At last month's ASCR convention, insurance representatives joined forces with remediation contractors in a panel discussion aimed at debating where the industry is going. Yet one of the biggest questions of the session stemmed from a TV news magazine show and not the latest cleaning and restoration techniques.

The moderator of the discussion was Michael Griggs, now former president of the National Institute of Disaster Restoration. Panelists were: Fred Huestis of Nationwide Insurance; Warren Farrar of State Farm Insurance; Clint Owings of ptc-net; Michael Apple of United Construction; and Frank Headen of First Restoration Services.

So how did Dateline and toxic mold get brought into the debate? The news program had just aired Melinda Ballard's Stachybotrys story prior to the conference, so many of the questions from Griggs' were related to mold remediation and asthma and allergen problems.

""This is an enormous issue for all of us in this room," said Farrar. "Is it [mold] covered by the insurance policy? What lengths do we concern ourselves with a leaky roof? The courts will decide a lot of this, but we have to make certain that we do things right in the meantime."

He added, "Mold claims will be the single biggest issue to address this year."

Some panelists suggested that mold may the new asbestos issue. How insurers react to it, how they handle it, will be very important. Among the suggestions to combat the problem was better underwriting and loss control. However, the costs of improving such functions are passed along to the consumer with higher rates.

Headen added that mold remediation in his business is a number one concern, and said, "The horror stories are going to get worse."