Are mudslides covered by home insurance?

No, neither mudslides nor mudflows are covered by a standard home insurance policy. Mudflows, however, are covered by flood insurance.

The difference between a mudslide and mudflow might seem pointless when your house is full of dirt. But to insurers, there's a big distinction.

A mudflow, a byproduct of a flood, is the movement of water and mud that flows across normally dry land. A standard home insurance policy doesn't cover damage from floods. You must buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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A mudslide, which can result from a collapsed hillside, happens when earth and rock travel downhill. Mudslides not covered by home insurance or flood insurance.

Other perils that standard home insurance policies don't cover, include:

• Earthquakes
• Power failure
• Neglect, war
• Nuclear hazard
• Intentional loss (when you damage your home on purpose)
• Governmental action (such as the seizure of property)
• Building laws requiring you to bring your home up to code
• Loss to property from defective maintenance, faulty zoning and bad workmanship or construction

For more, see mudflow or mudslide? The answer affects your insurance claim and home insurance exclusions: what your policy won't cover.