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Payments Begin For Conn. Homeowners Affected By Crumbling Foundations

Susan Haigh
/
AP
Homeowner Tim Heim stands in his basement in Willington, Conn., in 2018, talking about how his foundation is cracking and crumbling due to the presence of pyrrhotite in the concrete.

Connecticut homeowners with crumbling foundations have started to receive payments from an insurance company set up by the state.

About 500 homeowners have applied for assistance with damage caused by a mineral known as pyrrhotite. The mineral is mixed in with concrete by some quarries.

The insurance company says it has $57 million in claim liabilities and only $18 million on hand. The company planned to be operational late last year, but says it faced administrative delays.

Some estimates put the number of homes affected as high as 35,000. That could put the total cost in the billions.

State lawmakers will consider dozens of bills this year that seek to improve standards at quarries and require homeowner insurance policies to cover the problem.

Davis Dunavin loves telling stories, whether on the radio or around the campfire. He started in Missouri and ended up in Connecticut, which, he'd like to point out, is the same geographic trajectory taken by Mark Twain.