OT - horrible news

since this is the board that i am feeling most at home with i am looking for some cheese with my whine and perhaps some advice.

I am so sad, my husband just called me and our pool burst open today and went down into a gulley. We had a rainstorm today and my husband said he heard a loud noise that he thought was thunder. Our pool was an above ground that was built in to our deck. he said it tore the ladder off and everything.


Does anyone know anything about insurance - do you think that there is any chance that this is covered?

TIA

shadyhillslane

Wow! I've never heard of anything like that happening before! Sorry I'm no help, but I don't know anything about insurance in the US.

Good Grief - I do not know anything about insurance in the USA, however, from what I have seen of insurance companies they would probably tell you that you had filled your pool with too much water and our policy clearly states...blah, blah, blah. Our best regards to you, however, you are not covered. Insurances companies have loop holes for everything, no matter where one resides.

Aww I am so sorry to hear that Tia!

I'm not sure about insurance though..

wow! That actually happened to my sister once.. she had an above ground pool that just collapsed. She also had a yard filled with elderly visitors who almost got washed away..

We all thought it was hilarious.. untill we had to clean up and restore the status quo...lol

I bet your homeowners will pay at least a part of it! I hope so !

Wow, that is something you see on tv or the news or something. I am so sorry about it but I haven't a clue about the insurance thing. I would double-check your policy to see what it states about above-ground pools. Each policy is different, I hear. Good luck and I hope everything turns out for the best!!!!

shadyhillslane. I wanted to say "welcome!" but all I can say is (((I'm sorry!))) but we are glad you are here. Good luck. I dont know a thing about insurance other than the one time I had to use it (house got flooded by the water heater) I got hosed. I hope yours is better than mine!

But my thoughts are with you! and I hope you keep us updated!

Call your insurance company on Tuesday morning (since Monday is a holiday) and tell them what happened and make sure that you point out if your pool is attached to your house via the deck, since that may give you better coverage. Policies vary a great deal, but if it is covered, you can expect someone to come out to your house and take pictures, and possibly give an estimate on the value of the damaged pool and deck. So you need to make sure not to fix anything before they come. Get out there tomorrow morning and look for structural damage to the deck, damage to the house itself (such as an area that was scraped or paint that was knocked off during the collapse). Take pictures yourself so you can e-mail them to your insurance company if they try to say that they can't send someone out right away. Also, find out when you put the pool and deck in, since they will reduce the amount they pay you based on it's age. (Older installations will have "depreciated".) If you have pictures of the pool and deck before the damage, that may help convince them that it was nice/expensive.

I don't have a pool, but I have had storm damage and had to do the same thing for my roof and bathroom ceiling.

I'm sorry, that sucks. I know two people who have had that happen and it will completely depend on your homeowners insurance.

Sorry I can't help with advice, just want to say I'm sorry to hear what happened!

OMG, I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you. And of course on a holiday weekend. That stinks for contacting the insurance company and for not having access to the pool this weekend. Whatever happens I hope they can remedy it quickly.

Thank you so much to everyone! My family is so upset - my 8 year old rang me at work just sobbing.
Karen - that is very sound advice, we will take pictures tomorrow.

All of my best!
Alana

Wow! I don't have any advice other than to listen to Karen. I can offer hugs though!


Edit: If you haven't already, try calling your insurance company tomorrow anyway. That way, even if you can't get a hold of someone you should be able to leave a message and then you have proof that you tried! I've seen cases of insurance companies claiming that you should have contacted them sooner and giving the person a lot of grief...

When we had Hurricane Rita ( AKA "the hurricane that never was") Our pool rolled, from the wind, and the tornadoes that we did not have. It was a 24X48 intex rubber ring pool, the really realy big ones. It didn't rip, didn't tear, just,.....rolled right on over.
Anyway, my insurance covered it, since it was on my property. It DID flood several rooms at the back of the house, and the garage, but that was also covered.

I am so sorry about what happened! I am so sorry that I can not help you. Homeowner insurance was not my strongest points when I worked for a big name company. I imagine that it may be covered by your deductible, but do not quote me on that.

Take pictures though, so you have something for your files when you complain. Your own pictures and an adjuster's (if they send one out) will help with your claim.

Update

thank you so much to everyone who responded. I was so low yesterday.
It seems that the pool was covered by a 20 year warranty (was installed in 2000, we bought the house in 2004).
I have a bit more hope now - we are commited to restoring it one way or another as our girls practically live in the pool in the summer
We have documented the damage and will try insurance on Tuesday.

I really do appreciate all of the replies.

good luck!

Above ground pools usually have a pretty good warranty on the pool and liner. I have an inground vinyl liner pool, and our liner has a 25 year warranty. They will probably cover it.

If you have a national insurance company you should be able to call an 800# or go online and get the ball rolling today.