May is National Water Safety Month.
And in South Florida, where most of us live within ten miles of a pool, that is not a national-calendar talking point. That is the conversation every Florida family should be having before summer.
I am not a swim instructor. I am a personal injury attorney. I think about this from the angle of what families end up facing when prevention does not happen.
Every May I get the same question from a friend, a client, or a parent on the sidelines at a kids' soccer game.
"Do I actually HAVE to have a pool gate?"
The honest answer is more complicated than the question. Florida law and your homeowners insurance company want different things from you, and the gap between those two is where families end up exposed.
This is the post for the homeowner who has been asking this question for years. The neighbor whose pool is open all summer. The parent of the friend who is going over for a swim. The grandparent whose grandkids are coming to visit. The Airbnb host who has not thought about it lately.
Pool season is here. Let me walk you through what I tell people when they ask. The pool gate question is one piece of a bigger picture. The bigger picture is the five things every Florida family should be doing this month.
These are not case studies from my practice. These are the layers of protection that every major water safety organization (the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, the American Red Cross, the National Drowning Prevention Alliance) agrees on. Stack the layers. No single one is enough on its own.
A four-sided fence with a self-latching gate. Door alarms on every door leading to the pool, with the batteries actually working. A pool cover when nobody is swimming. The Florida statute lets you satisfy the safety requirement with one of these. Most homeowners insurance contracts require more. The next two sections walk through the gap.
When kids are in the pool, one adult should have eyes on the water with no phone, rotated every fifteen to twenty minutes. Supervision is necessary and never sufficient on its own. Adults are not built to watch a pool the way the situation requires. Phones distract. Conversations distract. Kids move fast.
This is not a recommendation I am making as a lawyer. It is the broad consensus of every pediatric and water safety organization in the country. Survival skills can be taught at every age. Community pools, YMCAs, and certified swim instructors offer programs across South Florida.
Find the pool requirements section. Find the exclusions section. Read both before pool season is in full swing. The audit that protects your family is the one you do before something happens, not after.
A neighbor, friend, or family member who knows CPR and is on scene in the first minutes after a water incident changes outcomes. The Red Cross, local fire departments, and many community centers run free or low-cost classes every month.
For pools built after October 1, 2000, Florida has a residential pool safety statute (the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act). It requires at least one of a short list of safety features. A barrier around the pool. An approved pool safety cover. Exit alarms on every door and window that leads from the home to the pool area. Self-closing, self-latching devices on every door.
You do not need all of these. You need at least one.
For pools built before October 1, 2000, the statutory picture is different and largely depends on the local code in effect when the pool was constructed.
What this means in practice: a pool gate is one option. It is not the only option, and the statute does not mandate it on its own.
That is the law.
Now here is where it gets interesting.
The law and your insurance contract are two different documents.
Most homeowners insurance carriers have their own pool requirements built into the policy. A four-sided fence. A self-latching gate. A specific height for the barrier. Some carriers will not write a policy on a property with a pool unless these are in place. Some will write the policy, classify the pool as an attractive nuisance, and impose a higher premium. Some will issue the policy without a word about the gate and then deny a claim later if the pool was not properly enclosed at the time of an incident.
This is the part most homeowners do not know.
The Florida statute might allow you to satisfy the safety requirement with an exit alarm or a pool cover. Your insurance contract might require a fence. If you are relying on the statute and an injury happens, your insurance carrier can deny coverage based on the contract you actually signed, regardless of whether you complied with the statute.
You can be in compliance with the law and out of compliance with your policy at the same time.
That is the gap that catches families.
This is broader than pools. Premises liability is the area of law that covers what happens when someone gets hurt on your property.
A guest at a barbecue trips on a deck step that was not up to code. A child wanders into your pool while their parent looks down at a phone. A cleaning person slips on a wet tile in the lanai. A neighbor's dog gets out and bites a kid in your yard.
In all of these, the law looks at what you knew, what you should have known, what reasonable steps you took, and whether the property was in a condition a guest would have reason to expect.
Pool incidents are a specific category inside this broader picture. They tend to be the most expensive ones. Drowning and near-drowning cases involve some of the most catastrophic outcomes I see in practice. The legal framework around them is layered: state statute, local code, insurance contract, and case law all stacked on top of each other.
This is also true for other parts of your property that get more use in the summer.
Code violations show up most often in older homes that have been remodeled without permits. Loose railings. Steps that vary in height by more than the code allows. Surfaces that become a slip risk when wet.
Some carriers refuse to insure properties with them. Some require a netted enclosure. If you have one, check your policy.
Same category as trampolines for some carriers. Anchored installation, surrounding ground material, and clearance zones all matter.
Florida is a strict-liability state for dog bites. Your homeowners policy may or may not cover liability depending on the breed and the carrier. Read the exclusions.
A standard homeowners policy often does not cover guests in a commercial short-term rental scenario. If you rent your house on Airbnb or VRBO and a guest is injured, you may be uninsured for the claim. There are specialized policies for this. Most hosts do not have them.
The pattern across all of these is the same. The statute or local code is the floor. Your insurance contract is what actually pays the bill. The two do not always line up.
If you have a pool, deck, or any of the items above, here is what I would do this weekend.
Find the section on pool requirements. Find the section on attractive nuisances. Find the section on exclusions. Read those three.
Is the gate self-closing and self-latching. Does it actually close every time, or does it stick. Are there any deck boards or railings that have shifted in the last storm season. Is the trampoline net torn. Are the playset bolts tight.
Compare what the policy demands to what your property actually looks like. If there is a gap, that is a phone call to your agent before summer is in full swing.
Anyone who is going to spend time at your pool this summer should know basic pool safety. Adults watch the water. No phones during pool time. Kids out of arm's reach is not safe enough.
This audit is not a substitute for a professional inspection or for a real legal review. It is the homeowner version of the policy audit I write about for cars.
If someone is injured on your property, the playbook is the same as if you were in a car accident.
Call 911 first. Get medical care. Document what happened: photos of the area, conditions, anything that contributed. Do not move things or "clean up" before there is a record.
Notify your insurance carrier. Do not give a recorded statement before talking to an attorney. The carrier's first call is the same friendly call I have written about for auto cases. The intent is the same. They will record it. They will ask questions in a sequence designed to lock you into a version of the story that limits their exposure.
Call an attorney at Kushel Law Group before that conversation, not after.
If you are the one who was injured on someone else's property, the same advice applies in reverse. The property owner's insurance carrier is going to call you. Do not give a statement. Do not sign a release. Do not assume the property owner's homeowners insurance is going to cover what happened. The policy may have exclusions you do not know about, and the conversation about who pays is more complicated than it looks on the surface.
Pool season in Florida is most of the year. The summer months just bring more guests, more kids, more activity, and more chances for the gap between the law and the insurance contract to matter.
The law is the floor. Your policy is what pays the bill. Walk the property this weekend. Read the policy this week. Have the conversation with your kids and your guests before the first big pool day.
This is the same theme that runs through everything I write. The audits that protect you are the ones you do before the moment you need them.
--> Pull up the free insurance guide on the site. Use it as the starting framework for the homeowners policy review you have been putting off. The pool is the headline. The contract is the safety net.
The increase varies, but many homeowners see premiums rise anywhere from $50 to several hundred dollars per year depending on the type of pool, location, and coverage limits.
Pools increase the risk of injuries, drowning accidents, and liability claims, which makes the property more expensive to insure.
In-ground pools often cost more to insure because they are usually considered a greater liability and are more expensive to repair or replace.
A fenced pool with locked gates and other safety features may help reduce liability risks and could qualify you for lower premiums.
Liability coverage may help pay for medical expenses, depending on your policy terms.
If someone was injured in or around your pool, contact Kushel Law Group’s personal injury attorneys for a free consultation.
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