Date of Loss, Date of Discovery, and Which Carrier Pays

All of our Insureds now have the Limited Fungi, Wet or Dry Rot, or Bacteria Coverage (HO 04 32 05 02) endorsement.

Our question arises around the "date of discovery" versus "date of loss" debate.

If an insured discovered mold after switching carriers, would the current carrier or the prior carrier handle the mold claim? Since mold takes some time to proliferate, there is a difference in philosophies within our department.

Ohio Subscriber

The endorsement states that it pays for losses that occur during the policy period; the problem is that the growth of mold and fungi, unlike fire, can't really be pinpointed to a particular time. While an accidental discharge can usually be put to a certain time, mold may not start growing until the next policy period, depending on the date of loss. Therefore, for losses such as mold and fungi, the date of discovery is used as the date of loss. While it can be argued that mold takes time to grow, remember to factor in environment; in a conducive area, mold grows quite rapidly. Certain states ( Maryland for one) are full of dehumidifiers that people run all summer in efforts to keep the basement from being moldy, and that's just battling the humid air. Put a damp spot behind a wall, and it's fuzzy in no time. In our opinion, the date of discovery is what should be used as the date of the loss, and the carrier providing coverage at that time pays the loss.