Does home insurance cover mold?
Homeowners insurance will cover mold if a covered peril caused the damage, including:
Fire
Lightning
Vandalism or malicious mischief
Damage caused by vehicles
Theft
Falling objects
Weight of ice, snow, or sleet
Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam from plumbing, heating, air conditioners, sprinkler systems or household appliances
Frozen pipes
Here are some real-world examples of when home insurance will likely cover mold removal and repair:
An ice dam forms in a roof gutter during a rough winter. Water backs up under your shingles. The water leaks into your attic, soaks your attic floor and insulation and creates mold.
A pipe bursts in your home and dumps gallons of water on the floor and saturates drywall. Mold begins to form before you call.
A washer hose springs a leak and damages behind your washer. The washer hose isn’t old, you stop the leak and report the damage immediately, but not before mold forms.
These are “sudden and accidental” incidents. Insurance companies typically cover this type of damage. In fact, non-weather-related water damage is one of the most common home insurance claims and one of the most expensive.
On the other hand, there are times when home insurance won’t cover you for mold damage. Here are some examples.
Your basement pipes freeze and burst. You don’t notice it for a few weeks. Now, you have six inches of water on your floor and mold growing.
Broken shingles on your 40-year-old roof allow water into the attic. Water saturates wood and insulation and leads to mold in the attic.
Mold forms in your shower. You don’t think much about it until one day you notice that it’s really unsightly and you’re concerned about whether it’s making your family sick.
