Earthquake vs Other Land Movement

• Your Home Insurance policy contains an exclusion for Land Movement.
• You Purchase an Earthquake Insurance Policy.
• Are you now covered for all Land Movement?

No. Purchasing an Earthquake Insurance policy only protects your structures from the peril of earthquake. This does not cover other forms of land movement, including, but not limited to: Landslide, Subsidence, other ground rising, lifting, or sinking.

You are Not Fully Covered from all Land Movement When you Purchase an Earthquake Insurance Policy:

Home Insurance policies flat out exclude all land movement, including earthquakes. The exclusion is broader than just earthquakes.

When you purchase an Earthquake Insurance Policy you are protecting your structures [and potentially personal property items] from the peril of earthquake only. This definition does not include “other” land events such as landslides.

The California Earthquake Authority Definition of Earthquake

It is important to note the definition of an earthquake, according to the CEA is: “means a vibration-generating rupture event caused by displacement within the earth’s crust through release of strain associated with tectonic processes and includes effects such as ground shaking, liquefaction, and damaging amplification of ground motion.“

*that is the CEAs definition, other insurers might have their own definition. Their definitions might be different.

More Clarity on the CEA Earthquake Definition:

Therefore if there are no “tectonic processes”, no “vibration-generating rupture”, or if it is not in the “earth’s crust” than its not likely the ground movement would qualify as an earthquake by the California Earthquake Authority’s definition.* Even if it a true earthquake hits, if it is caused by one of the policy “exclusions” it still might not be covered.

What Exactly is a Landslide:

A Landslide is “the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope” according to the USGS. A more specific definition may be found in your policy. ” Landslides are a type of “mass wasting,” which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity. The term “landslide” encompasses five modes of slope movement: falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows…Almost every landslide has multiple causes.”

What Exactly is Subsidence:

Subsidence is “sinking of the ground because of underground material movement—is most often caused by the removal of water, oil, natural gas, or mineral resources out of the ground by pumping, fracking, or mining activities” according to the National Ocean Service. A further explanation goes on: “Subsidence can also be caused by natural events such as earthquakes, soil compaction, glacial isostatic adjustment, erosion, sinkhole formation, and adding water to fine soils deposited by wind (a natural process known as loess deposits). Subsidence can happen over very large areas like whole states or provinces, or very small areas like the corner of your yard.”

Other Land Movement Vs an Earthquake:

In summary purchasing an earthquake insurance policy will protect your home from the peril of earthquake, but it will not cover you from Landslides, Mudslides, Mudflows, Subsidence, Other Earth Rising, Lifting, and Sinking. The earth movement must meet the strict definition of an earthquake from the earthquake policy, conform to the terms and conditions listed in the policy in order for the event to potentially be covered.

Catastrophic Exclusions to Home Insurance:

In the opinion of this agent and author, in California, the big three exclusions to most home insurance policies that may be able to be covered are as follows: Flood, Earthquake, and Landslide. Floods can be protected on an NFIP flood policy or a non admitted insurer, Earthquakes via Earthquake policies, but Landslides are very challenging to find insurance for these days. Lastly there are a host of other exclusions to home insurance policies that are catastrophic in nature that there is not much that you can do about it.

Question, Does an Earthquake Policy protect your Home from a Landslide?

No a typical Earthquake Insurance policy only covers a home from the peril of earthquake, not a landslide, nor other land movement.