Although the weather in the Northeast is still a bit chilly and this past month has been the rainiest March ever on record, there are numerous indications of Spring everywhere you gaze. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and lovers are loving. At first I thought that these signs of Spring and its inherent beauty had literally brought a tear to my eye, however I soon realized that it was actually the pollen in the air and my allergies were awakening along with the colorful flowers. Regardless, it’s Springtime in New York and I’m thrilled to know it has arrived!

As I stand here on the deck and gaze out at our backyard, I begin to feel the annual urge to begin uncovering the outdoor furniture which I diligently wrapped the previous fall to protect it from winter’s harm , to uncover the fountain which I sit in front of on a cool summer evening while sipping cognac and listening to Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, and of course remove the protective covering from my 12 year old fig tree which I meticulously wrap annually the weekend after Thanksgiving using at least an R-13 household insulation, high grade tarpaper, fresh fig leaves, and then envelope it with an oversized extra strength unscented Hefty Leaf and Garden black plastic bag. I even make certain that I place the highly required 5 gallon pail over the top of the tree securing it tightly to make certain that its winter coat fits snugly over its thick bark…“just to be sure”. “Thanksgiving to Easter”, is what I always tell those who ask me about my annual fig tree wrapping ritual. That’s the schedule I learned from my grandfather as a young boy growing up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and I dutifully follow it when it comes to my homemade shrink wrapping and unwrapping tradition of this cherished childhood memory.

Another sign of Spring is the thought that it’s time to uncover and open the swimming pool for the summer. “This year will be different”, I thought to myself while looking at the pool. You see, last year I thought I would forego calling the pool company and try my hand at being Macho Man and attempt this annual ritual myself, regardless of the continued pleas from Ann Marie about how I’m going to fall into the cold dark water and break something off the pool, and then we’ll still have to call the guy to fix whatever I break along with an ambulance to fix whatever breaks on me. Well, I’m not going to have to tell her “Right again, dear” two years in a row, because this season I’m going to call the guy as I always did…except for last year. Reason being is that last Spring I attempted this myself and after assembling the filter and realizing that I had extra parts left over (“Oh, that’s what the rubber piece was”, I exclaimed with a smile knowing I had now discovered what that ‘extra part’ was that looked like a round rubber flat donut once I turned on the filter and watched the water flowing out from all sides), along with inadvertently slicing (which of course destroyed) the cover and permitted all of the leaves and dirty water to now immediately enter the pool that I had so very well protected from the elements all winter long. …and of course, just as she predicted, I did slip and fall into the cold dark water while attempting to maneuver along the side of the pool while dragging the cover trying desperately to remove it from its winter home. “Right again, dear!”…bang zoom!

Well, this thing of ours has done it to me again. No matter how hard I try to be a normal person and not think about these things, it always manages to pull me back in and relate everything in my life to a potential liability claim. After falling into the pool last year, I immediately thought of the liability exposure a homeowner has by just having a pool in their backyard…regardless of whether or not the homeowner knows how to open and/or close a pool. “Attractive Nuisance Liability”, it’s called, and also applies to having a basketball hoop, trampoline, or fish pond on your driveway or lawn. If it has the ability to attract kids (legal or otherwise), and potentially cause them harm if they utilize or even illegally abuse it, you are proverbially SOL if little Johnny next door decides to play some hoops in your driveway and break his ankle, or fall into your pool after a night of drinking with his friends, or bounce off your trampoline and land head first in your gold fish pond breaking their little darling necks…of course immediately after they climbed over your six foot white PVC fence with a locked gate while you and your loving family were on vacation. Oh, and by the way, I sure hope you didn’t leave your pit bull out to roam and protect your fiefdom while you’re traveling, because if that dog does his job and protects his territory by taking a chunk out of Johnny’s rump roast while he’s stumbling out of your pool, guess what? You’re on the hook for that one as well. According to the Insurance Information Institute (www.iii.org) swimming pool ownership is constantly rising. Currently, there are over 8.3 million homes in the United States that own an in-ground or above-ground pool. This statistic is up almost 10 percent since 2002, as reported by the Association of Pool and Spa professions. No one type of pool is excluded, regardless of whether or not it is a small child’s pool or one fit for a king and his court. Regardless of its size or shape, it is important to be sure to advise your clients that any pool can be dangerous and must be properly insured. At the same time, you should also remind them that it must also comply with local safety standards and building codes.

Furthermore, last May a report placed on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission web site, 886 children ages five and younger died after drowning in either a pool or spa between 2004 and 2006. The report also indicated that the preponderance of those deaths occurred in homes (79 percent) and that the adult who was responsible at the time that the accident occurred had lost contact or was not aware of the whereabouts of the children involved (46 percent) before the child wandered over to the pool or spa. Furthermore, according to this report, fatal drowning remains as the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths for children ages 1 to 14 years of age. As a matter of fact, for every child who drowns, there are five children who require and receive emergency medical care for nonfatal water injuries.

As posted on the Insurance Information Institute website, it is highly advisable that you should inform your clients that before purchasing and installing a pool in ones’ backyard they contact their town or municipality and familiarize themselves with their town’s definition of a “pool,” which may be defined by the town by the size of the pool and depth of the water. If the particular pool that they are planning to purchase meets the definition that the town uses for “pool”, then they must act in accordance with local safety standards and current building codes. This may include among, other mandates and ordinances, installing a fence of a required height, locks, decks, and pool safety equipment. The institute goes on to say that pools are considered an “attractive nuisance” and it is prudent to purchase additional liability coverage above and beyond the standard policy limits. Although (as you are obviously aware) most HO policies include liability protection, homeowners owning a pool should absolutely consider increasing the amount of liability coverage, while also purchasing a multimillion dollar umbrella policy. Of course, depending upon the cost and value of the pool, the homeowner should also have the proper coverage in order to replace it in the event that it is destroyed by a storm or other disaster. The following safety precautions are also highly recommended by the I.I.I. and it is suggested that you pass these along to your clients as well:

1. Put fencing around the pool area to keep people from using the pool without your knowledge. In addition to the fences or other barriers required by many towns, consider creating “layers of protection” around the pool, i.e. setting up as many barriers as possible (door alarms, locks and safety covers) to the pool area when not in use.
2. Never leave small children unsupervised— even for a few seconds. And never leave toys or floats in the pool when not in use as they may prove to be a deadly temptation for toddlers trying to reach them.
3. Keep children away from pool filters and other mechanical devices as the suction force may injure them or prevent them from surfacing. In case of an emergency, know how to shut off these devices and clearly post this information.
4. Be sure all pool users know how to swim. Learners should be accompanied by a good swimmer. If you have children, have them take swimming lessons as early as possible. And, don’t allow anyone to swim alone.
5. Check the pool area regularly for glass bottles, toys or other potential accident hazards. Also, keep CD players, radios and other electrical devices away from pools or nearby wet surfaces.
6. Clearly post emergency numbers on the phone, in the event of an accident. Keep a first aid kit, ring buoys and reaching poles near the pool. You may also want to consider taking basic first aid and CPR training. Oh, and as one last piece of advice…tell your clients to spend the money and pay a professional to open their pool. Take it from me, it is well worth it.

On the local convention front, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. held their annual Westchester E Day conference and convention at the Double Tree Hotel in Tarrytown, NY, on March 18th, 2010. Eugene R. Fulton, III; Vice President of The Coughlin Group was the recipient of the distinguished 2010 Frederick H. Dayton Award. With a convention theme of, "The New Face of the Independent Agency"; the luncheon speaker was Robert Hartwig, President of the Insurance Information Institute, who spoke on “The State of The Industry.” Robert Reagan, CPCU and President of Reagan Consulting, was the conference’s Keynote Speaker. Looking forward, stay tuned for my comments on Buffalo I Day and Albany I Day in an upcoming column this spring.

Well that’s all for today, and thanks once again for taking another walk around the neighborhood with me. As I was writing this column today, I said to my family that this article celebrates my second anniversary of contributing to this column in The Insurance Advocate. It has certainly been my pleasure bringing this column to you once or twice a month for the past 24 months, and I look forward to continuing to share my thoughts and ideas with you. Thank you so very much for remaining such a loyal reader of my column, and please continue to provide me with the comments, suggestions and ideas that you have been sending me over the past two years. Thank you. From my family to you rs, Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Happy Spring!