While you’re swimming laps in the pool, your valuables, along with your clothing, are stored in a locker at the swimming pool. But what happens if the locker is broken into and your mobile phone, wristwatch, and wallet are stolen?
It’s annoying: If swimming pool lockers are cracked, hopefully the insurance will cover it.
“In this case, the household insurance would cover the damage because it’s considered burglary theft,” says Martin Oetzmann, spokesperson for the Association of Insured Persons. The replacement of a driver’s license, ID card, and other important documents is often particularly annoying — at least the insurance covers the costs of obtaining new ones. Unfortunately, no one can compensate for the lost time and the nerves it takes to deal with all of this.
However, you should only take the essentials with you to the swimming pool, as illustrated by a judgment of the Higher Regional Court in Hamm (Case No.: 8 U 234/04): In the case under discussion, the court dismissed the damage claim of a sauna visitor. The visitor had locked 5,000 euros in cash and a watch worth more than 12,000 euros in his locker. Unknown individuals broke into the locker and stole the valuable contents. The sauna visitor then demanded compensation from the sauna operator, but the judges ruled against him. They argued that based on the lightweight construction of the lockers alone, the victim should have recognized that it was not a suitable place to store expensive luxury items.
If you want to make it particularly difficult for thieves, it’s best to rent a secure locker for your valuables during your visit to the swimming pool. These lockers are much harder to break into and are usually located where the pool staff can keep an eye on them. Your valuables should be truly safe in these lockers.
