Mold can create financial problems for homeowners. Fortunately, sometimes home insurance will cover repairs for mold damage. Here’s what you need to know about when home insurance will cover mold.
What Is Home Insurance?
Home insurance is a type of insurance that protects your home and its contents. Home insurance will also cover you for personal liability related to accidents in your home. If your home is damaged, you can typically use your insurance policy to pay for repairs.
Does Home Insurance Cover Mold?
Home insurance policies cover a list of “covered perils.” These are events that may result in damage. In many cases, mold results from water seeping into your home’s structure. To determine if the mold damage is covered, you must review which water-related perils are covered in your policy.
For example, if the mold results from a malfunctioning appliance, a burst hot water heater, or a fire extinguishing, your policy will likely see the resulting damage as an outcome of a covered peril. If the hot water heater were the cause, your insurance would pay to repair the mold damage but not to replace the hot water heater.
What If A Flood Causes the Mold?
If a flood caused mold to begin forming in your home, a standard insurance policy likely wouldn’t cover the damage. This is because most home insurance policies don’t cover flood damage. Instead, you must purchase flood insurance to get that level of coverage. If you have flood insurance when the mold damage begins, your policy may extend to mold removal and repairs. Mold insurance is generally inexpensive, sitting at around $700 per year. At that rate, you can protect yourself completely from water-related damage.
What If The Mold Is The Result Of Negligence?
If you don’t perform proper upkeep on your home and mold forms, your insurance won’t cover it. For example, if you notice a leak beneath your sink and neglect to repair it for years, mold will form on the floor below. After significant time passes, the mold could overtake most of the surface, resulting in immense damage. In this instance, your insurance wouldn’t cover the damage because it could have been prevented with maintenance. Remember, if you are in a position to prevent mold damage, but you let it occur anyway, your home insurance won’t cover removal and repairs.
Get Home Insurance That Covers Mold
If you live in a moist area, home insurance that covers mold can be highly valuable. You may want to consider purchasing flood insurance to get the maximum coverage against mold. Although, it can be hard to find appropriate coverage all on your own.
To get help finding a home insurance policy that covers mold, contact Senior Benefits and Health Services at 844-657-0231.
