Your first step should be to give Vargas & Vargas a call right away and let us know you have a new pool. If you neglect to inform your insurance carrier of this important fact, it could cause problems down the road if someone is injured in your pool.

Here are a few insurance facts to keep in mind as you get ready for your pool opening:

Your pool is separate from your home

Homeowner’s insurance generally provides coverage for damages to your home and “other structures” on the premises. Which means it is covered under the “other structures” portion of your policy, along with detached garages, sheds and screen houses.

With most homeowner’s policies, the maximum amount of insurance coverage for these other structures is 10 % of the amount of coverage on your home. In other words, if your insurance policy covers $100,000 on your home, the coverage you would receive for your pool and other structures would be $10,000 combined.$10,000 may not be enough to cover serious damages to your pool.. Plus, if you have a shed and a detached garage in addition to a new pool, keep in mind that this amount will have to cover damages to all three structures.

The type of pool damages your insurance will cover varies depending on your specific policy. Be sure to read the fine print and figure out exactly what your policy covers. Most policies do not cover damage caused by freezing, thawing, pressure or weight of ice water. Therefore, be sure to properly protect and “winterize” your pool before the colder months hit.

Protect yourself against pool liability issues

Insurance can also protect you against liability issues related to your pool. Obviously, there are serious dangers associated with pools, including injuries and drowning. Although the liability portion of your homeowner’s policy will protect your assets if someone sues you, it may not be enough. Most homeowner’s policies pay up to $100,000 in coverage each time a person makes a legitimate civil claim against you for an injury that occurred on your property. When you install a pool, you are increasing the chances that someone could be seriously injured or even killed on your property—and $100,000 may not be enough such a tragedy.

Contact us and we can discuss how you can protect yourself from liability issues and ensure that you are adequately covered so you and your family can relax and enjoy your new pool!

 

Release Date: July 6, 2011
Release Number: 1994-016

From; FEMA.gov

WESTFIELD, Mass. — Residents of Hampden and Worcester Counties who could not work because of the severe storms and tornadoes June 1 may qualify for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). This program helps people who would not qualify for standard unemployment compensation programs.

To be eligible, disaster survivors need to live, work or own a business in Hampden or Worcester Counties, which have been designated for Individual Assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

Disaster Unemployment Assistance is a federally-funded program administered through Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to help workers whose primary income was lost or interrupted as a direct result of the disaster.

Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks are available for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the storms and tornadoes and who do not normally qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, such as farmers and self-employed individuals.

The filing deadline is July 18.

Survivors can apply if they fall into one or more of the following categories:

• They became unemployed as a direct result of the storms and tornadoes.
• They cannot reach their place of employment because of disaster-related travel disruptions.
• They must support a household because the head of the household died in the storms.
• They are unable to work because of a disaster-related injury.
• They could not work because their place of employment was damaged or destroyed by the storms.
• They were scheduled to start work and the job no longer exists.

Applicants will be required to submit wage information and documentation regarding the basis of their claim.

For more information, contact the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, 1-877-626-6800 or 1-617-626-6800 or visit www.mass.gov/dua/disasterui.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.