Landslides, mudslides and mudflows are all considered earth movement under the standard homeowners policy, and are excluded. The exclusion falls under anticoncurrent causation language, so even though the wildfires may have contributed in some way to the loss, the damages are excluded. But what if an insured had already been evacuated due to the wildfires or was receiving additional living expenses due to damage from the fire, and the mudslides caused more damage, increased the time the insured's residence is uninhabitable. Unfortunately, for the insured, the additional living expenses are available only if the loss is covered under Section I of the policy. Even under civil authority, the damage to a neighboring premises must be by a peril insured against.

Therefore, in order for the insured to have coverage for the mudslides, landslides and mudflows, an insured may look to a flood policy if he has one. The NFIP policy includes in the definition of flood mudflow and the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. In order for this to apply there must be an inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land or two or more properties, one of which is the insureds. The policy makes a distinction between mudflow and landslides, and states that landslides, slope failure or a saturated soil mass moving by liquidity down a slope are not mudflows. Mudflows are rivers of liquid and flowing mud on the surface of normally dry areas.

 Therefore, in relation to the current situation in California, the flood policy only covers mudflows. While damage from the mudflow is covered, the NFIP policy provides no coverage for additional living expenses while the building is uninhabitable and under repair. Looking for coverage elsewhere, there is an earthquake endorsement available through ISO HO 04 54 Earthquake and in California HO 22 33 Earthquake – California. Unfortunately, the coverage provided in these endorsements is for earthquake, including land shock waves or tremors. There is no coverage for landslide outside of an earthquake, and the form excludes flood as well, even if it caused by, resulting from, contributed to or aggravated by an earthquake.

 The current situation is Calfornia after the wildfires and mudslides is extremely hard on insureds. The homeowners form and a flood policy cover parts of these losses; the homeowners policy covers the fire damage, and if the insured has a flood policy, that will cover the mudflows. However damages from landslides outside of the mudflows, if a carrier determines that a landslide and not a flood or mudflow is the cause of damage, are not covered under either policy.

 An insured may have additional living expenses after the fire, but will not have such coverage after a mudflow. However differentiating the losses between the two is tricky. If reconstruction or repair after the fire is not affected by the mudflow, then the insured will have additional living expenses from the homeowners form through reconstruction. If the fire burned down part of the building leaving a hole that the mud flowed into, will the costs of removing the mud be included in the repair of the fire damage? The mud must be removed before the repair can begin, but mudslide is not a covered peril. Technically the carrier could make a case that the removal of the mud is not covered as it is not direct damage from the fire and that the insured must pay those expenses separately. How carriers will handle it remains to be seen.