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Last Post 08/10/2008 10:01 AM by  Tom Toll
Above ground pool question
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RandyC
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Posts:197


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08/09/2008 10:39 AM

    Neighborhood kids were lined up three deep as I showed up to inspect this wind claim.  The above ground pool in the backyard had been blown away.  In this state they take their summer recreation serious and the whole neighborhood seemed to be  waiting on me, so they could get that pool back in business.

    There was damage to the house roof, and detached garage roof, but the pool was the only thing that mattered. 

    They had an unitemized estimate for pool replacement.  I itemized and came up with a figure a little more than their estimate.  I closed with named insured, turned it in and all was well, until the named insured deferred an angry family member to me.

    Their estimate called for 30 yards of sifted bed sand to replace that which had blown away and/or been contaminated by wind blown sharp stones.  I had only allowed for 10 yards, figuring 6 inches of sand across the 24 foot pool would be enough.  (later I found a chart that called for 3 yards for a 24 foot pool).  My RCV estimate was enough to cover her pool and a little more, but not enough to pay cash up front which the company was demanding.  How was I going to get her pool replaced before the first snow?  The roof could wait.  Everything could wait.They didn't care about RCV/ACV.  The pool was paramount!

    We worked out a way to   get the roof repaired and the pool installed.  The current tempest in the neighborhood calmed  to a happy gentle breeze, pending a glitch in our plan.

    Now as I go over the things I did right and wrong, I'm wondering if I didn't make a mistake including the bed sand in my estimate. 

    From the policy:

    Coverage A-Dwelling and Dwelling Extension do not cover:

    6. any land or the value of any land, including land on which the dwelling or other structures are located, or the cost to restore, repair, rebuild or stablize land.

    Is bed sand land?  Does the very term "Above Ground Pool" define the material beneath the pool as ground or ....land?

    Because tools were necessary to assemble this pool and the supports were implanted in the "ground" I handled this as Dwelling Extension, but it wouldn't have changed much as PP in that there was a replacement cost endorcement for personal property and there was a "land" exclusion for Personal Property as well.

    How would others handle the sand?

    Randy Cox

     

     

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    Ray Hall
    Senior Member
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    Posts:2443


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    08/09/2008 11:34 AM

    A very good question Randy. I think most carriers think of an above ground pool as  APP.. I think the bed sand is part of the foundation of the pool just like a foundation block under a pier & beam storage building.

    The land exclusion is in ever property policy I have ever seen and its the land that can not be defined as real property.If this pool was on a river bank and the land under the pool sluffed off under the pool into the river it would be a non covered loss on the pool and of course the land.

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    HuskerCat
    Veteran Member
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    Posts:762


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    08/09/2008 10:54 PM
    Sounds like you were right all along, what would the "reasonable man or person" consider reasonable if the coverage language doesn't address it specifically?? Also sounds like you have a difficult insured to deal with....one of those that feel that they are more entitled than the average bear.
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    Tom Toll
    Moderator & Life Member
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    Posts:1865


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    08/10/2008 10:01 AM

    The sand would be considered a component of the pool and would be covered. It is not land, it is a part of all components to initiate and  complete the construction. You did the right thing. If the pool is attached, by a deck to the house, it would be considered a part of the house structure. If it is a stand alone pool in the yard, it would be considered APP.

    This is my opinon and I wil stick by it.

    Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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