OT: home insurance claim

[theRU]

Hey All- I don't have much experience with claims and what is utimatly covered. We have an old home back in NJ that is a rental property and recently a valve busted and flooded the basement. The restoration company found mold as well - perhaps there was some spraying before the valve ruptured and flooded causing the mold. Before they could address the issue they found some asbestos (I'm unclear yet as to where it is and why it would be disturbed by or impact the restoration process. My understanding is that insurance would cover any associated damages and clean ups. Since It's common for old homes to have asbestos, wouldn't and remediation fall under the required items to repair the associated damages? Or should I expect to pay out of pocket? Curious if I should bother putting in a claim

 

[RULoyal]

Probably depends on your specific policy but the below is from the Progressive web site.

When does homeowners insurance cover asbestos removal?​

Home insurance policies exclude coverage for pollutants, so asbestos removal generally won’t be covered unless the asbestos was disturbed or exposed by a covered peril. For example, your home insurance may cover the cost of asbestos remediation, minus any deductible and up to your policy’s limits, if asbestos was exposed or disturbed by a tree falling on your house, snow damaging your roof, or someone vandalizing your walls.

 

[RUfromSoCal?]

as above... while the Homeowners (HO) policy forms are fairly standard - each insurer is going to have specific exceptions, limits or definitions that will impact what happens.

I'm not trying to give you any advice - just sharing my experience.

To the extent this specific issue is not too large and is something you can handle out of pocket (or through the income the property generates) - it's usually best to avoid a claim as much as you can...

any one claim can trigger "limits" in a policy (such as black mold or asbestos removal) that might be limited to something like "one time" allowance - and after than one time, no further claims for any additional future claims related to that issue (black mold, etc.) will be paid...

policy rate increases are almost certain to happen following a black mold or asbestos claim and that might impact you more than the cost of the current repair... and trying to change carriers withing 5-10 years of an asbestos/mold claim can be a pain as well

again, don't listen to me (or anyone on a message board)... but sometimes it's best to avoid......