What sort of water damage issues should your clients be aware of? Steamatic’s Erica Booker tells IB what brokers need to know about remediation following a natural disaster
Water damage is a complex issue for insurers. While its effects tend to be obvious – particularly when it comes to property destruction – it can cause serious ongoing issues if damage is not mitigated properly.
One of the lingering effects that often gets overlooked is mould, which may only become apparent weeks or months after the initial event and can cause serious issues, including property damage, loss of belongings, poor air quality and health risks.
Erica Booker, national sales and marketing manager at Steamatic, notes that water damage is an issue that has serious implications for the insurance industry, both now and into the future. Incidents like the recent Townsville floods have played a role in bringing the issue to wider national attention. Booker believes insurers will see an increasing number of claims around the issue in coming years, so brokers need to work to prepare their clients who are located in flood plains and regions where catastrophes occur often.
“I’m originally from the USA, and we’ve seen all sorts of lawsuits occurring as a result of mould in the last decade or so,” Booker says. “It’s been an industry-wide issue, particularly in parts of the country prone to natural disasters.”
This means that remediation work is frequently being done twice – insurers cover work to be done, only to discover it needs to be redone a short time later if not adequately assessed and addressed on first attendance. And that’s if things are resolved before they get to court.
Health-related concerns have become an increasingly common issue, too. Though the full effects are still undetermined, mould can have negative health effects on a variety of people, including the elderly, young children, people with underlying health issues and the immunocompromised.
Correcting the issue in a water-damaged property is about more than ensuring the future of the structure,” Booker says. “It’s also about ensuring the wellbeing of the people who live in it.”
The basics of remediation
Booker is quick to point out that remediation involves much more than simple cleaning. It can often incorporate significant structural repair and replacement. Mould spores can be found virtually everywhere, indoors and out, but remediation means ensuring they don’t have an environment to flourish in.
“Some soft goods can be cleaned and treated, depending on the level of contamination, but building materials like sheetrock and flooring that demonstrates active microbial growth needs to be removed and replaced,” Booker says. “If it’s not remediated correctly following industry standards from the IICRC S520, and the environment becomes compromised by temperature and relative humidity, mould spores can find their way back in, begin to grow, and the problem can recur again and again. We take the steps to ensure people can protect or salvage their assets in the event of an incident.”
Steamatic carries out a variety of remediation services, providing a comprehensive building health management service for clients to effectively manage their indoor environment and ensure compliance with industry standards and guidelines. This includes air quality analysis and an assessment of structural integrity, among other factors.
Steamatic uses state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation to measure a broad range of air quality parameters in the building environment, including carbon dioxide; carbon monoxide; airborne fungi, mould and bacteria; volatile organic compounds; respirable dust; temperature; humidity; and sound levels.
Steamatic also provides educational material and seminars for brokers and insurers who are looking to gain better education around the subject.
“Our aim is to ensure that potential health risks associated with the building environment are suitably managed,” Booker says.
Accordingly, Steamatic Australia has developed a world best practice for mould remediation based on and following the IICRC’s S520 standards and protocols for professional remediation, as well as the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Guidelines for Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments. The company’s goal is to be transparent to the marketplace on how it approaches mould projects.
“Steamatic uses advanced products, procedures and equipment to assure the highest level of cleaning performance and protection of our clients’ contents and their property,” Booker says.
Archival repairs
While much of the conversation around remediation has been dominated by residential properties, there are commercial and civic benefits of mould remediation beyond simple property repair. Booker points to a previous Steamatic project, in which major water damage in a state government storage facility had damaged and potentially destroyed a number of important historic documents.
“They were on paper, linen, and some were laminated,” Booker says. “However, all of them had adhered to the rusty draughtsman drawers that they were stored in.”
Initially, government officials thought the documents were beyond repair. However, Steamatic was able to inventory and remove the metal drawers and arrange for the documents to be frozen inside to stabilise them and prevent ongoing damage.
“After this, we were able to restore and save these by utilising the vacuum freeze-drying process,” Booker says. “All of the contents were recovered undamaged, with only slight water marks on the paper, saving approximately 10,000 pieces of history.”
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Bringing things up to standard
In the US, standards and guidelines have been developed to combat mould remediation issues and to help insurers, assessors and contractors ensure that work is being carried out properly. However, Australia hasn’t really developed its own guidelines yet, which has caused some confusion within the industry as to the proper procedure for dealing with mould and who is a qualified mould remediator. Australian insurers and providers have also tended to focus more on cleaning and sanitisation rather than dedicated mould remediation – but Booker believes this is likely to change in the coming years.
“The USA had numerous issues around price regulation – insurers were being charged hugely variable sums, which in turn affected premiums for clients,” she says. “Eventually, that meant insurers had to have conversations with each other around the way coverage was going to work.”
The implications are significant – Booker notes that policies in the US tend to be heavily affected by their location and the surrounding weather conditions. For flood-prone areas, mould remediation is often an optional extra rather than a default inclusion in a policy, and clients must carry flood cover if their property is in a designated flood zone or plain.
Ultimately, water damage and mould remediation are issues brokers need to be discussing with their clients. If clients have property or contents that may be subject to mould-related issues, Booker notes, it’s crucial for them to have an understanding around the subject. Brokers are a key point of contact when an event occurs – whether it’s a pipe break, excess humidity or other water damage – and being informed is key.
“When the policyholder calls up, you can have an educated conversation with them,” she says. “And if the claims experience is a good one, the broker looks great.”
