When my husband and I bought our first bounce house we wanted to consider everything! Whether you set up with the intention of inviting other children over or just plan on using it with your family, a backyard toy as fun as a bounce house is sure to attract neighborhood kids that want to play. I wanted to know if we could welcome other kids to play without worrying about liability concerns. We researched insurance and liability waivers to make sure we had all of our bases covered before inflating our bounce house in our backyard.
Do you need insurance for your bounce house? If you decide to rent out your inflatable as a business then you absolutely need to invest in insurance. If your bounce house is primarily to be used by your family in your backyard, there are a few things to consider. We will explain them in detail below but in brief, they are:
1: whether backyard toys are included in your homeowner’s insurance,
2: If you need neighbors to sign a liability waiver before allowing their kids to jump on the bounce house.
These are not simple decisions to consider. We have combed through different insurance options and online forums regarding neighborhood backyard waivers to give you enough details for you to decide which option will work best for your family.
Insurance For Rental Business
First of all, I want to make it very clear that if you are buying a bounce house or inflatable with the intention to rent them out as a business then you absolutely need to be covered by insurance. Make sure you find reputable, quality insurance that specializes in party entertainment rental equipment or specifically inflatable bounce houses. Here are a few to check out to get your search started:
Cossio Insurance Agency
www.weinsureinflatables.com
864-688-0121
The Friedman Group
www.friedman-group.com
877-580-7066
Accordia
www.accordia.com
952-830-3039
Neil Oliver Insurance Company
www.inflatableinsurance.com
770-478-6548
Sterling & Sterling
www.sterlingrisk.com
516-773-8673
Secondly, if you plan to rent your bounce house for a party, always double check that the company that you rent the inflatables from are insured! Double check the rules and type of play that are included in their coverage and be strict about what kind of fun you allow. Especially when you are inviting other friends to the party and you are the only one signing the company’s insurance forms, you want to make sure you are completely sure of what you could be liable for.
Homeowner’s Insurance: If you are purchasing a bounce house for personal use in your backyard for your kids or family, it would be worth your time to check into your homeowner’s insurance policy. Most homeowner’s insurance does not cover accidents on play equipment in the backyard. However, if you choose to, some insurances have the option of adding them. This will most likely increase your payments. Depending upon your coverage it may increase your payments by $50-$100. If your insurance agent does not know about bounce house coverage, consider asking them about trampoline, treehouse or playground equipment coverage to see if it would extend to a bounce house. After considering your current insurance coverage and discussing your specific situation with an agent in your area I’m confident you will have a good idea about whether insurance is necessary. Some communities just tend to sue more often than others. Even if you decide not to get insurance for your backyard adventures, this phone call will definitely not be a waste of time as it will give you more confidence and peace of mind when setting up rules for your bounce house and allowing (or not allowing) neighborhood kids to come to play.
Neighborhood Waiver before playing:
If you were worried about liability before calling your insurance agent, you possibly found out that the additional coverage for backyard toys was more than you wanted to spend. Is there a way around this?! One option is to have your neighbors sign a liability waiver before their kids can come to play. There are a lot of different opinions readily offered online about this idea. I’ll sum them up for you:
- Some people wonder if a waiver will even hold up in court. This depends on a lot of different factors, however in general, if someone has signed a waiver they are much less likely to press charges. Not only will a parent be more hesitant to press charges, but if a waiver is presented for signing than it sends a clear message to parents to monitor their children when they are in your backyard. It takes the assumed responsibility of the homeowner and clearly places it back in the hands of the child’s parents (where it should be) if they allow them to play on your property.
- Legal implications aside, one of the most common concerns about a neighborhood “playdate” waiver was offending the people you live close to. Although some people seem understanding, it was more common that people felt the waiver sent a clear message of a cold shoulder as opposed to a warm neighborly welcome. If you do decide to get signed waivers from neighbors, I would definitely recommend sending some cookies along or a detailed explanation for the normally odd request. If you explain that the waiver is to avoid a huge insurance payment increase or because of previous bad experience, neighbors will be much more understanding and it won’t start your relationships off on the wrong foot.
If you are not new to the area, you will have a good pulse on what kind of neighborhood kids live around you. Think about your added bounce house like you would a trampoline. Would you be afraid to let neighbors play on your trampoline or other backyard toys? Would they respect your trampoline rules? If you are clearly worried about their child’s safety than no parent should question your concerns.
Is a bounce house safe for neighborhood kids?
Sometimes neighborhood kids play differently than your own children and you want to make sure your backyard is safe before inviting new adventurers over to explore. One of the biggest worries about bounce house safety is from news reports showing disturbing images of bounce houses blowing away. Take two simple precautions to make sure this doesn’t happen in your backyard by tying down your bounce house properly and by not setting it up on a windy day.
Set the bounce house up in a good location without rocks or sharp objects around as temptations to bring onto the bounce house.
It is also a good idea to establish rules anytime someone new comes to play. If your children are old enough and responsible you can rehearse the rules with them and have them teach and remind their friends. Two basic rules in our house are that shoes are not allowed on the bounce house and that sharp objects are not allowed by or on the bounce house. We have a few designated bounce house toys that keep them plenty entertained.
Have a few games up your sleeve to teach the children new ways to play on the bounce house safely such as tag or orchestrating races with additional obstacles to run through before or after the bounce house.
Keep in mind that the bounce house itself has passed several safety protocols before it could be available on the market. If it is set up correctly and the rules on the manual are followed than safety should not be a concern.
Related Questions:
How much is insurance for commercial bounce houses?
Insurance to rent your bounce house will cost about $2500-$3,000 for 1-2 million dollars liability. This covers a small business that is renting out 4-5 inflatable toys total.
Where can I get a liability release form?
There are several options online for liability release forms that do not require paying a lawyer. The following website offers a great basic form that is free and easily printable.
https://legaltemplates.net/form/release-of-liability-waiver/
Remember to include a more friendly letter with an explanation and some form of cookies to accompany this legal and un-neighborly form request as recommended above.