My dad used to say one can be
“insurance poor.” While that statement
may be true, we all have insurance of some type and usually many types, including
homeowners, auto, health, life, cancer, and the list goes on. We try to protect ourselves from as much
financial harm as possible while protecting valuable assets. And have you read your insurance
policies, really! And if so, do you
completely understand those policies?
It
seems when I finally understand a policy, society brings something new and
different into the overall picture; for example, mold and meth issues. Does my homeowners cover mold? Well, now policies are specifically mentioning
inclusion or exclusion of mold. On to
the subject of meth; when residential or rental homes have been used for meth
labs, unbeknownst to the buyer, does homeowner’s
policies cover testing and decontamination?
My first thought is “probably not.”
As hard as it is to believe, I just may be wrong. In many cases, property insurance covers the
cost of professional decontamination.
Standard
policies may include first-party property coverage and also liability
coverage. The policy either has “named
perils” or “open perils.” Named peril
policies show exactly what is included in the dwelling coverage while open
peril policies show what is excluded.
One named peril included in many policies is vandalism. It will either be listed as a named peril or
not excluded in open perils. Smoke
damage is normally a covered peril. Just
like a kitchen fire, the smoke and fumes from a meth lab leave a similar
residue in the structure and on the contents, which need cleaning.
Liability
coverage may come into play if a meth lab is busted by a law enforcement agency
and condemns the property as inhabitable.
If you receive such a notice, you may want to request a coverage
determination under both first-party coverage and liability.
I
could talk about insurance all day (are you kidding? Yes), but you would probably stop reading at
this point. The important thing to
remember is to promptly call your insurance and follow up with a letter, best
sent certified. Since you may have both
first-party coverage and liability, one or both may cover meth cleanup. If you are denied, you need to get the denial
in writing and have coverage counsel review it.
Some
rental property owners are hesitant to file an insurance claim due to concern
they will be dropped, and it is true they could be dropped by their insurance
carrier. It is good to research other
insurance carriers that will allow coverage.
Why have insurance if you cannot use it when you need it?
My
friends at Crisis Cleaning will be happy to walk you through the insurance
process, taking care of the hassles associated with such claims. Give them a call today if you need help with
meth residue contamination (877) 260-4828.
You will be glad you did!
(Contribution: The
Meth Solution by Donetta J. Held)
By Joan Mason
