Furor over mold grows and grows

[Guest guest]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/topstory2/953907

June 26, 2001, 7:31PM

Furor over mold grows and grows

By ERIC BERGER

Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

Toxic mold infestations already have spawned multi-million dollar lawsuits,

closed public schools and libraries, and sent homeowners into a permanent

exile from their shelters.

Across the country there are legions of pediatricians and physicians who say

certain household strains of mold emit toxins that lead to serious, even

deadly, lung problems and memory loss.

Now the state's insurance commission is holding hearings in Austin on

industry requests to exempt mold from homeowner's insurance coverage.

But as is the case with many public health issues, the science behind mold

and the health hazards its poses is anything but clear.

The current scientific debate over toxic mold can be traced to November

1994, when a Cleveland pediatrician reported eight cases of bleeding of the

lungs in infants, a conditional that is normally rare.

The federal government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

ultimately sanctioned a report that concluded exposure to a form of toxic

mold caused the bleeding, which killed one of the babies.

Since then the physician, Dorr Dearborn, has stood by the work. But the CDC

has reassessed the research, and, in some cases, warned the public against

overreacting to the health hazards presented by toxic mold.

Others, backed by the CDC, say there is not enough evidence to conclude

toxic mold exposure causes severe health problems.

Homeowners who have fled mold-infested houses have few doubts, however, and

want their insurers to pay for sanitizing their homes.

Farmers, which sells 10 percent of the homeowner policies in Texas, went

before state regulators today to testify that mold claims in Texas this year

could approach $130 million and require a 40 percent increase in homeowner

premiums.

Farmers has petitioned the state insurance commissioner to exclude coverage

of mold claims. If the request is granted, other insurers are expected to

follow suit or seek to require homeowners to buy separate policies for mold

damage.

More than 500 homeowners from across Texas appeared at today's public

hearing over the possibility of losing mold damage coverage in their

insurance policies.

Jim Powers of Houston said his insurance company had delayed five claims for

mold contamination in his house for over two years.

" I don't see how an insurance company can take my money and not do something

about it, " said Powers, who also had to move out of his home. " I think

there's a bigger problem here than mold when insurance companies are

claiming they're above all of this. "

" I don't want anything extra, I just want what's mine back, " he said.

The Texas Department of Insurance called the hearing to gather information

on whether mold coverage should be kept in the standard Texas insurance

policy, what cost there should be and how mold contamination affects people.

Throngs of witnesses forced officials to move the hearing from a 200-seat

room to an auditorium that holds 1,000 people at the University of Texas

campus.

Citing rapidly increasing claims for mold damage, Farmers Insurance Group

petitioned the state insurance commissioner in January to exclude coverage

for " any loss consisting of, caused by, contributed to, or aggravated by

rust, mold, fungus, or wet or dry rot. "

Mold damage is covered under the majority of Texas homeowner policies if

contamination occurs from a roof leak or plumbing. Over the last two years,

an increasing number of homes have been contaminated with toxic molds that

cause a variety of health problems.

Most premiums do not take into account the additional costs of mold claims,

which can range from $10,000 to $100,000, insurance representatives said.

Farmers officials said claims this year in Texas could conservatively

approach $130 million and require a 40 percent increase in homeowner

premiums.

" Our proposal is simple and sensible, and it gives consumers the choice: If

they want mold coverage, they can have it. If they don't want it, they are

not required to carry the burden of paying for it, " said Tom , an

attorney representing Farmers.

If the request is granted, other insurers are expected to follow suit or

seek to require homeowners to buy separate policies for mold damage.

Farmers and other insurance companies have already eliminated mold coverage

in other states.

" This hearing has been a learning experience. My objective all along has

been to gather more information about this issue, " said Texas Insurance

Commissioner Montemayor. " I can see from the testimony that we're going

to have to seek a solution to what appears to be a large sized problem. "

Additional hearings are expected to be held in Corpus Christi and Houston,

but no dates have yet been set.

The commissioner said he would consider holding hearings in other cities.

No ruling is expected on Farmer's request until after all of the hearings

are over, Montemayor said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.