mold-symptom.com

Many insurance companies are calling mold the new asbestos.

Thousands of insurance claims have poured in across the country seeking damages from mold and now insurance companies are fighting back, saying the suits are based on junk science.

For civil litigation attorneys, mold is gold. Since 1999, mold-related lawsuits against building contractors, insurance companies, hotels, schools and airports have increased by 300 percent, and 10,000 suits are pending nationwide.

"It's our conclusion that the current literature does not provide any reason to believe that in the indoor environment one could or would inhale a toxic dose of microtoxins, [or mycotoxins ]" said Brian Hardin of Globaltox Inc., a consulting company on toxic environmental hazards.

In 2001, a Texas jury awarded $32 million in damages to a family that claimed severe illness from exposure to toxic mold in their home. That opened a floodgate of litigation in places like Texas and Florida.

"The mold claims have driven up the cost of construction. They've driven up in terms of the inability to obtain insurance coverage," said Anita Drummond, of the Associated Builders and Contractors.

"Something like mold can have a dramatic impact on homes being built and the resale market. If you own a home and for some reason you've been there 15 or 20 years and you had a small leak you didn't know about and you have mold in your home that's been discovered, you can't sell your home. That does not do anything to help individuals, nor does it do anything to stimulate the economy -- quite the opposite," said Rep. Gary Miller, from California.

Mold plaintiffs and mold lawyers say the insurance industry is trying to shirk its responsibility to mold-stricken policyholders.

"They need to abide by their end of the deal. The people that pay their premiums, the insurance companies take it, yet when they take the money they don't want to pay on valid claims. Mold claims, the right mold claims, are, in fact, real. People do get sick from them and the insurance companies just don't want to pay. That is really the problem," said Robert Steiberg, an attorney.

Experts say mold thrives in new, well-insulated houses that trap heat and moisture. Right now there is an entire nationwide mold remediation industry devoted to ferreting out the fungus.