Mold Insurance Answers and Information

            Q. If I submit a mold claim to my insurance company in Massachusetts, will my house be put on a "bad" or watch or some kind of contamination list? [March 27, 2005]
            A. Whether or not an insurance claim for water damage or mold damage is even paid by the insurance company, most companies submit water and mold claims made by their policyholders to the C.L.U.E. insurance industry database of water and mold damaged properties, making insurance potentially more expensive and/or hard to get, especially for a new buyer wanting to buy your property in the future. Before you submit a claim, make sure you are eligible to collect by carefully reading your policy. You might want to seek advice from an insurance lawyer or from an independent insurance adjuster [works on a commission basis just for you against your insurance company]. Also your claim should be large in dollar amount [besides being collectible] to make the damage to your property's C.L.U.E. report worth it financially. Most insurance policies have several ways to deny mold claims, including an outright denial of coverage for mold-related claims. Whether your are doing the work yourself, or your hire a capable Certified Mold Remediator, learn the 25 steps for safe and effective mold remediation  Learn about effective mold inspection and mold testing procedures.

           Q. Help!  I believe I have a rampant mold problem in my Massachusetts home.  During the warmer months I use a dehumidifier in my basement (which needs to be manually emptied).  Last August after being away for three weeks on vacation, I returned home to find a white "film" over my dining room set and a moldy smell.  (My #1 allergy is mold.) A few weeks ago, my water pipes froze and burst, resulting in a small amount of water damage to a crawlspace. Ever since, my allergy symptoms have been out of control. I contacted a mold remediation company who tell me that just the testing phase by an industrial hygienist will run anywhere from $1,000 - $3,000.  Yikes! My house was built in 1789, is situated on a slope, so that the basement walls are whitewashed field stone and there is a "walk out" in the back of the basement with a cement ramp which, when rains are heavy, result in the water coming into the cellar. After reading some of the fine points on your Web site, I realize that I've been living for the past 10 years in the "perfect house."  That is, if you want an example of what to do to ENCOURAGE mold growth.  Leaky gutters, clothes dryer not vented to the outside, attic not vented, crawlspace not vented, poor air circulation, etc. I don't have much money. Where can I start?  Will filing a claim with my homeowner's insurance help? [March 24, 2004]
        A. It is unlikely you can collect from your insurance company for mold which results from maintenance neglect over the years. Most insurance policies specifically exclude mold damage [and sometimes now even water damage] from insurance coverage. In the old days [2 years ago] before insurance policy mold exclusions, insurance companies would require that the mold be directly the result from the happening of an insured peril such as a sudden and accidental water line break, flood, wind roof damages, etc. Even when there was mold insurance coverage from such water accidents, insurance companies' claims adjuster and lawyers used every stalling tactic they could think of to keep from paying for mold damage. Since your budget is limited, your first affordable step to assess the mold damage to your home and the health threat to your family is to use do it yourself mold test kits available form a large hardware or home improvement store to mold test the air of the basement, each room, attic, and the outward air flow from heating/cooling duct registers for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in comparison to an outdoor mold control test which you should also do. To get rid of the mold infestation, follow the steps for safe and effective mold remediation and mold abatement at Mold Removal.   Mold remediation is most affordable when you use the do-it-yourself approach.
          Q. Our house is infested by black mold which makes everybody sick. We are going to move out our house by this week and told not to take anything with us. We are so naive about this situation and do not know what to expect from collecting on a mold insurance claim. My question is the insurance said that they can clean the wood furniture's, but what about the mattress the cloth sofa and couch? we are planning to dispose this things and we want to file a mold insurance claim from our insurance because we think that it will be hard to clean this particular item. Do you think we are right? can we demand that our mold insurance company pay for health purposes that we need to disposed anything that is a treat to our health. I am scared because I do not know how bad is our health now, we still have to see a doctor to find out about our health especially my two children who are sick all the time. [Feb. 21, 2002]
          A. In your mold insurance claim, you should insist upon new replacements for any soft materials like mattresses and upholstered furniture. Although such items can sometimes be effectively cleaned of mold contamination, results are not necessary mold-free and the cost can be considerable. By representing yourself against the insurance company, you are asking to be taken advantage of by the insurance company. You will probably get a bigger settlement more quickly if you are represented by either a public insurance adjuster [represents only you against the insurance company on a commission basis], especially a mold insurance adjuster, or a plaintiff's attorney who specializes in suing insurance companies for bad faith in not paying mold insurance claims.

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