The insured's building is situated close to a highway on which some heavy reconstruction work is in process. The pile driving that is going on is sending tremors through the earth and the insured worries that his building may be damaged as a result. Will coverage for any damage be adversely affected by the earth movement exclusion contained in the form?

Illinois Subscriber

No, it will not. The earth movement exclusion relates to earth tremors caused by natural forces. The earth movement that might be brought on by an explosion as well as by the action of the pile drivers is a horse of a different color. The examples of "earth movement" listed in the exclusion (earthquake, landslide, mine subsidence, or earth sinking, rising, or shifting and volcanic eruption or explosion) provide all the support that is necessary for the notion that natural causes are the subject of the exclusion.