A disability service operator has partially won a claim dispute over mould and moisture damage reported after a hydrotherapy pool cover was accidentally left off by a staff member before a school holiday shutdown.

The heated pool, maintained at 33 degrees Celsius, was left uncovered between September 29 and October 4 2016. A contractor who then arrived to install a pool lift found the room was “full of condensation and water was dripping from the ceiling like rain”.

Guild Insurance declined the claim as it said the mould breakout had resulted from long-term exposure to moisture caused by condensation from hot showers and pre-existing and ongoing ventilation issues.

The damage was not due to the one-off event, it argued, while agreeing that it would have increased the humidity for a short time.

A report provided to the insurer from its builder showed mould in the bathrooms, pool room and a storage cupboard, significant condensation and rust marks to the steel surfaces in the pool room, bursting cupboards and swollen vertical trim around the bathrooms’ skylight.

The insurer says if the ventilation had been adequate then leaving the pool cover off would not have caused the damage.

The complainant argued no damage or mould was reported before the incident, or since repairs were completed in January 2018. Its expert said even if there had been natural cross flow ventilation it would not have made a difference, describing the high humidity and large amount of heated water that would have been released.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) decision says it accepts there was inadequate ventilation, but the insurer must establish that was the proximate cause of the loss. The adjudicator was not satisfied the insurer took sufficient account of the extent of condensation and the resulting damage.

“Having considered all the available information, I consider some of the claimed damage was caused by the event and some was caused by inadequate ventilation, particularly in the bathrooms, which pre-existed the event,” the adjudicator says.

AFCA says it would be fair for the insurer to contribute 50% toward the cost of repairs and determined it should pay $26,290.

The decision is available here.