Mold Detection

One question that you need to ask your homeowners insurance agent is will your homeowners insurance pay for mold removal. Did you know that many insurance policies now carry limitations on mold remediation and mold detection. This means that your policy will only pay up to a specified limit for detection and clean up of mold. You may find that your policy excludes mold entirely. In this case, you won’t receive any insurance funds for the clean up. It is important to check the provisions of your policy to see how your policy responds.

Damage from mold growth should be considered a covered loss and not due to improper maintenance. Many insurance companies turn down claims where the home owner’s actions or inactions cause the mold to grow or to be undetected.  However, sometimes standard homeowner’s policies do cover certain types of sudden accidental water damage although most will not cover damage from mold that occurs after the initial damage so that is why it is important to have professional mold detection done along with the moisture clean up and regularly thereafter in order to properly detect any mold infestation that might be occurring behind the scenes in your home.

Standard homeowners policies typically do not cover moisture and mold problems that are caused by continuous water seepage, repeated leaks, humidity, condensation and landscape drainage problems. If these moist conditions exist in your home make sure to repair them quickly and have a properly trained professional detect any mold problems. This is important so as to prevent any serious mold growth that will not be covered by an insurance policy.

Often a Standard homeowners policy will cover problems caused by burst pipes, sump pump failure and sewer backups if the underlying problem is taken care of quickly. However, it the homeowner fails to report the problem quickly then it is likely that the mold situation will be considered a  maintenance problem and thus not covered by the insurance policy.

Some insurance companies have taken steps to avoid mold insurance claims by excluding all mold related damage, requiring additional riders for mold damage coverage, limiting the total insurance payout for mold expenses and placing restrictions on the types of structures that they will insure against mold damage. Another factor is that some mold related expenses will be covered by insurance companies while others won’t be. For example, a company may cover clean-up expenses but not pay for professional mold detection and remediation. Also, if your home has a history of leaks and water damage or is made with materials know to have mold problems, such as synthetic stucco, they may also refuse to pay your claim or insure you at all.

I don’t know it this is transferable to you or not. It will depend on the state or country you live in  But, once you encounter a serious mold problem, it is one foot after the other, day after day, until you get your life back.  You may not be focusing on the free mold detection that your mold detection company needs to have. Still, it happens. You could almost do it on remote control. There are things you can do to find one that’s cheap and effective.

I know that it is difficult to justify resources to do mold detection effectively. I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. I don’t see much hope for mold detection dogs in that area, however. But, here is what it is. It’s not the same old mold detection and remediation you’re use to. I know you would like to sink your teeth into this idea right away. If you aren’t familiar with it you should be. Unfortunately risk is part of home mold detection when it comes to insurance companies.