What is Mold Insurance?

Interestingly enough there is now such as thing as mold insurance to deal with insurance claims dealing with mold. Due to the increase in mold related claims most insurance companies have introduced clauses that exclude mold and damage from mold from insurance policies. Mold litigation and claims have increased exponential and mold has become a top concern for insurance companies.

As health problems increased due to HVAC systems and building materials it has become apparent that most of these issues are due to mold. New building codes have been inducted to prevent health problems but mold is still a problem. Mold is also related with property and content damage.

Currently there is no insurance coverage for mold available in standard insurance policies though insurance companies and landlords pay huge sums in litigation and damages due to mold. You can purchase additional mold coverage put it is very expensive. Most mold claims dealing with property are due to some sort of negligence or construction issue on the landlord’s part. Property owners can be liable if they had knowledge of the issue but did nothing to resolve the mold problem.

Mold illnesses claims are more difficult to prove therefore liability from mold for health reasons is not as damaging as property issues. The main reason is that the link between mold and the symptoms cannot be strongly linked. Additionally the injury from mold tends to be apparent immediately and most times, though not all, the mold illness is not severe or permanent. There are no known regulations for the safe level of mold and its relation to human health so it is difficult to prove if the level of mold was the cause of health problems.

Property owners should determine if their current policy has mold coverage. You need to be sure that there is no mold exclusion in the policy. If you believe that your property is susceptible to mold then you should take preventative steps and purchase mold insurance. Many times owners will take out mold insurance when they are having renovations done or other construction as they will have access to hard to get to areas such as between walls.

If your home is properly ventilated, you do not have very damp or humid weather and keep the area clean then you should not have any mold problems. However landlords cannot ensure that tenants will be as clean as they would so if you think there might be the slightest chance of mold problems it may be a smart idea to obtain mold insurance.