Im currently going through mold remediation and am trying to determine if I should file on Nationwide insurance (I think likely) or not. I do have additional mold coverage as long as it's from a covered peril and I also have water damage coverage for slow leaks.

Am I negatively impacted in they deny my claim?

More below, but in the laundry room and master bath, the moisture meters are reading below what's considered wet for mold growth.

We first noticed something was wrong when we started getting mold on some AC vents with further investigation revealing mold in the mixing boxes.

We had a licensed inspector come out who referred us to an AC company and he performed some testing in other areas of the house based on what he said looked like it could have been water issues. We ended up with positives behind the master sink and behind the laundry room sink.

We fixed the AC problems and got a dehumidifier installed. Unlikely to file based on cost vs deductible and thinking it won't get approved.

In the master bathroom everything was pulled out to remediate and it was pretty simple. One "problem" is that it was "dry" so to speak. I believe this source was related to a 2014 leak shortly after finishing construction where the builder "remediated". Will insurance want a "moisture source" knowing it was before coverage with nationwide.

In the laundry room there was one stud that had mold all the way up to the ceiling. That moldy stud was adjacent to the stud that the water lines came down on one side and on the other side there's a stud then the dryer vent (dryer vent, "clean stud", moldy stud, "clean stud with water lines). Some mold was found on the top cross beam as well. Again this area was "dry" from a moisture meter reading. Two theories: a "bad stud" from construction that's partially backed by pictures from during construction. The other theory is that water traveled along the dryer vent from a late 2020 roof leak and into the laundry room but didn't grow on the adjacent studs that bad due to the dryer vent heating things up and burning off the moisture. The dryer vent roof leak was repaired in 2020 but we didn't think it was that bad. The dryer vent exits the roof at a first floor level, crosses the tandem garage bay, then travels down into the laundry room. Across the garage bay, the pipe is angled towards the laundry room. It's possible the water followed the dryer vent across the garage bay and "hopped over" one stud to cause a mold problem.

Given the timing coverage started in spring 2020 with leak in fall 2020, what's the likelihood of getting the claim paid? Is the adjuster going to give me that hard of a time?

Would a public adjuster possibly help? Before or after filing?

My deductible is $2,500 and just the remediation is well above that even if it was broken into two claims.

Not terribly happy with my current broker that doesn't seem to be all that helpful.

Northside1876 said:

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My deductible is $2,500 and just the remediation is well above that even if it was broken into two claims.

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This statements leads me to believe it's worth a shot. What's the time and the hassle worth to you? Let's say your willing to "lose" $500 worth of time & energy into dealing with the claim. Lets say you pay yourself $50 per hour to work on the claim process. Once you've committed 10 man hours into the back and worth and not reached a satisfactory result and it doesn't look like your close to one, I'd let it go. It's worth a moderate time and energy investment, but probably not a big one.

If you do file a claim, some advice I got from a friend once who used to be an adjustor was to make it as easy for the adjustor as possible.

For my claim (which was against a 3rd party's insurance company), I prepared a notebook with a damage summary at the front. Then, I had dividers in the notebook for each damage category. I then placed pictures and receipts for each category of damage behind each divider. It worked. I received 500% more from the carrier than any plaintiff's attorneys I'd spoken to had said my claim was worth.

In other words, don't expect to simply throw some documents and a pic or two at the adjustor and expect them to give you what you want.

Thanks, that's helpful information.

The trouble I'm running into is showing what caused the issue. In the master bath I've got nothing. In the laundry it's a plausible scenario but it takes some thinking vs. an obvious leak right in the cavity.

Second this as well. If you can clearly and convincingly show and explain the damages - it can go a long long way.

A lot of adjustors use a software called "Xactimate". Which generally works good for estimating roofing assuming the adjustor includes all the little things they know are needed but often don't and why so many roofing contractors advertise and claim they can get more money from insurance company's, because basic things to replace a roof are often left off claims.

However, for "small" interior demo, some framing, sheetrock, tape float texture paint type jobs. Xactimate's estimates are a joke. The per square foot prices it uses is wildly unreasonable when applied to a "small" job. Without supplemental information, adjustors often have to go off whatever Xactimate spits out. Then when it gets kicked up to the next level above the first adjustor, they will act like Xactimate estimates are the Bible. Don't fall for this.

Little things that often get overlooked on these type claims are getting compensated for removed and resetting furniture and items in the workspace. Taping and putting up plastic, cleaning the workspace after the work ect.

Was a thermal imagining camera ever used to look at it?

No. But the moisture meter read within the "dry" range.

My husband is a roofing guy, but deals with interior insurance claims as well. If you have questions, DM Mr, and I'll pass along his info. He can explain a lot about insurance claims, what might impact rates and what can't, and whether or not your insurance is one that is likely to just deny anything right now (a few are denying claims like crazy).