Make Sure Your Mold Damage is Covered
If you’re settling a homeowner’s insurance policy, be sure to check all the boxes and this includes making sure mold damage is covered. Mold is a type of fungus that consists of small organisms found almost everywhere. They can be black, white, orange, green, or purple. Outdoors, molds play an important role in nature, breaking down dead leaves, plants, and trees. Molds thrive on moisture and reproduce by means of tiny, lightweight spores that travel through the air. However, indoor mold can form in the small corners of your home and pose serious health risks.
Most cases of mold infestations will be covered under the basic policy, but there are certain cases where the insurance company could deny the claim. See below for the following:
- If mold was caused by a peril that is not covered under your policy. For example: if a flood consumed your home and led to mold. but you do not have flood coverage. Your insurance carrier would not cover the mold damage.
- If the mold was caused by an exclusion like ‘wear and tear’. Did your old pipes wear out and caused a leak that led to the development of mold?
- If the mold formed because you did not maintain your home as you should have. Even if you may be covered for mold damage under your policy, if you fail to maintain your home like regularly inspecting your pipes for leaks, or quickly drying a wet area, your insurance provider will not cover the mold damage.
- Was the mold caused because you failed to mitigate additional damage to your home? Let’s say a leak starts in your kitchen and you just let the water run without taking action to reduce the damage to your home, your insurance provider will not cover it.
It’s important to recognize these facts for when you find yourself encountering a moldy problem. These issues come with a bundle of intricacies. Once mold damage has been claimed as a major loss, insurance companies can potentially give you a difficult time.
This is when a licensed public adjuster will come into play. They will make sure the insurance company does not take advantage of you and that you get everything you are owed to cover the removal of the mold and the damage that it has caused.