Our homeowners policy just renewed and the company is making us get rid of our trampoline. We have never had a problem, but I am told they are just too big a risk for insurance companies.

I called several agents and brokers. They all said that companies across the board are starting to do this, at least in Oregon. The broker we use for all our businees and personal insurance, said that they could not find a company to write a new policy if you owned a trampoline. I said "what's next, swimming pools? I was told that in Texas, some companies do exclude homeowners with pools from coverage.

 

Just another caveat of the Great American Insurance Scam.

If the kid-next-door's parent is anything like the idiot who sued McDonald's for spilling hot coffee on herself, after they fall and break their neck on your trampoline after tresspassing in your yard, then you see where this is going. Who know's maybe pools are indeed next.

It seems to me of late, the Insurance companies aren't willing to insure anything anymore. They like to sit back to collect money on low-risk items and don't want to touch anything that you really need it for.

 

Trampoline's are one of the leading causes of broken elbows and legs in younger children. If they use it with permission or it is accessable, then you and your house policy can get hit for some serious money.

Sort of like monkey bars at the playground and those spinning wheels/platforms. Almost everyone at one time or another has gotten hurt at a playground when we were kids. We just had parents that held us responsible for our actions and told us next time don't do it if you are going to cry about it. Instead of lawyers holding others accountable for your own actions.

In todays sue happy enviroment you are held responsible for everyone else's mistakes. More than 1/3 of the cost of a ladder goes to paying for lawyers to defend against the people that fall off them.

You know people actually sue baseball makers because the ball is too hard!

 

I got this in my email today and I thought it kinda fit the situation.

The death of common sense

Common Sense lived a long life, but died in the United States from heart failure early in the new millennium. No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were lost long ago in bureaucratic red tape. He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes, and factories, helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness.
For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and it's okay to come in second. A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including body piercing, whole language, and "new math." But his health declined when he became infected with the "If-it-only-helps-one-person-it's-worth-it" virus.
In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well intentioned but overbearing regulations. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero tolerance policies: Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student. It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parent when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.
Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports. When an individual, too stupid to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the towel.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations such as those for low flow toilets, rocking chairs, stepladders and auto emissions. Common Sense finally succumbed when, while the United States was fighting a war on terrorism, a federal judge declared the Pledge of Allegiance to be unconstitutional.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three step siblings: My Rights, I'm Entitled and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

 

We have a trampoline and a pool and a swing set and a basketball court and many other things in our back yard. Our insurance company too said we would have to have a bigger poilcy for this, not bigger for us but for them in payments.we have all the kids in the neighborhood take a waiver to there parents before they are allowed to play with our kids in our yard. Our lawyer drew it up and so far we have 50 some copies on file with our insurance company . This settled our insurance down to even a lower payment plan then we had before. And i think we now have waivers of liability from most of the kids in a 7 block radius of our home. We have had only one parent balk at filling it out, and they moved away anyway. Gotta protect yourself these days.

 

Too many lawyers Too many inspectors!! Too many Laws!

I read a newspaper article last week where a guy was building a house here in Ontario, with his 15 year old son helping him.
The labour Inspector dropped by and told him that persons under 16 were not allowed to be on a construction site, and that if his son continued to work with him, then he would face a hefty fine and/or jail.

 

I was discussing our coverage with our broker today and two more interesting things came up. This is a large independent broker who places business, homeowners, auto and general umbrella liability insurance with lots of different big insurance companies.

Insurance companies in general and ours in particular will not write homeowners policies now for people who own the following breeds of dogs. Pit Bull, Rotweiler, Doberman and Chow. Our company also does not want to insure German Shepards! Fortunately, our two dogs are mixed breeds so we are off the hook on this one.

I jokingly asked if they will still be covering our boat, or are they worried about someone drowning. In all seriousness, I was asked: "You don't have a jet ski do you?"

I asked how common these sorts of restrictions were. I was told that more companies are doing it every day and that for new customers, it was almost impossible to get them coverage without having to change something in their lives. None of the companies they place insurance with will write a policy for someone with a trampoline.

I said I thought you could get any kind of insurance if you pay enough, but this apparently is not the case. She said there are a few companies that are not yet enforcing these things (except for the trampoline), on existing customers.

 

sigh.

 

I stil say we all need to stop buying insurance. If everyone drops their policy and hit them where it hurts, they will be forced to reduce prices.

 

We have a lab/chow mix - that is now a lab with a purple tongue.

She comes to work with me - engineering firm - our agent added another clause to our company policy to provide coverage in case there was an incident at our location involving her- my dog now has commercial liability insurance.

Certain people/professionals treat incidents/accidents/events as a source of income. They created the market place for the Insurance companies - I heard a guest lawyer on a radio show last night say it was the "system" that lets this take place. I interpret that as the lawyers - (working for the public) will continue to exploit it - not that Insurance companies will continue to event new items to provide coverage for.

 

aauugghh!!! Kids are growing up living life too sheltered. Sure, nobody wants to see a little kid get hurt, especially your own, but life's tough. I went past the elementary school the other day that I had attended twenty years ago or so and all the play equipment was moved off of the black top and was littered with mulch and other various soft landing. What's that about.

The trampoline thing is the same here in Ohio also. Insureance agency's frown on having one on your property. When I was a kid, a man down the street had a trampoline. A lot of the kids from the neighborhood would go down there on the weekends and jump around. There was always at least 8-10 people there to jump, so one person would go on, and the others would stand at the side watching, and in case the jumper was to lose balance, there was always a spotter there to catch them, or at least break their fall. And you know what, after about fifteen years of doing that, I can't remember anybody even getting a bruise. It's like having a gun in your house (whoops, maybe that's coming after the swimming pools!) if you're going to have one, be smart about it! If you're going to pay an outrageous amount for home owners insurance, you should be able to have a trapeze act if you want. Maybe I'm just not supposed to understand?

 

"Kids are growing up living life too sheltered"

Its more like the kids are growing up uncoordinated.... freakin kids can't even bounce up and down properly - darn education system. (sarcasm)

-- check this out
http://www.fscip.org/tramp.html

--> excerpt taken from the page

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury as a result of a trampoline accident, you should consult with a lawyer as soon as possible to determine your legal rights. There is no charge or commitment for such a consultation. An accident that may appear to be no ones fault or your own fault could still result in economic recovery for you. Visit these pages to learn more about your...

 

I think I might be in trouble...

in the past year I've bought my 7 year old daughter a trampoline, a 24 foot swimming pool, and a 22 rifle.

Of course ALL of these are only under supervision. The trampoline has a safety net around it, the pool has a locked fence around it, and the 22 stays in a gun safe.

But if she trips and falls on a tree root, I tell her to pay attention to where she's running. I suppose I could find a lawyer silly enough to try and sue the forest.

 

Good one! Taken seriously though, the problem is that auto insurance is required for driving. If you have a mortgage, homeowners insurance is required. If you are a licensed contractor, insurance is required, etc. etc. etc.

 

After reading these posts, I see that the insurance crisis is starting to filter down to the "individual" level. The undisputed problem in this industry is very simple, abnormally high claims on product liability and natural disasters, combined with poorly performing investments, have depleted insurance reserves to the point that we are all seeing astronomical increases. By law, insurance companies are required to have a certain amount of liquid cash for claims. "911", hail storms, hurricanes, forest fires, and lawsuit settlements have risen exponentially in recent years and the only way to fill the coffers is through premiums.

If they're choosing to exlude trampolines, jet skis, pools, playground equipment, and other items, you can be sure they've been sued and paid dearly for these items in the past. In the construction equipment industry, we've seen 25-30% increases for the last 3 years. Simply put, our insurance has doubled!! This in turn is passed on in the cost of houses, roads, schools, etc.

This is a long rant, and I actually had a thread a little while back "product liability: out of control" in this section. We can't control the natural disasters, but we have to start reforming product liability and the huge cost to ALL of us!!!