The capped one
Mould cover is capped, and the cap stretches further than people expect.
Where a policy answers for mould at all, it usually does so up to a stated limit rather than the full sum insured. That one figure often has to cover remediation, disposal, the opening up needed to reach growth, and any testing.
- 00Find the figure on your DeclarationsIt is named there. Everything else about mould cover follows from it.
- 01Work out how the water arrivedSudden and covered means the limit applies. A slow leak means it never comes into play.
- 02Ask the contractor to scope against itPlanning against the figure beats discovering it halfway through the work.
- 03Skip testing you do not needCDC does not recommend testing where growth is visible, and it comes out of the same limited pot.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
What has to fit inside the cap
Typically four things at once: the remediation itself, disposal of material that cannot be cleaned, the opening up needed to reach growth inside a wall or floor, and any sampling. Owners often assume the cap applies only to the first and find the other three consuming it.
Some insurers offer a higher limit as an option at renewal. It is among the cheaper things on a policy to increase.
The cause of the water, again
Mould after a sudden covered escape is usually handled inside that claim, subject to the limit. Mould that grew from a slow leak follows the gradual loss into the exclusion, and the limit never applies. How the water arrived decides it, not how bad the growth looks.
Where the money is better spent
On finding and stopping the moisture. EPA puts the do-it-yourself line at about 10 sq ft and is clear that sampling is usually unnecessary where growth is visible. Cleaning without fixing the water returns the growth on its original timetable, at every size.
What the limit means for you
The same figure means different things depending on what you are doing next.
- 01You own and live hereFind the limit before agreeing scope, and have the work planned against it.
Ask them: can you scope this against a stated limit and tell me when we would exceed it? - 02You own and let it outHealth complaints move faster than an insurer does. Fix the moisture source first; the limit argument can follow.
- 03You are sellingA documented remediation with an independent check is worth more at the table than an untested cleanup, whatever the limit paid for.
- 04You rentThe building is not yours to remediate. Report the damp in writing and keep copies.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
Where these figures come from
Published by someone other than us. Each link goes to their own words rather than to our summary of them.