Most commercial and residential insurance policies contain
exclusions for earth movement, flood or surface water. At first glance it may
appear clear that these policies would not cover damage from a mudslide.
However, as the recent mudslides in Santa Barbara County, California demonstrate, the answer may not be so clear.
Those mudslides, which killed more than 20 people and damaged or destroyed
hundreds of homes, followed the Thomas Fire that scorched almost three hundred thousand acres.
