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Toxic Mold - It's Not the Next Asbestos (by Barry
MacNaughton - Novevember/December 2002 issue of
Real Estate Reporter)
Mold and Homeowner Insurance (Washington State
Office of the Insurance Commissioner)
Mold and the Insurance Industry (Insurance Information
Institute)
Mold Facts and Homeowners Insurance (Department
of Insurance for Illinois)
General Insurance Information
The following was provided by the Southwestern
Insurance Information Services. Visit their website
at www.siisinfo.org.
For additional information:
8705 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 212
Austin, Texas 78757-6848
Phone: (512) 458-8214
Fax: (512) 458-9363
Contact: Jerry Johns
Contact: Sandra Ray
Molds occur naturally in almost all indoor environments.
Mold spores may also enter a home through open
doorways and windows, or heating, ventilation,
and air conditioning systems. Most homeowners would
benefit from a few helpful tips which might prevent
or reduce the formation of molds in their home
and keep any possible mold damage to a minimum.
Most of these actions are easy to perform and can
help significantly prevent the formation or spreading
of mold growth.
Repair water leaks in your home or business immediately
and mop or wipe dry any wet surfaces.
Conduct a routine inspection of your property
for water leaks and pay special attention to dishwashers,
refrigerators, water heaters, kitchen sinks, attics,
roofs and areas around windows.
According to the National Centers for Disease
Control, in most cases molds can be removed by
a thorough cleaning with a solution of bleach and
water. In areas where home flooding has occurred,
walls and other flood damaged items should be promptly
cleaned.
Insurers recommend that saturated
carpet or furniture should be removed from oneÕs
home but not discarded until an adjuster can
properly assess the loss.
Replace aging washing machine and icemaker hoses.
The failure of washing machine hoses costs about
$150 million in damage to homes each year in the
U. S. and Canada.
Try to maintain humidity levels in your home or
business at low levels through the use of air conditioning
or a dehumidifier.
Buy a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA rated filter.
These filters will filter out mold spores from
the air as they vacuum.
Keep the condensation pans in air conditioning
and heating units clean and draining well.
Be aware of the presence of
odors that signify excessive moisture or mold
growths. Molds and mildew often create an odor
that is pungent and musty smelling, or "aromatic." If
you notice a musty smell in your house, contact
a qualified inspector to determine the source.
Are molds something to be alarmed
about? "No," says
Carol Johnson, an epidemiologist with the National
Centers for Disease Control. Molds (fungi) are
present everywhere - indoors and outdoors, in the
air and on most common surfaces.
There are more than 100,000 known species of mold.
At least 1,000 species of mold are common in the
United States. Many molds are vital to our everyday
life and are used in the production of everything
from baked goods to penicillin.
However, the contamination of homes by mold infestations
has recently been in the national news. Several
multi-million dollar lawsuits against insurance
companies, related to mold damage claims, indicate
this issue is a major consideration for insurance
carriers in the future.
The following points related to typical residential
insurance coverage of mold damage and current scientifically
based information on molds and health effects should
be considered:
If a homeowner has a covered loss, insurers will
provide an estimate of the cost of repair or replacement
and make payments as outlined in the policy.
An investigation of the claim may require calling
upon experts to determine the cause, origin and
toxicity of the mold. They may also be asked to
recommend the appropriate repair method.
Each claim will be handled according to its own
unique facts and the terms and provisions of the
insurance policy.
If a covered mold loss makes a dwelling uninhabitable,
or if an extended loss investigation and evaluation
is required, additional living expenses may be
provided to the resident as outlined in the insurance
policy.
The cost of a single mold claim ranges from $10,000
to $100,000 for an investigation, additional living
expenses and remediation, if necessary.
Insurers estimate that anticipated claims resulting
from mold contamination could result in at least
a 30 to 40 percent increase in the cost of homeowners
insurance in Texas.
Depending on the amount of exposure, and a person's
individual susceptibility, health impacts - such
as mild fevers and breathing problems can occur,
but are very unusual.
Many symptoms associated with mold exposure are
common symptoms of other widespread illnesses such
as colds, influenza, and other allergies. It is
almost impossible to attribute these symptoms to
just one cause.
Mold exposure typically does not present a health
problem. However, some people may be sensitive
to exposure to molds. Though not proven, certain
individuals with chronic respiratory diseases (i.e.
chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, asthma,
etc.) may claim to experience some discomfort or
increased symptoms of their disorder from mold.
Individuals with immune disorders may be at increased
risk for sensitivity to a variety of environmental
factors.
There are very few reports that molds may produce
toxic compounds (those containing certain mycotoxins)
inside homes that claim cause unique or rare, health
conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory
loss. There are so few actual case studies to date,
that a proven link between the presence of toxic
mold in a home or building, and the extreme health
conditions listed, has not been proven.
Large mold infestations can usually be seen or
smelled.
Stachybotrys chartarum and a related species Stachybotrys
atra are known to produce mycotoxins under certain
circumstances, and have received the most publicity
related to claimed health impacts.
Constant moisture is required for Stachybotrus
and other molds to grow.
Mold growing in homes and buildings, whether it
is Stachybotrys chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) or
other molds, almost always indicates that there
is a water leak water or the presence of excessive
moisture. The conditions allowing the mold (such
as water leaks, excessive condensation, infiltration,
or flooding) should first be repaired to prevent
the mold from growing.
Routine maintenance and common-sense repair measures
taken by home and building owners will almost always
prevent mold growth in the home and workplace.
In most cases mold can be easily removed by a
thorough cleaning with a solution of bleach and
water.
The U. S. National Center for Disease Control
has stated that they do not believe that anyone
needs to take any different precautions with Stachybotrys
chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) than with preventing
the growth of any other mold species.
There is a surprising lack of scientific knowledge
about the proven dangers that molds may present,
and the many claims that are being made are the
subject of great controversy.
No scientific studies have been performed to date
that establish a direct relationship between mold
contamination and health impacts. As a result,
no doctor or health official can establish what
levels of mold are safe or unsafe in a home, school
or office building.
Currently there are no Federal regulations for
evaluating potential health effects of fungal contamination
and remediation.
Any area with observed mold growth can easily
be sampled by an environmental consultant. However
the analysis to determine the species of mold present
must be performed by a laboratory specializing
in microbiology and these tests are very expensive
- from hundreds to thousands of dollars. There
is no simple and inexpensive way to sample the
air in a home or building to find out what types
of mold are present.
Even if a dwelling is tested for mold, it is impossible
to say at what levels health effects would occur.
The most effective way to prevent and treat for
mold contamination is to correct the underlying
causes of the moisture that is present, which allows
the mold to thrive.
Stachybotrys chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) are
naturally occurring molds and are found nearly
everywhere. At present there is no scientific test
that has proven an association between Stachybotrys
chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) and any particular
health symptoms.
Among the many reasons excess mold forms are broken
water lines, leaky plumbing and roofs, improperly
vented bathrooms, and excessive humidity. Some
of these causes may be covered by homeowner's insurance
policies and some are not. The terms of insurance
coverage usually require that a sudden and accidental
loss occur before claims under the policy are payable.
The insured should contact his or her agent immediately
in the event they believe they have experienced
a loss, so that investigation and the necessary
repairs can be made as soon as possible.
ADDITIONAL MESSAGE POINTS:
In the courtrooms, homeowners, renters and office
workers are squaring off against builders, contractors,
and insurance companies in an attempt to assign
blame to a problem that can cost tens, if not hundreds
of thousands of dollars per building to repair.
In some cases, the costs can reach into the millions,
and they may exceed the value of the buildings
themselves.
Like any other right or safeguard, the civil justice
system can be abused and distorted in claims cases.
Uncontrolled misuse of the court system will only
lessen its value to consumers and impose hidden,
unwarranted costs on everyone.
It is in no one's best interest when the civil
justice system is distorted or used improperly.
Litigation abuse will make needed insurance products
and services much more costly, or even unavailable,
to those who need them. The companies that provide
these products or services must be allowed the
opportunity to make a fair return on their investment
without the unanticipated cost of excessive legal
costs.
In addition, opportunistic lawsuits cause the
courts to be so clogged with needless cases that
it may take years to get a fair hearing on a valid
claim.
Mold is being compared to asbestos
in terms of abatement and remediation costs.
The big difference between the asbestos issue
and the mold issue is the lack of scientific
knowledge about the health effects, if any, of
mold exposure. In addition there is no way to
determine when people should abandon a mold-contaminated
building. These decisions are currently being
made by unlicensed mold "experts" and
remediators.
Jack W. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D.,
M.P.H, in written testimony to the Texas Department
of Insurance, stated that "the biomedical community requires
a set of generally accepted criteria to be satisfied
before reaching a conclusion that mold or any other
agent in homes, schools, or offices has the capacity
to cause objectively verifiable human illness," and "the
presence of mold in a room or office does not mean
that mold has entered a person's body or that mold
has caused illness." "Physicians and
scientists do not validly or reliably reach diagnostic
or causation conclusions when they simply attribute
subjectively reported symptoms to the patient's
being in the vicinity of mold." In addition,
Dr. Snyder stated that "current speculation
that the mold found in the nation's homes, schools,
and workplaces represents a significant public
health problem cannot withstand even the most rudimentary
medical and scientific scrutiny."
Dr. Quade Stahl, the Director
of the indoor air quality division of the Texas
Department of Health said that there are over
a thousand different mycotoxins that various
molds produce and there is no way to determine
the health effects on people and "it
is impossible to set any type of standards."
However, lawyers are increasingly winning excessively
large mold damage claims by focusing not on the
scientific issues of these cases but by portraying
affected homeowners as helpless victims against
large, well-financed, insurance corporations. Instead
of arguing science, they blame insurance companies
with allegations that they failed to promptly pay
for or adequately repair a mold infestation. They
blame the insurance companies for not acting quickly
enough when no one can currently say how quickly
is enough. They are also blaming builders and contractors
for faulty building construction when in fact it
is a maintenance or repair issue.
John Marlow of the AIA was
quoted as saying "...mold-related
lawsuits are forcing the industry to pay for the
problem." While it is still too early to say
how much these claims cost the industry, Marlow
said "the escalating numbers are bad news
for everyone, especially consumers."
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