Last year, the water crisis in Flint, Mich., brought theissue of lead poisoning from water pipes to the front of people'sattention.

It began back in April 2014, when Flint changed its water supplybut did not apply corrosion control treatment to the water, whichallowed the water to leach lead from the pipes and poison theresidents, particularly the children. Along with lead in pipes,lead paint has been a known cause of concern for several decades.Rental dwellings often have lead issues eitherfrom water or paint.

The use of lead goes back to ancient Rome, when it wasconsidered the father of all metals. It was used for a variety ofitems ranging from dishes, pots and pans to face powders, rouges,mascaras and paints, as a condiment for seasoning food anddisguising inferior wine, and even as a spermicide.

The vast network of plumbing was with lead pipes. While awarethat it could cause serious health problems, theyminimized the hazards, not realizing that long-term limitedexposure was still very dangerous. Madness, sterility and dementiawere common results of lead poisoning.

During the Middle Ages, alchemists tried to turn lead into gold,and in the early twentieth century, lead was commonly used inpaints for furniture, walls, cribs and other items. It tastes sweetto children, which is why it gets eaten when paint starts to peel.Lead poisoning in children causes convulsions, encephalopathy,nervous system damage, delayed development and others problems,including death.

It was 1978 when the United States finally got around to banningthe use of lead paint, but it was still allowed in pipes. The EPArecommends having homes inspected for lead under the followingconditions:

• Your child has been diagnosed with lead poisoning.

• You live in a home built before 1978 and children will livethere.

• You are about to remodel or do anything that will disturb orgenerate lead-based paint dust and chips.

• You are buying or renting a home. Federal law allows buyers totest to determine the presence of lead hazards.

• You are concerned about possible lead exposure.

Related: Does your homeowners' policy cover leadpoisoning?

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Using bottled water is only a short-term fix to buildingsfound to have abnormally high levels of lead in the water. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Exclusions & endorsements

Insurance comes into play when an individual owns an older homeand rents it out. Carriers do not want to provide coverage for theextensive injuries that can be caused by lead paint that may stillbe present in an older home. An insured cannot be liable to himselffor living in a residence with lead paint, but is certainly liableto any tenant he rents property to. Three states have specificendorsements for lead poisoning: Maine, Massachusetts and Marylandall have exclusions, and Massachusetts actually has an endorsementgranting coverage.

This endorsement is DL 24 42, and provides coverage for bodilyinjury that occurs during the coverage period for lead poisoning.Coverage is for a scheduled amount. The property location must bescheduled as well. Bodily injury is defined as harm, sickness ordisease arising out of lead poisoning, including required care,loss of services and death. Injury that results from an insured'sgross or willful negligence is excluded.

The exclusion, DL 24 41, states the opposite. That bodily injuryresulting from lead poisoning resulting from an insured's gross orwillful negligence or caused by the presence of lead in aresidential unit, including common areas in buildings built before1978, that is owned by an insured and rented or held for rental toothers is not covered. This includes appliances, furnishings,fixtures other than plumbing fixtures contained in or on aresidential building or other structure.

An exception exists if the injury occurs after the date a leadinspector has issued a Letter of Interim Control. Such a lettergives the insured one year to address issues that were found uponinspection. There is also an exception for 90 days from when theinsured took title of the property if an injury results during thattime, since the insured likely did not know the property containedlead.

Similar to Massachusetts, Maryland also has an exclusion and acoverage endorsement. The property and limit must be scheduled.Maryland takes lead issues very seriously, and has built itscoverage endorsement around the state statues regulating leadexposure in residential property. It identifies criteria for“persons at risk” and includes relocation expenses including movingand hauling expenses, HEPA-vacuuming of the tenant's upholsteredfurniture that was at the affected property, a security deposit atthe leadsafe dwelling the tenant is relocating to, and installationand connection of utilities and appliances. If relocation is onlytemporary, then meals and the cost of storing furniture and otherbelongings is covered as well.

The exclusion is straightforward and excludes coverage forbodily injury caused by lead exposure. The Maine exclusion for leadpoisoning is similar as well; it excludes injury due to anoccurrence of lead poisoning; it has a time frame of exposure 31days after the Department of Human Services or a lead inspectorhave given notice of the existence of a lead hazard. Within those31 days the insured has the opportunity to make necessarycorrections; beyond that time period the insured is solelyresponsible unless the department determines that the hazard nolonger exists.

As serious as the effects of lead poisoning are, it issurprising that more states do not have exclusions for such injury.The DL 24 01, Personal Liability that is usually used with thedwelling property forms to provide liability coverage does not havea lead exclusion included. While it is possible that some stateshave a greater number of older homes in use than others, it isstill surprising that lead poisoning is not a standard exclusion inthe dwelling forms.

Christine G. Barlow, CPCU, ([email protected]) is managing editor withFC&S, the premier resource for insurance coverage analysis. Shehas an extensive background in insurance underwriting.

This story is reprinted with permission from FC&SOnline, the authority on insurance coverage interpretation andanalysis for the P&C insurance industry. Click here tosubscribe.