Does having a trampoline affect your homeowners insurance?

Homeowners insurance may cover your personal liability if someone is injured on your trampoline and sues, but your insurer may require that the trampoline be enclosed with safety netting to be covered. Other insurers may not cover trampolines at all.

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Pat HowardManaging Editor & Licensed Home Insurance ExpertPat Howard is a licensed insurance expert and managing editor at Policygenius. Pat has written extensively about the home insurance industry and his insights as a subject matter expert have appeared in several top tier publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Reuters. Pat has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University.&Kara McGinleySenior Editor & Licensed Home Insurance ExpertKara McGinley is a former senior editor and licensed home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she specialized in homeowners and renters insurance. As a journalist and as an insurance expert, her work and insights have been featured in Forbes Advisor, Kiplinger, Lifehacker, MSN, WRAL.com, and elsewhere.

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How a trampoline affects your homeowners insurance depends on the insurance company. One insurer may be cool with you owning a trampoline, and another may not. The most important thing is you let them know if you own one and ask about their policy. If you don’t inform them at all and they find out you have one, they could potentially deny you coverage even if your claim had nothing to do with the trampoline.

If your insurance company does include coverage for trampolines, that means your trampoline will be protected if it’s damaged by a covered event, like a windstorm. And the personal liability coverage section of your home insurance policy may also cover legal and medical expenses in case someone gets hurt using your trampoline and they take you to court. 

Because trampolines present a heightened risk for injury, you may want to consider increasing your liability coverage limits so that you’re protected against such risks. Just keep in mind that increasing your coverage will likely raise your premiums.

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Key takeaways

  • Trampoline coverage varies by insurance company — some may cover it, others may require safety measures like a fence, and others might exclude coverage altogether.

  • If your trampoline is covered, consider increasing your liability coverage limits to make sure you’re protected in case an accident happens.

  • Standard homeowners insurance policies offer a maximum of $500,000 in liability coverage. Consider a personal umbrella policy for more coverage

When does homeowners insurance cover trampolines?

Insurers generally cover trampolines in one of three ways:

  • Your trampoline is always covered

  • Your trampoline is covered under specific circumstances

  • Your trampoline is always excluded from coverage

It all depends on your insurance company, so it’s important to ask. Here’s a breakdown of how each of these coverage scenarios work.

Your trampoline is always covered

If your policy has no exclusions, your trampoline is covered under every circumstance. That means if your child’s friend is bouncing around and hits their head, your policy’s personal liability and medical payments coverages may pay for medical bills and legal expenses if they require medical treatment or decide to sue for damages. 

If your trampoline is damaged by a covered event, like a bad storm, your policy’s personal property coverage can help pay to repair or replace it.

Consider increasing your liability coverage if you own a trampoline

You may want to consider increasing your liability coverage limits if you own a trampoline. A trampoline increases the risk of injury for guests and is considered an “attractive nuisance” in the insurance world. An attractive nuisance is a hazardous condition or object that might cause harm to children. Increasing your liability coverage limits will help ensure you’re protected from expensive medical bills or legal fees in the event someone gets badly injured while using your trampoline. 

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Your trampoline is covered under specific circumstances

Some companies may only cover attractive nuisances, like a trampoline or pool, if you meet certain conditions for coverage. 

With a trampoline, that may mean you’ll be required to surround the trampoline's perimeter with safety netting up to a specific height, or ensure the trampoline is completely fenced in and out of reach of unwanted guests. 

While you may not be liable for injuries to a trespassing adult (even if you don’t have enclosure netting), the same may not be said for your neighbor’s 6-year-old if you don’t have safety precautions in place.

Your trampoline is always excluded

Some insurance companies will exclude coverage for trampolines even if you have protective netting. 

You’ll generally see insurers treat exclusions for a trampoline in one of two ways: 

  • An insurer may let you take out a policy and let you keep the trampoline, but just not offer coverage for it 

  • Or some insurance companies may refuse you coverage altogether unless you get rid of the trampoline

If your current insurer doesn’t allow trampolines, shop around until you find a company that does.  Just keep in mind that starting a new policy means updated underwriting, a new inspection, and possibly increased rates.

Additional coverage to consider for trampolines

If you own a trampoline or pool, you may want to consider buying a personal umbrella policy (PUP). This can protect you against potentially large liability claims that exceed the limits of your home or auto insurance policies.

Umbrella policies typically increase your liability coverage in million-dollar increments. So if your liability coverage was $300,000 and you had a standard umbrella policy, you’d actually have $1.3 million in potential liability protection. 

To put this into practice, say someone got hurt on your trampoline and you were found liable for $500,000 in damages. Your homeowners insurance would cover the first $300,000 and your PUP would pick up the remaining $200,000.

→ Learn more about personal umbrella insurance

Authors

Pat Howard is a licensed insurance expert and managing editor at Policygenius. Pat has written extensively about the home insurance industry and his insights as a subject matter expert have appeared in several top tier publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Reuters. Pat has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University.

Kara McGinley is a former senior editor and licensed home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she specialized in homeowners and renters insurance. As a journalist and as an insurance expert, her work and insights have been featured in Forbes Advisor, Kiplinger, Lifehacker, MSN, WRAL.com, and elsewhere.

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