A policyholder under an all-risk policy filed a claim for sinkhole damage to his home. Does the burden of proving that the damage was caused by a sinkhole fall on the policyholder or the insurer? A Florida court initially ruled that the burden falls on the insured, but that decision has since been overturned.
Alfredo Mejia's Florida home was insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation when he filed a claim for damage caused by sinkhole activity. Mejia's policy was an all-risk policy that excluded earth movement, settlement, and loss caused by a sinkhole — so he had paid an additional premium for a Sinkhole Loss Coverage Endorsement. That added sinkhole loss as a covered peril and stated that the earth movement and sinkhole exclusions did not apply.
In response to Mejia's claim, Citizens retained engineering firm BCI to assess the damage claim made by Mejia. BCI concluded that the damage was not caused by a sinkhole, and Citizens denied Mejia's claim. What followed was a trial on Mejia's breach-of-contract, where Mejia presented his own evidence that his home had suffered structural damage due to sinkhole activity.
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