Understanding Mold Insurance Coverage

2/19/2020 (Permalink)

Moldy drywall in Cedar City, UT home.

Have you noticed fungus growth in your home, leaving you to wonder about mold insurance coverage? Unfortunately, most homeowner's policies do not cover mold damage in general, but there are specific circumstances where some coverage may be possible. However, to get the full benefit of your policy, it is necessary to understand four aspects of mold insurance coverage.

Mold Insurance Coverage

• Peril coverage
• Mold caps
• Preventable damage
• Professional inspections

Peril Coverage

When it comes to a typical homeowner policy, the mold coverage is likely limited to listed perils. In other words, if your home develops a mold problem because of a fire or sudden pipe break, then mold removal may be covered, but the specifics will need to be addressed by an adjuster.

Mold Caps

There are some policies the will cover a portion of the removal of fungus growth. However, these specific policies likely have strict caps on coverage limits. Therefore, while your plan may include some of the damage, you will typically still be required to pay a portion of the removal and remediation expense.

Preventable Damage

Regardless of how your policy handles mold claims, a claim is likely to be rejected or denied if the damage incurred is determined to have been avoidable or due to negligence. For example, if you failed to fix a leak or if you didn't clean your gutters resulting in roof damage and leading to mold.

Professional Inspections

While some insurance policies will cover some mold damage, the best option for homeowners is prevention. Therefore, stick to annual home inspections by a professional remediation company in Cedar City, UT. Being diligent about inspections should allow you to prevent most water-related issues, protecting your home from the risk of mold.

While fungus growth is a common problem for homeowners, it is necessary to understand the most homeowners' policies do not cover mold damage. However, there are specific situations where coverage is possible, but the best practice is still prevention.