TEXAS MOLD CLAIMS HIT $4 BILLION:

Texas insurance companies paid out around $4 billion for mold claims in the past three years. According to the Insurance Council of Texas, an insurance trade association, mold claims have represented a larger monetary loss for Texas insurers than any weather catastrophe. Mold claims began to mushroom in January 2000. Texas’ comprehensive homeowner policies had insurers paying for families to relocate in other homes or motels for up to a year, while their homes were taken apart piece by piece and then completely rebuilt. The ICT said mold claims were reported in every corner of the state, but claims per policyholder in Corpus Christi were twice as high as any other city. Mold claims in Texas grew from $420 million in 2000 to just over $1 billion in 2001. In 2002, mold claims exceeded $2 billion. The cost of mold claims peaked in July 2002 with insurers paying $215 million on 24,000 claims. Since then, the cost of mold claims has been declining with most homeowner policies now either limiting or excluding mold claims all together.

Topics Texas Claims