Does Home Insurance Cover Things Like Mold and Floods?

As a homeowner, you may need to account for many threats that could damage your home and property, potentially leading to expensive financial losses. Mold and floods can often impact basements, cellars, and other parts of your home, requiring you to pay hefty costs for remediation and repairs. This is where it becomes essential for you to understand how and when your home insurance policy may be able to assist with resulting expenses.

Can Home Insurance Cover Mold?

Home insurance policies can be customized and tailored to suit your unique circumstances, including your needs, risk tolerance and budget. In most standard policies, certain mold issues can be covered, allowing you to receive a payout to aid in removal and remediation costs. However, claims may be denied in certain situations.

Standard home insurance policies can typically cover mold-related losses from sudden events, such as a pipe bursting and causing a moisture issue, promoting mold growth. Conversely, your policy may not offer coverage if your mold problem is the result of long-term negligence or insufficient maintenance, such as if a pipe has slowly been leaking for an extended period of time and you failed to remedy the issue.

Additionally, while it may be fair to consider floods a sudden incident similar to a burst pipe, mold infestations caused by floodwater entering your home are typically not covered by standard home insurance policies.

Can My Policy Cover Floods?

Your home insurance policy may not cover mold caused by floods because standard coverage typically excludes floods as a covered peril. This means that unless you secure additional insurance specifically to address flooding, you may need to pay out of pocket for resulting mold issues and any other losses and damages.

Flood insurance should be considered an essential investment for many homeowners, as heavy rains, overflowing bodies of water and damaged infrastructure could all lead to significant losses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program and many private insurers can offer coverage options to suit your needs and financially protect both the structural elements of your home and its contents.

We’re Here to Help

Contact Primero Insurance today to learn more about coverage options that are capable of financially protecting you from the consequences of mold and floods.

This blog is intended for informational and educational use only. It is not exhaustive and should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact your insurance professional for further information.