When Does Home Insurance Cover Mold?

Homeowners insurance policies often include vague wording regarding mold coverage, and it can be difficult to determine whether any mold damage you encounter will be covered. Policies typically exclude coverage for mold damage, except when the mold is the result of a covered claim, such as water damage.

When does homeowners insurance cover mold removal?

Mold removal is only covered when the source of the mold is a peril already covered in your homeowners insurance policy, such as water damage. Standard homeowners insurance policies protect you from water damage caused by sudden and accidental incidents, such as a burst pipe or an overflow resulting from a malfunctioning AC unit.

Examples of when mold is covered by home insurance

How much will insurance cover for mold?

Mold damage can cost between $15,000 and $30,000 to remediate, so insurance companies have enacted several measures to reduce their risk. One of them is reducing the amount they will pay for mold damage — even if it is caused by a covered peril. Typically, insurance policies state a maximum limit of between $1,000 and $10,000 for mold remediation.

If you want to purchase mold coverage above that amount, it can usually be added as an optional rider. However, if you live in a mold-prone state, such as Florida, this coverage can be expensive to obtain.

When does homeowners insurance exclude coverage for mold?

Over time, a minor leak could cause mold to spread throughout the surrounding area. If you tried to file a claim for the leak — and the resulting mold — weeks or even days after the leak became apparent, your insurance provider would likely claim that you failed to act immediately and therefore deny coverage.

Also, no mold damage resulting from a regional flood is covered, since flooding is a peril excluded from your homeowner's insurance policy. However, if you purchased a separate flood insurance policy, that coverage would extend to any mold damage caused by a flood.

Examples of when mold isn't covered

How to file a claim when you have mold

This is ideal, since it can minimize damage and prevent you from paying a deductible for two separate claims — one for repairing the damage from the burst pipe, the other for the future mold removal.

In these situations, ask your insurance agent if the necessary mold remediation is totally covered by your claim. Also, keep meticulous records of all damaged areas and repairs in order to support potential future claims. In other cases, you might discover mold some time after water damage has occurred.

In these situations, you need to prove that the mold resulted from the covered peril and not a new leak or lack of maintenance. If this is true, follow these steps to file a claim:

As best as possible, try to prove that this mold is related to your initial water damage claim. That way, you won't get stuck paying two separate deductibles. However, it's in your insurance company's best interest to view the damage as a separate claim. So you shouldn't be surprised if you encounter some resistance when trying to reopen a former claim.

Consider switching your homeowners insurance company

Ask your homeowners insurance company whether it provides coverage for mold. Some insurance companies, like State Farm, have dropped coverage for mold altogether, even if it's a result of storm damage. However, there are still some large national insurance companies that provide coverage for mold.

How can you prevent mold growth?

The cheapest way to deal with mold is by preventing it from growing in the first place. This is especially important for homeowners in mold-prone states such as Florida or Louisiana. You can achieve this by regularly cleaning, ventilating and dehumidifying areas prime for mold growth, or by doing the following:

Being mindful of this list could help you save thousands of dollars over the course of your homeownership. However, if you do suffer a home flood, there are also several measures you can take to make sure mold doesn't grow before you can get a mold prevention team into the affected area.

How do you know whether there's mold in your home?

Another key way to prevent mold growth is to identify it before it has the chance to spread. The larger the infestation, the more costly it will be to remediate. Mold can hide behind your walls, under your carpets and behind your fridge. You can use your senses to detect mold in your home.

Smelling mold

Mold has a distinct musty scent. Some compare it to the smell of rotting leaves in late autumn. The smell will be strongest in rooms where the mold is growing. However, if the smell becomes apparent when you turn on your home AC or heating unit, then the mold is likely in that system.

If you smell mold but can't see it, it may be under a carpet or appliance, or behind a wall, so you may need to call a mold inspection team to locate it.

Seeing mold

To quickly determine if an area does contain mold, ask yourself if it makes sense for mold to be growing in that area. If the area is often humid (a bathroom), or poorly ventilated and unlit (a basement), then it is likely that mold is growing there.

Getting sick from mold

Another way to detect mold is to consider whether you or your family have been experiencing the physical symptoms of mold exposure. These can include the following:

All of the above symptoms may be related to a multitude of illnesses — especially allergies and the common cold. However, you can distinguish between a common illness and mold exposure if you can determine whether the symptoms are worse on evenings and weekends, when you spend more time at home. Also, if others in your home display similar symptoms over a long stretch of time, you may have a mold problem.