Everyone loves catching air on a trampoline. Trampolines are one of the best warm weather toys you can have at your house. But do they affect your homeowners insurance? How do you go about insuring a trampoline?

Trampolines come with a lot of associated risks, making them one of the more liable and costly parts of your homeowners insurance. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to avoid them. You simply want to be updated with your homeowners’ insurance and keep your jumping safe for you and your family.

Why are trampolines an insurance concern?

Trampolines are considered an “attractive nuisance,” which means they increase your risk at home. Property owners are responsible for any damages or liability that an attractive nuisance might cause. This is because trampolines dramatically increase the risk of injury that you would be responsible for on your property. Trampolines cause more than 100,000 injuries every year, with 4% of those injuries resulting in a hospital stay.

Not only are they a high risk of injury, but they also attract a lot of external liability. Friends and friends of friends love jumping on trampolines. You’ll start attracting more folks coming to your house (whether they’re invited or not…), which innately increases your risk of someone getting injured on your property. Anyone who gets hurt on your property is your financial responsibility.

Because of these increased risks of injury, a lot of insurers are hesitant to cover trampolines and other attractive nuisances.

Does my homeowners insurance cover a trampoline?

Most homeowners insurance policies do not cover trampolines unless specified. In many cases, if you read through your homeowners insuance policy, you’d find that your trampoline is excluded from your basic policy or they require safety features, like a safety net and padding. You would usually find this information in a specific “trampoline exclusion” on your policy.

Reading through your policy can be confusing. Your insurance agent or one of our expert insurance advisors can walk you through what your policy does and doesn’t cover and speak specifically to how your policy handles trampolines, as well as help you shop around for a policy that will cover trampolines (and hopefully find you a great price!). Give our agents a call today at (844) 824-2887 to learn more about your options when it comes to insuring a trampoline.

Your insurance company likely will not reject you for having a trampoline, but they may raise the cost of your insurance premium or require you purchase additional liability insurance. Attractive nuisances can drastically raise the cost of your monthly insurance premium.

You also want to be aware that some insurers allow trampolines without impacting your insurance—but they won’t cover claims related to trampoline accidents. That means it’s simply excluded from the policy altogether. That means you could end up having to pay for a liability claim out-of-pocket if someone sues you for trampoline-related injuries while on your property.

If your insurance covers a trampoline or you buy additional coverage, this usually refers to the liability portion if someone outside of your household gets hurt. For example, your son’s friend breaks his ankle on your trampoline. The friend’s parents could sue you for his ER bills, medical expenses, and other damages.

If someone within your household gets injured on the trampoline, that would fall under your health insurance, not homeowners.

How does insurance work if I buy a new trampoline?

If you just purchased a trampoline or you’re thinking about buying one, you should let your insurance company know before installing or using it. If you don’t alert your insurer to a trampoline, they have the right to cancel or not renew your insurance—even if you’ve never made a trampoline claim. This is especially true if there is a trampoline exclusion clause in your policy that you haven’t addressed with additional umbrella coverage.

If your current insurer is hesitant about your trampoline or raises your premium drastically, you can consider comparing quotes. Still, you don’t necessarily want to change your entire homeowners insurance just for a trampoline. A new insurer likely means a new inspection and evaluation of risk. So you may want to work with a third-party insurance agent, like InsuraMatch, to compare insurance quotes without a major risk of increasing your premium costs. Call our licensed insurance advisors today at (844) 824-2887.

How can I minimize the risk of a trampoline?

Lowering the risk that someone gets hurt on your trampoline may also help lower the increase in your homeowners premium.

Have safety features. You should set up a safety net around the trampoline. This prevents bouncers from falling off the trampoline. You should also place the trampoline over sand or wood chips, never over concrete or a harsh surface.

Have a locked gate. This prevents uninvited guests from jumping on your trampoline and potentially injuring themselves. Even if they weren’t welcome or invited, they could sue you for damages if they get injured while on your property! So you want to keep unwanted visitors away.

Don’t allow flips. Kids (and adults) love to get a little rowdy on a trampoline to show off their stuff. But flips and other tricks drastically increase the risk of injury. To protect your family and friends from injury, you should consider implementing a “no flips” rule.

Don’t use the trampoline during parties. Let’s say that you’re hosting a birthday party for one of your kids. The kids will likely want to go on the trampoline. If it’s a small party, this might be okay if there is parental supervision. But a larger party with a lot of kids increases the risk that someone could get hurt. Make the trampoline off limits or institute a specific number of jumpers at one time.

Get permission first. If you’re having kids over who will be using the trampoline, get verbal permission from their parents or guardians first. Although this doesn’t reduce your financial liability, it can make any potential incidents less blame-worthy and uncomfortable. Plus, you’d want other parents to get permission for your kids in return.

Don’t allow trampolines as a landlord. If you’re a landlord renting out a house or unit, you shouldn’t permit your renters to have a trampoline. This can be a major liability for you and your tenant, and you could get dragged into any cases involving injury or liability.

Conclusion

Your insurer sees trampolines are an unnecessary hazard, and they will likely alter your policy (and cost) to match the increased risk. But if you and your family want a trampoline in the backyard, there are ways to keep everyone safe while minimizing your liability and insurance costs.

Looking for the best price to insure your trampoline with homeowners insurance? Call us today at (844) 824-2887 to start comparing quotes.