Trampolines and home insurance

You may not have thought about it, but trampolines are something that home insurance companies absolutely hate. Let’s find out more.

If you happen to have recently gotten a trampoline for your backyard (or whatever part of the house it may be in), there are a few certain things that you need to do in order to ensure safety and coverage that is proper. Remember that the insurance coverage that you do have will have to take into consideration your new purchase. When you get a new trampoline, it will be a very good idea to consider getting a personal umbrella policy, known as PUP in short. This will drastically increase the liability coverage limits of your policy in the case of a litigation. Personal umbrella policies are here to help the homeowners and to properly protect them as well.

Note that not all homeowners insurance policies will cover the risks that are associated with having a trampoline on your premises. After all, there are a lot of different insurance policies and claims out there.  Homeowners insurance companies write policies related to trampolines in one of three mentioned ways:

• Trampolines (and injuries/litigation associated with them) are covered
• Trampolines are covered under certain circumstances
• Trampolines are excluded under all circumstances

There are many insurance companies out there who have a clause that specifically excludes trampolines. If you happen to already have an insurance policy that has the words “always excluded” within the policy, then your insurance provider may just cancel your policy or just refuse to give you coverage if you happen to buy a trampoline.

If Trampolines are Covered

If you happen to have a policy that has absolutely no exclusive exclusions for trampolines, the trampoline you have should then be covered no matter what the circumstances are.

If the trampoline happens to be covered under the policy that you have, in the event that when a guest is enjoying the trampoline and happens to suffer an accident or something that may cause them harm, then the personal liability coverage on the policy will provide some relief for the emergency room and also the medical bills. The policy will also cover any legal expenses that may be incurred in the event that a lawsuit takes place.

If your policy happens to cover trampolines, then you are covered for more than just random accidents. If some unforeseen natural disaster befalls your trampoline and your trampoline happens to get damaged, then your insurance provider is responsible for taking care of the expenses required to fix it.

Specific Circumstances

Then there are also policies which provide coverage even in the case that you have a trampoline but their coverage will only materialize if you abide by a certain set of rules that the insurance provider sets.

It may very well be the case that your policy covers trampolines under a particular category that goes by the name of attractive nuisances. This particular category also includes many other fun backyard activities such as swimming pools, tree houses and even boards that are used for diving. There are a lot of insurance providers who cover these categories but only under some very certain conditions. These conditions include things such as having a safety net around the area of the trampoline. If you happen to fail at protecting the users of the trampoline with the specific safety precautions such as a net, the personal liability coverage you have will become completely nullified.

If They are Excluded

It may very well be the case that if you own a trampoline, then you will get outright rejected by some insurance providers.

If the whole idea of trampolines is particularly left out of the home insurance policy, then these insurance companies will simply deny you coverage if you own or if you get a trampoline. There is an alternative way though, they may just quite simply exclude the property and then just let you keep the homeowners policy. If you happen to absolutely need a trampoline but your policy has explicitly stated that they will refuse you coverage if you own or get one, then the time has come for you to shop around for a new insurance policy.

Other Options

As discussed above, if you do own a trampoline or have any other attractive nuisance that can potentially be considered hazardous, a personal umbrella policy is the right way to go about things. These policies are designed in order to protect a homeowner financially in the event of any legal fees incurring from a lawsuit. It also includes medical payments if a guest to your home is injured on the premises of your property and they will also provide large liability claims if you happen to cross the coverage limits provided by your home or auto insurance policies.