U.S. from 2020 through 2022, about 500 more per year than in 2019, reversing decades of decline, according to the CDC.

What a pool does to your insurance right now

The increase in your insurance premium for adding a pool is often less than people expect — usually about $50 to $75 per year for property coverage, according to industry data.

But the bigger financial risk comes from liability and from what insurers recommend or require for such coverage.

“Litigation is the more powerful force,” said Wilhelms. “Insurance companies have calculated that cases involving injuries and drowning are among the most expensive forms of home liability payouts nationwide.”

Standard homeowners policies include $100,000 in personal liability protection. The Insurance Information Institute suggests pool owners increase this to at least $300,000 to $500,000. Many insurers also recommend adding a personal umbrella policy, which usually provides $1 million in extra coverage for about $200 to $300 per year.

Why so much coverage? If a child drowns or a guest is seriously hurt at the pool and courts find the property owner responsible, settlement and legal costs can easily exceed the limits of a standard policy.

The “attractive nuisance” doctrine says that pools can attract children and others who may not understand the risks. As such, the law can hold pool owners responsible for injuries to anyone who uses the pool without permission, even trespassers.

Lawsuits show what’s at stake

The legal exposure isn’t theoretical. Recent Florida drowning cases have produced huge liability payouts.

In 2024, the family of 16-year-old Cameron Brown received a $1.3 million settlement after he drowned in an Airbnb pool that allegedly lacked adequate warnings and safety features.

A year later, the family of 3-year-old Kai Goodlander secured a $15.5 million settlement after the child drowned in an improperly maintained, unfenced detention pond at a Seminole County apartment complex. Both cases centered on allegations that property owners failed to address foreseeable water hazards.

The cases have become cautionary benchmarks as plaintiffs treat vacation-rental pools more like commercial facilities than private backyard amenities. Allegations increasingly focus on missing safety lines, inadequate warnings, violations of fencing requirements, and code compliance.

The legal question is whether short-term rental owners should be held to standards more closely aligned with those of hotels and resorts.

“A pool claim is seldom small,” said Joseph D’Aguanno, managing attorney at Gage Mathers Law Group in Arizona. “The questions it contains are if the gate was locked, if the latch was working, if there was proper lighting, if alcohol was involved, and if anyone knew children could access the area. These facts may appear insignificant, but they can be big legal problems.”

Homeowners with pools that lack the safety features their state requires could face more than just a lawsuit if someone is injured on their property. They may also be breaking the law.

Millions of Americans own swimming pools, but standard homeowners insurance liability limits may be insufficient to cover catastrophic injury or wrongful death claims. Pool-related liability risks prompt many insurers and industry groups to recommend higher liability limits or umbrella coverage for pool owners.

Meanwhile, several states have moved aggressively on pool safety in the past year.

California’s Senate Bill 552, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025, tightened the state’s pool barrier requirements and added new duties for home inspectors during property sales. Sellers must now provide buyers with an inspection report certifying which safety features a pool has before closing. That can complicate or derail a real estate transaction.

Florida set a record for childhood drowning deaths in 2025, which led lawmakers to propose new rules ending an exemption for older residential pools by requiring homes with pools built before Oct. 1, 2000, to comply with the state’s pool safety law when the property is sold. Although a 2025 bill failed, similar legislation has been reintroduced for the 2026 session.

For homeowners and homebuyers, that can mean:

Providing documented proof of a properly fenced enclosure before an insurer will bind a home policy.
Installing a pool alarm or safety cover as a condition of their insurance policy. The insurer could cancel coverage if a homeowner removes the alarm or cover.
Losing liability coverage for any incident involving a diving board or slide, since many insurers now exclude these features completely instead of just charging extra.

What’s next? Pool safety tips for homeowners

For prospective buyers and current homeowners, a backyard pool should be treated as both an amenity and a potential liability. Before buying a home with a pool — or installing one — experts recommend taking several steps to reduce both safety risks and insurance exposure:

Know your state’s pool safety laws. Requirements for fencing, self-closing gates, pool alarms, and safety covers vary by state and even by municipality. Some states, including California, have recently strengthened pool safety requirements, while others are considering new regulations for older pools.
Include the pool in the home inspection. Ask your home inspector to evaluate the pool and identify any missing or non-functioning safety features.
Review insurance before closing — or before construction begins. Don’t assume every homeowners policy treats pools the same. Ask your insurer which safety features it requires for coverage, whether the pool affects your premium, and whether it excludes features such as diving boards or slides.
Evaluate your liability limits. A serious injury or drowning can result in claims that exceed standard homeowners liability limits. Many insurers recommend higher liability limits for pool owners and suggest adding an umbrella liability policy for additional protection.
Fix hazards before someone gets hurt. Missing gates, broken latches, damaged fences, poor lighting, missing depth markers, or deteriorating safety equipment can increase both the risk of injury and the likelihood of liability if an accident occurs.
Think beyond legal compliance. Meeting minimum code requirements is a good start, but many experts, including the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, recommend multiple layers of protection — including barriers, alarms, supervision, and CPR training — to reduce the risk of drowning.

As multimillion-dollar drowning settlements continue to make headlines, insurers and safety advocates say the best time to address pool risks isn’t after an accident — it’s before you buy the home, before you install the pool, and before the first guest jumps in.