Renters Insurance is one of the best ways to protect your property against damage and get reimbursed if such damage should ever occur. Also known as the named perils policy, it will cover the financial obligations of replacing your property if it gets damaged or destroyed due to a covered peril. Such perils include malicious human activities, weather hazards, fire, water, etc. Most policies will state the perils covered, and unless you’re getting an all-risk policy, the excluded perils will be stated too in a separate section. While most renters insurance includes coverage for water damage, they don't usually cover mold. If your policy excludes mold damage, you will need to get additional coverage, which is known as an endorsement. Even where you get one, it may be limited to a particular amount. Here, you’ll learn about renter insurance and mold damage.
Water and Mold Damage
Moisture or Excess water is what causes mold; your renter insurance covers most types of water damage such as accidental overflow or discharge, leakages, pipes bursting, etc. On the other hand, other forms of water damage such as sewer overflow and flooding are excluded from renters insurance coverage. However, any of these causes of water damage can lead to mold. If such mold should damage your property, you will not be eligible for reimbursement regardless of whether the peril is included or excluded. The term mold damage in a renters insurance policy covers damage by dry rot, wet rot, bacteria, and fungus. While most policies will exclude mold damage, some may provide coverage for mold caused by water damage. If it is not explicitly excluded, your policy will cover it.
Exception To the Exclusion of Mold Damage
In a situation where your policy excludes mold, bacteria, fungus, or rot damage, it will usually include a caveat for such damage that can NLR be fixed by you for a good reason. This typically covers mold under the floors, above or within the ceilings, or within the walls of your home. Thus, mold damage that results from water damage may be covered if it is hidden and could not have been noticed. For mold within the building structure, the landlord is responsible for this, and the homeowner insurance will have its rules on such mold damage. When the mold within the building structure, such as walls, floors, or ceilings, should damage your personal belongings, you may need to file a claim with the insurance provider for your landlord and get reimbursed for the damage through your landlord coverage.
Where Mold Damage Can Be Covered
There are instances where the renters' policy will cover mold damage. This is usually when mold occurs from other named perils under which it is not excluded, unlike the accidental steam and water discharge peril. For instance, in case of vandalism, which leads to spillage on your rug, which eventually causes mold to develop, you may be able to file reinforcements for the rug because this is a named peril that is unlikely to have an exclusion for mold damage resulting from vandalism. On the other hand, you can decide to get an endorsement that adds mold damage coverage to your policy. Also called a rider, an endorsement is additional coverage that adds more covered perils or increases the limits of liability that the insurer will pay you for a claim.