Short term Insurance and Swimming Pools

I am not complaining I am just bringing something up that I recently experienced.

In April we bought a new house it came with a swimming pool. We informed our insurance about this and that was it no additional questions was asked about the pool.

In September, we discovered the pool had a crack; we informed our insurance. They sent a assessor out who observed the pool for a few minutes. We received a call from the on a Saturday informing us the claim was declined we then appealed it and it was declined again. The matter is now with the Ombud.

Now what was interesting was the reason for the claim being declined:

- Any cause that was not sudden and unforeseen. - The one moment there was no crack and the next there was and yet it is not seen as sudden and unforeseen. So it is very strange this is not cover under it but it seems that is the case. - Gradual deterioration, including rising damp, wear-and-tear, rust, mildew or fading: Now this is interesting because this was seen as Gradual deterioration and not normally can one do something to stop the deterioration, you can paint your house, you can do maintenance to your house. But how do you stop deterioration in a pool? You can't even see the bottom of your pool.

So, if you have a pool, I recommend that you contact your short-term insurer to find out how they deal with claims for swimming pools. I think that in the current environment, fewer and fewer homes are built with swimming pools, and so many people with swimming pools might feel comfortable with just paying for repairs. I believe this highlights a gap in the insurance contract, as I don't think pools should be covered in the same manner as homes. It almost feels like you being punished for having the pool.