Does Home Insurance Cover Mold in Ontario?

Does home insurance cover mold in Ontario? In most cases, no. Standard home policies generally exclude mold, with one common exception: mold that results directly from a sudden, accidental water loss the policy does cover, and that was reported and dealt with promptly. Policies differ in their wording and limits, so the only firm answer for your house comes from your insurer or broker.

Why most policies exclude mold

Home insurance is built to pay for sudden and accidental events. Mold is rarely sudden. It usually grows over weeks or months because of moisture that could have been corrected, and insurers treat that as a maintenance issue. Most Ontario policies carry an exclusion for mold, fungi or spores, often grouped with rot, rust and wear and tear.

The situations we see most often fall on the excluded side:

• Attic mold from poor ventilation or a bathroom fan venting into the attic.
• Basement mold from high summer humidity or condensation on cold walls.
• Mold from a slow leak that ran for weeks or months, such as a dripping shower valve inside a wall.
• Mold from groundwater seeping through a foundation wall or floor.
• Mold around windows from condensation in winter.

None of these start with a single sudden event, so a claim for them is usually declined.

Does home insurance cover mold in Ontario after a covered water loss?

This is where coverage sometimes exists. Say a supply line under a kitchen sink lets go while you are at work and soaks the floor and the basement ceiling below. That is a sudden escape of water, which most policies cover. If you report it right away and drying starts quickly, the mitigation work is part of the water claim. If some mold is found in the wet materials during that work, many insurers treat its removal as part of the same loss.

Even then, read the wording. Some policies cover resulting mold fully, some cap it at a set dollar limit, and some exclude mold no matter what caused it. A few insurers sell a limited mold endorsement. Your broker can tell you which of these your policy is.

Why timing decides so many mold claims

Your policy expects you to take reasonable steps to protect the property after a loss. If water damage is left for a couple of weeks and mold takes over the basement, the insurer may argue the mold came from the delay and not from the original event. The same leak reported the day it happened is a much simpler file.

The practical rule is to stop the water, report promptly if you intend to claim, and get the drying started. Mold can begin growing on wet drywall and wood within a day or two in a warm house. Fast drying protects the house and your position with the insurer at the same time.

What to ask your insurer or broker

A short call or email gets you a clear picture. Useful questions:

• Does my policy exclude mold entirely, or cover it when it results from a covered loss?
• Is there a dollar limit on mold or fungi remediation?
• Does that limit include testing and the rebuild, or only removal?
• Is a mold endorsement available, and what does it add?
• What do you need from me in the way of photos, reports and invoices?

If you rent, your tenant policy covers your belongings, not the building, and mold in the structure is generally the landlord's to deal with. Condo owners should check both their own policy and the corporation's documents, since responsibility depends on where the water came from.

Paying for mold removal when insurance does not apply

Most mold jobs in this area are paid out of pocket, because most are attic and basement problems that grew slowly. That is normal and it is how we set up our work. You pay directly, 50% to book and 50% on completion, and we give you photos, moisture readings and an itemized invoice. If it turns out part of the work relates to a covered loss, you have the paperwork to submit to your insurer.

Attic jobs here typically run $2,300 to $6,500 and basement jobs $1,200 to $9,500. Whoever pays, the moisture source has to be fixed too, or the growth comes back.

A good next step is to pull out your policy tonight and search it for the words mold, fungi and seepage. Then send your broker the questions above. Knowing the answer before you have a problem beats finding out during one.

Common questions