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Editor's Note: In this week's question, the insured's operations generated excessive humidity and moisture in the building that should have been taken into consideration when the business began operations. Regularly scheduled maintenance and proper ventilation could have prevented or minimized the damage that occurred.

Question: A client of mine, a health club, had a total collapse of the ceiling drywall over their warm water therapy pool. We do not know the cause of the collapse. What we do know is that there is some roof buckling and sagging over the pool area, and some shingles above that area are curling.

The roof decking, under the shingles, also has some spongy wet oriented strand boards. There is no reported hail damage, and no objects, such as trees, have come down on the roofing surface; there's also no sign of wind damage.

What is your opinion about coverage for the roofing surface and decking, as well as the collapsed drywall?

— Ohio Subscriber

Analysis: Humidity and moisture can do a lot of damage if left to accumulate over a long period of time. The commercial property "Special Causes of Loss" form covers loss or damage unless otherwise excluded or limited.

All said, there are not many exclusions, and most are for either damage that should be covered elsewhere or damage that is considered to be uninsurable. Still, other exclusions under the form are restrictive in nature but provide some limited coverage.

Special Reports /

Health club ceiling collapse: Is humidity to blame?

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