Home insurance policies do not cover damage from landslides and earth movement. Even though landslide insurance might be costly, having landslide insurance might be your only chance of recovery against the uncertainty of damage or destruction as a result of a landslide.

In February of 1996, a major storm caused hundreds of landslides in the West Hills and last year a landslide destroyed several homes in SW Portland. Many factors contribute to landslides, including slope steepness, soil strength, and moisture content of the soil. A landslide will occur when several of these factors converge.

Search the Oregon Landslide Information Database to map the landslide risk for your Oregon home. The database is a compilation of landslides in Oregon that have been identified on published maps.

To learn more about landslides visit these resources:

• Homeowners Guide to Landslides
• Landslides In Oregon Fact Sheet
• USGS Landslide Hazard Program for Portland Oregon
• Pudget Sound Landslide Information

If you would like an insurance review that includes an option that includes landslide insurance please give me a call.

In the last post on Natural Catastrophe insurance I am going to be highlighting property that will be excluded in this type of insurance policy. Just like home insurance there will be an exclusion for land, land values, soil, water, air, or any interest or right therein. Home insurance policies only provide coverage for the dwelling or any other structures on the property, the same goes for this type of coverage. This policy does not provide remuneration for any destroyed land unless there is a structure sitting upon it.

The Natural Catastrophe policy will not also provide coverage for any buildings and other structures used in whole or in part for any commercial, farming or manufacturing purposes, other than residences on the premises held for rental. Did you understand that? Here it is in non-insurance speak. If you are a landlord and have this coverage for your rental home you are safe. If you are operating a commercial business out of your home your not going to have coverage.

Other areas where you will not have coverage under this insurance will be with retaining walls whether or not the wall is used for the continuing stability of any part of the premises, and whether or not it is attached to any part of the structure. Your also not going to have coverage for fences, trees, shrubs, lawns, plants, and pretty much most landscaping costs.

Following this series on Natural Catastrophe insurance I am going to discuss flood insurance policies and provide you with terms and conditions that are specific to flood insurance.  If you have additional questions about this insurance coverage please give me a call or drop me an email.

What would be an insurance policy be without exclusions, right? Buyer of insurance beware, lose the mentality thinking "it's covered".  You need to take the responsibility to read what is and what is not going to be covered so you have no surprises. Always contact your agent or advisor if you have questions as they have the resources or at least should have the resources to address your questions or concerns.

A few of the types of losses excluded in a Natural Catastrophe insurance policy include the following:

1. No coverage for a loss out of nuclear reaction, nuclear radiation or radioactive contamination.  You will find this similar exclusion on a home insurance policy.

2. No coverage for a loss out of war; invasion, acts of foreign enemies, civil war, rebellion, insurrection,  military or usurped power or martial law or confiscation or nationalization or requisition or destruction of or damage to property by or under the order of any government or public or local authority. That's quite a mouthful but as you can see anything close to being considered of an act of war is not going to be covered. Again, you will find an exclusion similar to this on your home insurance policy.

3. No coverage for loss or damage arising out of normal settling, shrinking or expansion of land, buildings, structures or foundations; or erosion, gradual subsidence or the processes of erosion that take place over time, or any other gradually occurring loss whether caused by Earthquake Shock, Flood or Landslide or not, or any loss or damage which commenced prior to inception of this policy. The event has to be sudden and accidental, as stated above anything that happens over a period of time is going to be excluded from coverage.

Again, these are only a few of the exclusions that are found in a Natural Catastrophe policy. You need to review the policy for yourself to get an understanding of where you might not have coverage.

My next post on Natural Catastrophe insurance will speak about types of property that are excluded in this type of insurance policy.

The wet weather forecasted for this week brings more bad news about the potential of more floods & landslides for local homeowners. I thought I would spend a few posts talking about the different types of insurance options that are available to protect your home against both a loss due to flood and landslide.

I will start out discussing landslide insurance options since I have been talking to clients today about an option that are available for them. The type of policy that provides insurance protection against a loss due to landslide is sometimes called a 'Difference in Conditions' policy or a 'Natural Catastrophe' insurance policy.

This type of insurance policy provides protection against a loss due to earthquake, flood, & of course landslide. The Natural Catastrophe policy defines each as:

1. Earthquake Shock means earth movement due to natural, seismic disturbance, caused by a sudden movement of the earth's crust, and including as a direct and immediate result of Earthquake Shock, landslide, mudflow, earth sinking, earth rising, or earth shifting.
2. Flood means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas above the surface of the ground, caused by the overflow of a body of water including rivers, streams or lakes, waves, tidal water, surface water or spray from any of these, whether or not driven by wind.
3. Landslide means the natural and sudden fall, slipping or displacement of earth or rock, including mudflow and land collapse other than that arising out of Earthquake shock.

The deductible for this type of insurance policy works as percentage rather than a dollar amount. For example, rebuilding your home after a landslide, earthquake, or flood you would be responsible for 5% of the insurance replacement cost of your home. If the insurance replacement cost of your home was $355,000 this would equate to $17,750.

Like all insurance policies this type of insurance has exclusions and you always need to read the exclusions. My next post on landslide insurance will speak to some of the exclusions that can be found in this type of insurance policy.

There is no shortage of flood and landslide headlines in The Oregonian due to the after effects of the rain and snow that has dumped over the Portland area the past couple of weeks. Just last week Lake Oswego officials advised homeowners to take preacautions against flooding prior to the landslides that just occured over the past day. Based on the article Houses in peril, but owners are unaware published in today's Oregonian you would think that town officials would take heed in their own warning? Could these landslides have been averted?

The article states that  after landslides killed five people in 1996, the state launched a safety initiative that called for landslide hazard maps. I haven't seen these landslide hazard maps have you? I doubt it because the article states that the state never formally adopted these maps after some city and county officials complained that the maps represented a regulatory headache that might restrict development. Brilliant. It is absolutely fantastic when the local government bypasses the safety of its residents and issues permits to build in high risk areas to generate revenue for the town.

So the main culprit of these recent landslides is not just due to improper drainage but the fact that many of these homes should not have been built where they currently are situated in the first place. As I have previously posted home insurance is going to exclude damage and loss due to a flood or landslide. A flood insurance policy is not going to provide the protection you need because it will exclude damage due to landslide, a flood insurance policy will only provide protection for mudflow. The only type of insurance available for protection due to landslide is what is called a Natural Catastrophe Insurance Policy. Having a Natural Catastrophe Insurance Policy will protect your home and personal property against a loss from earthquakes, landslides, and floods. If you are homeowner and face the potential risk from any of the above you need to consider a Natural Catastrophe Insurance Policy.

Other than having the right insurance in place the best risk management to have in place for the protection of your home would be the following:

1. Address drainage problems. Rain and melting snow will stream itself into channels and if you don't divert this water from your home you will take on the potential for water damage.
2. If you build or purchase a home on, above, or below a hillside you take your chances. Make certain that the property site adheres to the state building codes from the setbacks from slopes.
3. Don't live on, above, or below a hillside. Consider the odds for a loss. The three ingredients of landslides are steep slopes, loose soil and water. We live in prime landslide areas.

To see how your home is rated for landslide risk, go to the Oregon Coastal Atlas and zoom to your property's location.

Yesterday The Oregonian reported a story West Hills Home Smashed in Landslide. I would say it is a very bad day when your home not just slides off of its foundation but also slides down an enbankment causing other homes to slide off of their foundations. This is the case of the home that is was located at 6438 Southwest Burlingame Place, a Portland Maps search for this address clearly acknowledges the hazard of the home being on a steep slope with the potential of it's location being involved in a landslide.

My hope would be that the home owner at the address not just knew of the risk living at that particular location but did the right thing and had the right insurance coverage in place to protect themselves. This is not always the case as many people prefer to gamble about risk than to protect themselves and their property.

If this home owner were to file a claim against their home insurance policy they will have a difficult time in finding insurance coverage for their loss as each policy defines it differently but a home insurance policy is going to exclude a loss to property due to 'Earth Movement'.  One of the companies I work with provides this as the definition:

"the sinking, rising, shifting, expanding, or contracting of earth, all whether combined with water or not. Earth movement includes but is not limited to earthquake, landslide, mudflow, mudslide, sinkhole, subsidence, erosion, or movement resulting from improper compaction, site selection or any other external forces. Earth movement also includes volcanic explosion or lava flow."

I'm not a claims adjuster but based on the above definition I would feel confident saying that there is not going to be coverage for this home owner unless they have an insurance policy that covers landslide.  An insurance policy that covers landslide would be a Natural Catastrophe policy which would include a loss from Earthquake, Flood, & Landslide.

The Natural Catastrophe policy that I am reading defines landslide as "the natural and sudden fall, slipping or displacement of earth or rock, including mudflow and land collapse other than that arising out of Earthquake Shock." I did a quick quote for this property assuming that the insured value of the home is at least $500,000 and the annual cost comes out to about $2,100 with a 5% deductible.

In the early 1960's a manuel was written by Robert I. Mehr and Bob A. Hedges titled "Risk Management in the Business Environment". This book set three rules which have set the precedent in risk management.

• Don't risk more than you can afford to lose
• Consider the odds
• Don't risk a lot for a little

If you have the financial resources to replace your home after a loss of this magnitude I would say go ahead without the insurance coverage and selfinsure your home otherwise, why gamble?

Contact me for a comprehensive review of your home insurance and determine if your home is at risk to a landslide.