The Massachusetts Division of Insurance recently issued a bulletin addressing the issue of crumbling foundations due to high concentrations of pyrrhotite in homes in Massachusetts in relation to home insurance underwriting practices. Pyrrhotite is found in concrete used in the construction of homes in western Massachusetts beginning in the early 1980s and can cause cracks and gaps in the concrete foundations that expand over time, eventually causing the concrete to crumble. The Division of Insurance’s bulletin provides that insurers are not to cancel or non-renew a policy because of the presence or suspicion of a foundation crumbling due to pyrrhotite. The bulletin further provides that insurers should not change a policyholder’s rating classifications or increase insurance rates solely because the home has a risk of a foundation crumbling due to pyrrhotite. The bulletin clarifies that it is not intended to make crumbling foundations a covered peril in a home insurance policy if coverage does not exist in the policy contract.
Massachusetts DOI Bulletin on Pyrrhotite in homes
