Water Damage — Insurance Pays for Duct Cleaning
Don’t forget the Duct Cleaning
The pipes have thawed, and you have water soaked into your floors. Did you know that most homeowner’s insurance will pay for your HVAC system and ducts to be cleaned after your sheetrock, cabinets, trim work, and floors are repaired? Insurance will pay for HVAC and air duct cleaning as part of the restoration and reconstruction work. Think about why:
You have just had your home soaked with water. You finally got some heat back, so you turn up the thermostat, warm up, and hopefully dry out. This action usually promotes mold growth. The spores get into your air ducts and your HVAC unit. Mold continues to grow in your ducts even though the floors have now been dried and replaced.
Let us pretend you are one of the lucky ones and mold is not an issue for you. What about the dirt and dust created by the restoration and remodel? What about the virus that the work crews bring in?
In many cases, homeowner’s insurance will cover mold damage related to any “peril” included in your insurance policy. A peril is any damage to your home caused by an outside force that your insurance explicitly covers.
Be proactive with your insurance company. Ask them to pay for the HVAC system and air duct cleaning. The removal of air duct mold may be covered in your policy. The reason the mold and dust damage is covered is that it is a part of the damages caused by the water accident. Rather than filing two claims, the mold, and dust clean-up becomes a part of the overall damages covered in the claim and further liabilities are most likely mitigated.
The only scenario that is guaranteed to not be covered by any insurance plan is the case of negligence. If mold grows due to your lack of action, then the insurance company will not cover these damages.
For example, you notice your AC unit has a minor leak, and you ignore it because it is not a major problem yet. If that water causes mold to grow in your duct system, then the insurance company will not cover the damages. Because you failed to fix the problem when you first noticed it, the mold is a result of negligence. It most likely will not be covered.
You are more likely to get it covered if you use a reputable, professional, NADCA certified and HVAC licensed duct cleaner such as Mr. Duct Cleaner. Need a FREE estimate of what the HVAC system and air duct cleaning will cost? Contact us to set up your appointment and be ready with the dollar estimate when you call the insurance company.