Renting property usually is risky. One landlord's experience was particularly poor. The landlord's tenants were asked to leave when the renters appeared guilty of criminal activity. The property was inspected once the tenants were gone. The landlord found that his property may have suffered from either the use and/or manufacture of illegal drugs.

The landlord's suspicions were confirmed by a service he hired. The property remediation firm performed tests and detected vapors and residue of methamphetamines. The property owner paid nearly $40,000 to clean the property so it could be safely occupied. He sued his insurer since it denied covering the remediation expense. The lawsuit alleged that the situation should be treated as vandalism and malicious mischief. The property owner argued that the insurer was in breach of contract and it was obligated to pay the property owner for the clean-up expense as well as for lost rental income. The insurer maintained that the situation was ineligible for coverage under a policy exclusion.

Click here for more information that reveals which party to the lawsuit's arguments prevailed

The situation above illustrates a maddening, but ongoing reality. Insurance policies often offer a tremendous amount of protection for many sources that cause damage. The protection comes at a cost, in the form of premiums.

Investments in personal and commercial property are valuable and protection is critical. Insurance, while a simple and convenient way to secure coverage is not often a popular way to do so. Why? Even today, insurance is regularly considered a necessary evil. One way that makes it more acceptable is by making it affordable and comprehensive. It should strike you that offering a lot of coverage for a low cost is not simple and that would be an accurate view.

Insurance policies that protect property do tread a line between types of losses that qualify for coverage and those that are barred from protection. The demarcation line can be confusing to insurance consumers. One source of loss that is excluded are pollutants and contaminants.

Click here for an excerpt of wording regarding coverage and exclusions found under the Dwelling Fire Analysis Section of Policy, Forms and Analysis found in Advantage Plus.

The cost facing the landlord described above was substantial. Sadly, the meth exposure to property owners is growing. Methamphetamines are toxic and significant levels of it in a property have to be remediated. This is not a situation that can be handled effectively by regular means. Properly restoring affected property involves an expert level of knowledge. Expert knowledge comes at a significant cost. Once a cleaning process is complete, it may need certification that work was done correctly. It may also require periodic testing to assure that a safe environment is maintained. Such testing may include taking and testing samples of soils surrounding an affected property site. Even if testing is negative, there are still costs in having materials and locations undergo collection, testing and analysis of results.

Click here for a discussion of the problems associated with methamphetamines and property from Emarketing for Agencies found in Advantage Plus.

Insurance professionals can assist their clients in various ways beyond sales of insurance products and their renewals. It would be ideal if personal and commercial property insurance clients paid close attention to the myriad ways that their assets are threatened, but that isn't realistic. However, this reality creates additional opportunities for service. It is valuable to demonstrate additional expertise and value by providing risk education.

While persons who own and rent out the properties often wish to reduce their obligations to essentials, such as property maintenance, securing and keeping occupants and regularly collecting rental income, insurance professionals can monitor the wider risk world and offer advice. Naturally, such advice may often be in the form of securing additional coverage via various policies and/or endorsements. But clients are frequently served well when provided with tips and information that facilitates risk mitigation and avoidance too. Since agents often commit themselves to additional education and observance of both current and developing risks, those efforts should be leveraged by creating opportunities to share this valuable knowledge.

Click here to see an excerpt of an article that discusses environmental and pollution exposures from the October 2017 issue of Rough Notes Magazine found in Advantage Plus.