Do Your Homework On The Land You Buy – Or your home insurance could be invalid.

When a person acquires a house through mortgage credits, the bank that’s financing the purchase obliges the buyer to pay for an insurance policy that will protect the structure in the event of a disaster, such as land slides.

However, what many families do not know is that despite paying their insurance, the occasion may arise in which the insurance will not cover the damages caused by an earth slide.

This was seen in the earth slide that occurred last November in the Condominium Nathalia, located in La Trinidad de Moravia.

In this case, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (insurance) decided not to compensate those living in the residential complex because the condominium was built too close to the edge of a slope (a ‘talud’), which is to say, a terrain that has an inclination or natural slope that’s very pronounced.

Eduardo Castro, chief of Insurance at INS, explained that in the contract that’s signed, all exclusions of the coverage are specified and stipulated.

In the case of land slides, the contract refers to a series of situations related to the bad conditions of a terrain where a house or building is constructed, which may represent a high risk to the insuring company, and therefore are not compensated.

“There is a condition in the insurance policy that states that a house may not be built twice as high as the slope (talud). And in the Moravia case, this was not upheld, and houses were built right next to the slope”, explained Alexander Calderón, subchief of Insurance at INS.

The Risk of Landslides in Costa Rica:

In Costa Rica there are more than 1,300 zones that are in constant danger of having an earth slide.

The problem arises principally within the Great Metropolitan Area, like Desamparados, San José Centro, Puriscal and Mora, where there have been land slides and collapses. This was determined by an investigation realized in 2005 by the Colegio de Ingenieros Civiles de Costa Rica (School of Civil Engineers).

The study also revealed that the risk of being a victim of a land slide is increased when families that live in said zones, build their houses right next to a river or a slope. It is exactly these kinds of situations that are part of the clauses that the INS details in the contracts in a detailed manner, that are not covered by insurance.

Castro explained that the insurance policies do not cover situations “where the risks that are being insured are aggravated by any circumstances, and they do not take responsibility for the existence of constructive defects, hidden vices, or the breach of norms and construction codes” that are required by law.

One of them is the sinking of the terrain due to the presence of expansive clay, a material that behaves in such a way that when it rains it shrinks and expands during the Summer. This may cause cracking in the walls, or structural damage, that in some cases may even compromise the stability of the house’s or building’s structure.

General preoccupation by ‘ticos’ on this point should be greater, given that according to Olman Vargas, executive director of the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos (CFIA), many areas in the country have terrains containing this expansive clay.

Another of the exclusions stipulates that the insurance will not be made effective if a fill slide occurs. Fills are grounds of artificial conformation that are built by putting over the ground different kinds of materials (remains of natural soil, ceramic remains, metals, and others) to rise the ground to a required level.

However, many times people fill the lot in an inadequate manner, which may later generate deformities in the lot, like general sinking, or internal cavities.

Facing this situation, specialists coincide that before signing the contract, people must study it carefully by paying more attention to the exclusions stipulated in the insurance policy they are acquiring. It is also advised to investigate the state and quality of the terrain over which you are considering to invest.

No Guarantee:

Generally when people acquire a new house, they trust that if the property comes with the construction permits, the municipality, the bank or the INS are certain of the terrain’s quality.

However, engineer Juan Carlos Arroyo, chief of operations in the Curridabat Municipality, explained that this responsibility lies only in the professional in charge of the construction.

“The engineer that the building company hires must be make sure that the terrain is adequate to build on. He or she is the only one responsible of designing the structure, the ground bases, and the ground studies of the project”, added Arroyo.

Arroyo explained that the municipalities go by the Law of Construction, where they are not demanded to solicit a copy of the ground studies from the building company.

“The only responsibility we have is to make sure that the buildings are not made in zones that the CNE (National Emergency Commission) has labeled as zones in danger of earth slides”, he added.

Our thanks to Ginnette Monge C. and our friends at La Nación – Costa Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission use this article.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.