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2 Investigators: Family Struggles To Pick Up Pieces After Tornado

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A family devastated by a tornado turned to their homeowners insurance company for help, and when that failed, they called the CBS 2 Investigators. In this Original Report, Dave Savini exposes their living conditions and struggle to rebuild.

Rick and Karen Turner were victims of a tornado that ripped through the Village of Coal City in 2015. A year and a half later, they still live in the damaged home.

"Oh there's mold all over the house," said Rick Turner.

Hundreds of homes were fully destroyed by the tornado.

"It was an F-3, 180-160 mph winds," said Rick Turner.

"We went in our basement and you could hear the wind," said Karen Turner. "And our house was shaking and that back door blew off."

They say heavy winds threw a massive tree into their home, damaging their roof, walls, foundation and siding.

"When the tornado shifted, when it came this way, it basically pushed the whole house that way," said Rick Turner.

The uprooted tree caused significant damage. It ruptured the main water line, flooding their basement and undermining the ground around their foundation.

"Every time it rains, we have water that comes in between our walls," said Karen Turner. "And the house shifted this way," added her husband.

The Turners said they have since been trying to get their homeowner's insurance claim paid. They say State Farm has denied, delayed and not paid their claims because the company is arguing they do not cover water damage or mold.

"Their favorite line is, 'Well it's in your policy, it doesn't cover mold,'" said Rick Turner. "Well it doesn't cover mold, but when it's the fault of a storm where the mold came from, that should be covered."

A Coal City engineer deemed the Turner's home an unsafe structure that is unfit for human occupancy.

"Twice - it's been condemned twice," said Rick Turner.

Coal City Village Administrator Matt Fritz says it should not take this long to get the house fixed. He said more damage is occurring to the Turner home every time it rains.

"This house has sustained a lot of damage since that tornado," said Fritz.

The mold from the water damage, say the Turners, has caused them both respiratory problems. Karen Turner says she has developed a cough that Rick Turner says has him worried.

"It's very frustrating," said Karen Turner. "You think you pay for your insurance and that they will be there for you when something dramatic happens and we did not have that."

Part of the dispute is the insurance policy does not cover mold, which the couple says is tornado-related.

State Farm offered $13,000 to fix the roof, while a private adjuster says the house has to be rebuilt. An arbitration hearing will be held next week.

State Farm's spokesperson says: "While we cannot speak to the specifics or details of this claim due to our customer privacy policy, what I can tell you is that the Turner claim is currently active and open. We continue to work with the Turners to meet a final resolution."

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