Does Texas Home Insurance Cover Mold?

If you were a Ft Worth homeowner in the late 90's and early 2000's, you likely remember the black mold issue. Home Insurance policy contracts in Texas were written in such a way that the insurance companies were required to pay for the remediation of toxic mold found in homes. It cost the insurance companies a lot of money and several of them entangled in lawsuits quit offering policies for a period of time. In the end, the policy contracts were changed. Which leads us to the question, does your Texas home insurance policy cover mold?

Sudden And Accidental Discharge of Water

Standard home insurance policies written in the state of Texas include a provision of water damage coverage for sudden and accidental discharge of water. This means that the slow leak from your p-trap in the spare bathroom is not going to be covered as a water claim without added coverage, but the washing machine that explodes and floods your house will be. Mold remediation is going to follow this same train of thought. If your sudden and accidental discharge of water creates a situation where there is mold produced, the clean up of the mold is going typically going to be covered by your policy as well. That's the good news.

Wind & Hail Claims

With spring storm season in full swing, we are fielding phone calls from concerned customers due to storm damage. One of the recent calls had to do with water that had intruded their home as a result of shingle damage due to a hail claim situation. The water had come into their home and had elevated moisture levels in the ceiling and drywall. Upon opening the wall, there was mold already starting to form in insulation and studs behind the drywall. They wanted to know if this was covered. This story has a happy ending as the mold treatment was covered by their wind and hail coverage since the water intrusion was found and treated quickly.

Slow Leaks AKA Seepage and Leakage

This is where we tend to have bad news unless you have purchased optional coverage for your home. There are a couple of components involved with this type of mold coverage. First and foremost, there are many policies in Texas that do not offer any kind of coverage for slow leaks. This means no mold coverage either. Some policies do have slab leak coverage, which also includes the slow leak that more readily produces mold situations. But not all of them have provisions for mold remediation along with the leak correction. So it's best to read the fine print.

What Can I Do?

If you are ultimately concerned about making a claim for mold remediation, you need to inquire about coverage that spells out mold and fungi coverage in writing. This endorsement does exist, and you can purchase it. It will take care of the issue up to the sub-limit of the coverage. The downside is that this policy enhancement typically gets very expensive since most every home in North Texas has mold of some kind in it. Given that reality, the likelihood of a claim is very high. Just make sure you understand the policy language around what is and is not covered.

If you are interested in learning if your policy has mold coverage, simply speak to an independent insurance agent with Insurance for Texans. Our experts can scan the entire market place to find you the best possible solution to your coverage needs.