HOLLADAY, Utah — What do you do before or after a mudslide as a homeowner, such as the one that happened Tuesday night in Holladay?
Generally, mudslides are not covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy because it's not considered a seismic event like an earthquake. It's under a category called "Earth Movement."
Earth movement can include mudslides, sinkholes or mine subsidence, all circumstances not typically covered by the average policy.
As a homeowner, you have a couple of options: you can buy an earthquake policy that might have an "earth movement" endorsement or addition, or you can buy the additional coverage, but it tends to be narrow and more expensive.
Mudslide on Holladay hillside displaces residents of multiple homes:
What about after a mudslide happens?
"The homeowners may have the coverage that would kick in called 'loss of use' that may not kick in because the coverage won’t be there or the cause of the damage may not be covered, in this case, a landslide may not be covered under the policy because they don’t have earth movement coverage or earthquake coverage,” said Matt Child, CEO of Utah Independent Agents. “It still is very much worth a call to their insurance agent and say, ‘Hey, I can’t live in the home now, can I claim and get loss of use coverage so you can pay for my hotel space, my additional travel to work because I’m further away, I have to eat out more because I don’t have a kitchen until I can get back in my house.'"
You may be wondering, can anyone be held responsible if a mudslide happens?
In a case where a water main breaks, if it were caused by a public line, chances are the city would not have to pay a homeowner unless the city knew there had to be maintenance on that area and neglected to do so, a scenario in which they could be held responsible.
If it were a private line on the grounds of your homeowners' association, you could talk to them about compensation.
