Mold. It's not just what's for dinner.

I was reading a recent article from Jeff Gelles in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The article was titled “It’s worth learning ins, out of Homeowner insurance.” This is timely as we counsel our clients on the coverage heading into 2015.

He mentioned a few items that everyone should discuss with their insurance professional. They are as follows:

Mold. “…my policy isn’t alone in applying new limitations. It not only excludes primary coverage for mold itself. In a separate “policy endorsement”-insurance speak for a change in terms-Allstate sets up a $5,000 cap for remediation of mold, fungus, rot, even if caused by an event, such as a burst pipe, that the policy covers.”

Mold is a challenging issue. Mold is ONLY covered if it is the result of a covered loss. When you find mold on the boxes stored in the basement, there is no coverage from any policy. The $5,000 limit is standard among most policies and the remediation of the mold, fungus, or rot is limited to $5,000. This is not a coverage that can be increased, even for an additional premium.

More to come.