Mold insurance guidelines okayed

December 20, 2002

From the National Desk

Published 12/18/2002 6:30 PM

MIAMI, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The state of Florida and a small insurance company

have reached agreement on guidelines on coverage for mold in homeowners

policies.

It is believed to be the first detailed guidelines on the issue in Florida

although the two sides stress it involves only Florida Farm Bureau Insurance

Cos., and does not apply to any others.

Under the agreement, the company will provide $10,000 coverage per incident

and a maximum of $20,000.

" It is certainly a very reasonable settlement that will provide broad-based

coverage to consumers, " said Tami , a spokeswoman for the insurance

department.

The state has received 238 requests from insurers wanting to exclude mold

coverage or provide up to $10,000, said Wednesday.

At a hearing in south Florida, 300 people showed up claiming that mold had

forced them from their homes and damaged both their health and their

finances.

Mold claims have spread rapidly nationwide, and the insurance industry wants

the state to limit claims they contend would damage the industry or force

them to charge higher premiums.

Many companies pay for mold damage only if it is caused by an occurrence

that is already covered by insurance such as tornadoes and hurricanes.

The state of Texas has agreed to allow mold claims only under those

circumstances effective Jan. 1.

State Farm, which has nearly a million policy holders in Florida, has been

afforded a hearing before an administrative judge on the issue in

mid-January.

said until an agreement can be reached with State Farm the Florida

department is unable to take a formal position on the issue.

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