Is Asbestos Abatement covered by your homeowners insurance?
Being experts in indoor environmental concerns such as Asbestos, and licensed to perform Asbestos Abatement, we get this question all the time. The answer to this question depends on your circumstances.
What is Asbestos
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was, for years, used in building materials to increase their strength, fire resistance, and durability. While not commonly used today, building materials containing Asbestos are still found regularly in homes in our area. The most common Asbestos containing materials we find in homes are pipe wrap, floor tile, and wallboard, but Asbestos was used in many, many, building materials. Read more about common areas where you can find Asbestos
Does Home Insurance cover Asbestos Abatement?
The answer to this question is “maybe”. While your home insurance won’t cover removal of Asbestos in cases where you just want it removed (such as during a renovation or remodel), there are cases where Asbestos Abatement can be necessitated as part of an insurance claim. For instance, if you had a pipe break and Asbestos pipe wrap or floor tile got wet, your insurance company would cover the Asbestos Abatement as part of the covered claim. The reason for this is that, without properly removing the Asbestos containing materials, you cannot properly complete the mitigation and repairs necessitated by the claim.
This is one of the primary reasons why you should always hire a Mitigation and Restoration Company that is qualified to recognize Asbestos containing materials and who is properly licensed to provide Asbestos Abatement Services. Particularly in Northeastern PA, where we have a lot of older homes, a contractor that does not have the training or licensing to perform Asbestos Abatement simply does not have the necessary experience to properly and safely provide water mitigation services.
How can Asbestos impact an Insurance Claim?
Whether you experience a water damage or fire, it’s likely that your insurance claim will require that building materials be removed, dried, or cleaned. When these building materials contain Asbestos, additional steps, processes, training, and contractors are often necessary to ensure that this work is performed properly, safely, and legally. This means that your claim may take longer, tearout and repairs may be more significant, drying time may be extended, etc.
These additional steps and procedures, while they do extend the duration of the claim, are extremely important. Not only are these steps designed to remove the Asbestos materials in accordance with State and Federal Law, they also prevent cross contamination of dangerous Asbestos fibers.
What if my Mitigation Company doesn’t do Asbestos Abatement?
If your mitigation company is not licensed to perform Asbestos Abatement, they may not even be able to recognize an Asbestos containing material, leading to improper work that could be extremely dangerous to you and your family. Often, homeowners don’t even know when an unqualified contractor has improperly removed Asbestos and contaminated their home!
Should they recognize an Asbestos containing material, a specialized Asbestos Abatement Contractor would need to be brought in to perform this work. Often however, coordinating with yet another contractor will further delay the mitigation services and repairs.
How can I confirm that my Mitigation Company is licensed to perform Asbestos Abatement?
If your mitigation company is properly licensed to perform Asbestos Abatement, they will have an Asbestos Abatement License Number provided by their state and a certificate that they should be happy to provide you a copy of. Additionally, most states maintains a list of all Licensed Asbestos Abatement Contractors where you can verify their licensing.
Please note that most Asbestos Abatement Contractors specialize in very large commercial or industrial projects and do not also provide Mitigation Services. Disaster Blaster is proud to not only offer unmatched Mitigation and Restoration Services, but to also offer qualified Asbestos Abatement Services.
We hope this answered your questions! If you have additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact your local Disaster Blaster!
As always, should you suffer Water Damage or Fire, and want the best, most qualified Mitigation and Restoration Firm, we are more than happy to help!
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