No, homeowners insurance does not cover mudslides or landslides. This is because home insurance covers the common damages to homes that could occur just about anywhere. These damages include fire, hail, ice, snow, vandalism, theft, etc. What is not covered by insurance are those damages that do not commonly occur everywhere. These are uncommon incidents that are either rare or only occur in specific geographical locations.
Insurance policies are notoriously tedious with a lot of specific wording that can trip up any policyholder who suspects their damage will be covered but finds a small caveat in the fine print that does not line up with their repair needs. These nit-picky loopholes, however, are not where mudslides and landslides lie within insurance policies.
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Getting Coverage for Mudslides and Landslides
When you live in a region that is prone to mudslides, landslides, or even what is called mudflow, you will need to consider your risks, what type of coverage, and the additions to your main home insurance policy that will need to be added to cover these damages.
Damages to your home that fall outside of the common damages mentioned before requiring a different kind of policy to cover incidents that fall in line with uncommon damages. These policies are called “Difference in Conditions” (DIC) policies. These policies cover all of the uncommon claims like flooding, mudslides, and earthquakes. DIC policies fill in the gaps where your basic home insurance policy doesn’t cover and insures that you are fully covered from all of the threats to your home that you may be facing in your region. If you are in a region that is vulnerable, you will need to consider adding one of these policies to bulk up your coverage.
Another factor to consider is the type of uncommon incidents you may be facing. When you live in a region that requires taking mudslides and landslides into account, it is important to consider these risks and to decide which specific incidents you may be facing. When considering landslides and mudslides as part of your home insurance policy, the differences are imperative to understanding your coverage.
To understand what type of additions you should make to your home insurance, you should understand the threats your home may be up against and what kind of policy will cover these threats. In the realm of mudslides, there are also concerns about landslides and mudflow. Mudslides occur when a portion of rock or sediment moves, typically due to heavy rainfall.
Landslides occur due to water eroding rock and sediment eventually causing this large portion of earth/land to move quickly downhill. Landslides can occur following earthquakes, however, they are not covered under an earthquake policy. This is similar to the case for mudslides which can be caused by torrential rainfall, yet are not covered by flood insurance.
Mudflow, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like: a massive flow of wet mud. This mud contains a lot of moisture and can seep into your home, causing massive external and internal damage. These water damages due to mudflow are covered by flood insurance.
Overall, when it comes to living in areas where your home may be predisposed to the threat of mudslides, you should strongly consider a DIC addition to your basic home insurance policy.
