I had a roof leak from hail damage. I think we have mold in our atticor somewhere in the house. Our adjuster didn't check it, I can't get in there because of my asthma. I have a musty smell all through my house and my son and I keep getting sick. Will insurance cover it since it covered the roof? If our lab test says we have mold, what should we do?
2007-01-25 10:19:49 · 7 answers · asked by Angelica H 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Insurance
This may depend on the state you live in but I live in Pennsylvania and had water pipes freeze and bust on me a few years ago. When I called my insurance guy to see if it was covered, he told me that if I even mentioned water damage to him in an "official" capacity, that would be added to an insurance database. Then not only would my insurance company drop me but I would not be able to get insurance from anyone else either. The only way I'd be able to get insurance (or any future person who bought my house) would be through a state-sponsered high-risk plan which would cost triple what I was currently paying. That's because water damage=mold damage and the insurance companies are now scared to death of mold claims because they can be horrendous and VERY costly to fix. If you turn this in as a claim, you not only will have problems keeping your insurance, you would have a hard time ever selling this house because the new owners wouldn't be able to get it insured. Kind of a Catch-22, isn't it? Makes you wonder why you pay premiums!
2007-01-25 10:28:35 · answer #1 · answered by Cyndie 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Mold
2016-10-06 13:41:33 · answer #2 · answered by Erika 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well ALL houses have mold, of one kind or another. The question is, is it that poisonous black mold that scares everyone.
Regarding the homeowners policy - MOST policies exclude ALL coverage for mold. A few high end policies, have a LIMITED amount of "mold remediation" coverage - limited, like $5,000 of coverage.
So, what to do. If you haven't SEEN mold, then you don't know it's there. You can't put a claim in for damage that you haven't seen. You need to either have someone go up in the attic and search for mold, if you think it's there - but must smell throughout the house is PROBABLY not attic mold.
More likely it's a humidity problem, or old carpets, or some such.
If it were me, I'd buy a dehumidifier to dry out the house, and climb up into that attic with a really good flashlight. You could also call your agent, and say, hey, is there any mold coverage on my policy? Or read the policy yourself, to see if there's any coverage. But probably not.
So do whatever you'd do to treat it, as if there isn't any coverage.
2007-01-25 13:17:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even if you don't file a claim, have your attic inspected by a licensed mold remediation company ASAP! Mold needs water to survive, so if the colony is active, it means that your roof is leaking somewhere and needs to be fixed ASAP! Check your yellow pages or go on-line to find a local company (i.e. servpro)
Mold won't go away on its own.
2007-01-26 06:32:25 · answer #4 · answered by NHMike 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
once you've an "all threat" coverage, you've insurance for the water harm. you received't have insurance to seal around the leaking vent. If that is an ongoing difficulty. you received't have insurance for rot, mould, etc.
2016-10-16 02:46:08 · answer #5 · answered by chardip 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It should, and probably will. State Farm does.
2007-01-25 10:27:17 · answer #6 · answered by da_hammerhead 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I too want to ask the same question
2016-08-23 16:11:58 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋