Earth movement

Earth movement is the policy's catch-all for ground that shifts, sinks, rises or slides. In the ISO homeowners form it is a Section I exclusion, and it lists earthquake (including land shock waves), landslide, mudslide and mudflow, subsidence or sinkhole, and any other earth sinking, rising or shifting.

Because the clause is written as an anti-concurrent causation clause exclusion, it applies no matter what else contributed. The form does restore coverage for fire or explosion that results from earth movement. Say an earthquake cracks a foundation and ruptures a gas line, and the house then burns (hypothetical). The fire loss is covered; the shaking damage is not.

Coverage comes back through an earthquake insurance endorsement or a separate policy, usually with a percentage deductible, or through sinkhole coverage where state law requires it to be offered. Without those, a house that slides down a hill or slumps into a void is generally your loss. Foundation claims are the usual flashpoint: cracks from settling soil are routinely denied as earth movement, and a plumbing leak that undermines the soil often turns into an argument over cause. The guide the earth movement exclusion explained shows how those disputes play out.