LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The mine subsidence that opened up in Luzerne County brings up a lot of questions in our area, especially when it comes to protecting yourself financially from something like this.
"When there is a mine subsidence event in our area, it certainly percolates to the top of people's minds. And we do get an increased level of calls into our office where folks are looking for the coverage," Bill Joyce said.
The folks at Joyce Insurance on Main Street in Pittston say mine subsidence insurance claims are not as uncommon as you might think.
"This program started in 1961. It's paid out, since its inception, over $36 million in claims. So, you can see we do have an exposure in Pennsylvania," Joyce said.
If those numbers weren't enough, history shows its prevalence too.
A map on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection website also shows an area from Susquehanna County through Lackawanna and Luzerne, where there are underground mines.
"When it happens, it's usually catastrophic amounts of damage. That's done. Now, sometimes it can be a smaller incident with limited repair, but the average cost of a mind subsidence claim, according to the state of Pennsylvania, is about $50,000."
With the exception of a few insurance carriers, homeowners can only get mine subsidence coverage through the state.
Joyce says he brings it up to new homeowners, but it's not as talked about as flood insurance because these mines are out of sight and out of mind.
"We'll talk about it, then it will go over with the customer and see if it's something that they're interested in purchasing."
And it's pretty affordable. Insuring a $100,000 dollar home costs about $30 a year, but the folks at Joyce say you might want to add on to the value of your home when it comes time to renew your property insurance.
"They recommend that you purchase up to the value of the replacement cost value of your home, but you can find on your homeowner's declaration page, plus an additional 20 percent to cover those additional expenses that come into play when you have an event like this," said Joyce.
Policies through the state only go up to $1 million. If you need more coverage, Joyce says you're better off going with a carrier that offers mine subsidence coverage.
If you want to know if your property is at risk for subsidence or want to use the state's calculator to find out how much coverage could cost, you can do so by clicking this link.
The folks at Joyce Insurance point out that mine subsidence insurance only covers the cost of the building and not the personal belongings inside. Most renter's insurance policies do not cover property damaged in a mine subsidence either. Joyce says this is because carriers argue that the contents are almost always recoverable from mine subsidence. Therefore, it is not included in the coverage.
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