What You Should Know if Your Home or Property is Involved in a Landslide

By: Julie Vacura

The winter of 2008-2009 is one of record-breaking rainfall. In Oregon and Southwest Washington, this kind of rain is inevitably followed by landslides.

If your home or property is located on a slope, there is potential for a landslide or soil settlement. Landslides are usually the result of one of two causes: nature or human error. In recent years, aggressive development practices on sloped properties in Oregon and Southwest Washington have frequently led to landslides.

If your home is involved in a landslide, first make a claim with your homeowner’s insurance carrier. While virtually all property owners and homeowners have insurance they hope will protect them from damage caused by landslides or soil settlement, most policies exclude coverage for landslides, particularly for property located in the Northwest under what is commonly referred to as the “Earth Movement Exclusion.” Nevertheless, depending on what damage has occurred to your property and the cause of that damage, you may have coverage even though there is a stated exclusion. For example, some policies may exclude only naturally occurring landslides. Insurance policies are very difficult to read and interpret, so you should always consider making a claim even if you think an exclusion might apply to your situation.

If your home or property is involved in a landslide, you should also immediately hire a geotechnical engineer to determine the stability of your property after the landslide has occurred. The engineer will be able to help you determine whether there is danger of further sliding and can also help you determine the cause of the slide.

In addition, you should document the damage to your property after the landslide has occurred. Take pictures and keep a diary of events, not only right after the slide, but also in the days, weeks or even months that follow. This documentation will help you recover damages from your insurance carrier if you have coverage or from whoever might be responsible for the landslide.

Julie Vacura, a partner in the law firm of Larkins Vacura, is a trial attorney specializing in business and real estate disputes, and property damage cases. Her firm has represented plaintiffs in a variety of property damage cases, including individuals whose homes were damaged or destroyed by landslides.

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