Sinkhole Damage Claims

Sinkholes are the result of a slow, natural process of erosion. Given Florida’s limestone terrain, Florida experiences the most sinkhole damage and activity of any state. This geologic phenomenon commonly occurs when limestone is within a few hundred feet of the earth’s surface. Sinkholes are formed under pressure, generally from extreme drought or extreme rains. Human activities can also be accounted for as contributing factors to the development of sinkholes.

Sinkhole damage to your property may first appear as small cracks on the exterior of a building that gets worse over time.

Although Florida Statute 627.706 requires every insurance provider selling property insurance in the state of Florida to also provide the coverage for catastrophic ground cover collapse, sinkhole damage may not be covered under your homeowner’s insurance policy. Sinkhole damage is defined differently than a catastrophic ground cover collapse by law.

Florida law defines a sinkhole as “a landform created by subsidence of soil, sediment, or rock as underlying strata are dissolved by groundwater. A sinkhole may form by collapse into subterranean voids created by the dissolution of limestone or dolostone or by subsidence as these strata are dissolved.”