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The short answer
A standard homeowner policy excludes earth movement, and a collapse over an old mine is earth movement. Eight states run a program of their own for exactly this: Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Wyoming and Colorado. In the other 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico the only cover is whatever endorsement your own insurer will write.
The eight do not work the same way. Pennsylvania and Wyoming write the policy themselves. Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois have a state fund stand behind the private insurers, who add the cover to the homeowner policy, in some counties automatically. Colorado runs a protection program paid for by a federal grant rather than a policy at all.
Every figure in the table was read on the program page it links on October 29, 2026. Premiums change, so take the figure as the order of size and read the page for the rate.
State programs
The eight state programs, side by side
| State | Program | Where it applies | What it costs and covers | How to buy and claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | DEP Mine Subsidence Insurance | Statewide, for a building over an abandoned underground coal or clay mine; the state writes the policy itself | The DEP page prices an average $160,000 policy at $43.75 a year, with a 10 percent discount on a primary residence at 65 or older; cover up to $1,000,000 per building, one year term, a separate policy for each building including a detached garage | Apply online at the DEP Greenport MSI application or by telephone at 1-800-922-1678; claims to the same number |
| Ohio | ODNR Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund | 37 counties: added to every homeowner policy in 26 mandatory counties (Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Scioto, Stark, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Vinton and Washington) and by choice in 11 optional counties (Delaware, Erie, Geauga, Lake, Licking, Medina, Ottawa, Portage, Preble, Summit and Wayne) | $1 a year in a mandatory county, $5 in an optional one; deductible 2 percent of the cover, $250 minimum and $500 maximum | Through the homeowner insurer; the claim goes to the agent, who notifies the Ohio Mine Subsidence Insurance Underwriting Association |
| West Virginia | Board of Risk and Insurance Management | In 40 coal counties the cover is part of every homeowner policy unless the policyholder waives it; in Berkeley, Cabell, Calhoun, Hampshire, Hardy, Jackson, Jefferson, Monroe, Morgan, Pendleton, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt and Wood it is written only on request | Set by the insurer as part of the homeowner policy under WV Code 33-30 and rule 115-1 | Through the homeowner insurer; the WVGES homeowner guide to geologic hazards explains the waiver and lists the counties |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund | 37 counties; every authorized insurer writing property cover there must offer the mine subsidence endorsement | Set by the insurer; the 1984 fund reinsures the cover so the insurer adjusts and pays the loss | Ask your own insurer for the endorsement on a home or business policy |
| Indiana | Indiana Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund | 26 counties in southwestern Indiana along the Illinois Coal Basin | From $24 a year for a dwelling insured to $25,000, up to $500,000 per structure; deductible 2 percent with a $250 minimum; insurers must offer up to $15,000 of additional living expense | Added to the homeowner policy through your agent at any time; the structure must be insured before the damage |
| Illinois | Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund | 34 mandatory counties where the statute puts the cover in every residential and commercial policy unless waived in writing: Bond, Bureau, Christian, Clinton, Douglas, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Grundy, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, LaSalle, Logan, Macoupin, McDonough, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Peoria, Perry, Putnam, Randolph, Rock Island, St. Clair, Saline, Sangamon, Tazewell, Vermilion, Washington and Williamson; elsewhere by request | Set by the insurer; the fund created by statute reinsures every company, and each company must offer and service the cover | Through the homeowner insurer; file the claim with your agent and ask the DNR Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Division to investigate the ground at the same time |
| Wyoming | DEQ Mine Subsidence Insurance Program | Statewide, for homes and businesses over or near mined areas; the state runs the program | $2 per $1,000 of cover for a house, up to $275,000 per structure; deductible 1 percent, $250 minimum and $500 maximum; detached structures for an extra premium | Apply to the AML Division; call 1-800-510-0283 first to learn whether the property is over or near a mined area |
| Colorado | DRMS Mine Subsidence Protection Program | Colorado homes damaged by coal mine subsidence; a protection program, not a policy sold by insurers | Set up with a $3 million federal grant; the DRMS page says most homeowner policies specifically exclude subsidence | Follow the procedure in the DRMS homeowner booklet, Subsidence Above Inactive Coal Mines; information at 1-800-44MINES |
The gap
What a homeowner policy does not pay for
The earth movement exclusion is the whole problem. Pennsylvania says damage from mine subsidence or mine water breakouts is usually not covered by a homeowner policy. Kentucky says homeowner policies exclude losses arising from mine subsidence. Indiana says standard policies do not cover mine subsidence claims. Wyoming says the damage is not usually covered by homeowner or business insurance. Colorado says most homeowner policies specifically exclude subsidence events.
The state programs have limits of their own, and the pages say what they are. Pennsylvania pays the cost to repair or replace up to the cover bought, caps a policy at $1,000,000 or the replacement cost of the building, insures one building per policy so a detached garage needs its own, and pays between $600 and $7,000 toward incidental costs. Ohio, Indiana and Wyoming each take a deductible of one or two percent of the cover with a floor of $250. Indiana pays nothing for damage that began before the policy. None of the eight pays for the land itself, only for the structure and what the policy names.
The abandoned mine land program in your state is not an insurer. Indiana says it in one line on its DNR subsidence insurance page and it holds everywhere: the Division of Reclamation fills subsidence holes but does not pay for structural damage, which is what the fund is for.
No program
The 42 states with no program
Write to your insurer and ask two questions: does the policy pay for damage caused by the collapse of an underground mine, and is an earth movement or mine subsidence endorsement available on this address. Keep the answer with the policy. An agent who says yes on the telephone has not bound anything.
Then find out whether the question even applies to your ground. Our address search on the hub shows what the old records hold near a house, and the state page for your state names the office that holds the mine maps. Utah, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas and Washington all have mapped underground coal and no state cover, so the endorsement question matters most there.
Where a coal mine is working today, damage to a home from its subsidence is the operator's to repair or pay for under the federal surface mining law (30 U.S.C. 1309a), and the state mining regulator takes the complaint. These programs are for the mines nobody owns any more.
A house purchase
Before you buy a house on mined ground
- Step 1. Check the addressPennsylvania and Ohio take a street address in their viewers, Iowa too, and our hub search takes an address anywhere in the country. Our guide on how to get the mine map says where the map itself is kept.
- Step 2. Ask whether the cover is already in the policyIn the Ohio, Illinois and West Virginia counties where it is mandatory, the seller's declarations page shows it. Ask to see it.
- Step 3. Buy before closing, not after a crack appearsEvery program pays only for damage that begins after the cover starts. Pennsylvania binds the policy on the day the online application is submitted if the premium arrives within 60 days.
- Step 4. Insure each buildingPennsylvania writes one policy per building and Wyoming charges extra for a detached structure. A garage, a barn or a shop needs its own line.
- Step 5. Photograph the house on the day you move inDated pictures of every wall, floor and door frame are what settles an argument later about when the movement began.
Straight answers
Mine subsidence insurance questions
Open only the answer you need.
Does my homeowner policy cover mine subsidence?
Almost never without an endorsement. Kentucky puts it plainly: homeowner policies exclude coverage for losses arising from mine subsidence. Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Wyoming and Colorado say the same on their own pages. Read your policy for the earth movement exclusion, and ask your insurer in writing.
I live in one of the eight states. Do I have the cover already?
In the 26 mandatory Ohio counties, the 34 mandatory Illinois counties and the 40 West Virginia coal counties it is in the policy unless it was waived, so look at the declarations page for the mine subsidence line and the premium. Everywhere else in those states, and in Pennsylvania and Wyoming where the state sells the policy, you have it only if you bought it.
What does it cost?
Little. Ohio charges $1 a year in a mandatory county and $5 in an optional one. Pennsylvania prices an average $160,000 policy at $43.75 a year. Wyoming charges $2 for every $1,000 of cover. Indiana starts at $24 a year for a dwelling insured to $25,000.
Can I buy it after the ground has started to move?
No. Indiana requires the structure to be insured before any damage, and Pennsylvania will not issue a policy while a structure is being damaged until the fund decides the damage has stopped. Buy it before you need it.
What about the other 42 states and the District?
No state program exists there. Ask your insurer for an earth movement or mine subsidence endorsement and keep the written answer. The state abandoned mine land program will close an open hole, and Indiana says what is true everywhere: that office fills the hole but does not pay for the damage to the house.
Is a karst sinkhole the same thing?
No. A sinkhole in limestone country, which is what opens in Florida and Puerto Rico, is a different peril under a different set of rules, and none of the eight mine subsidence programs pays for one.
Your own state
Abandoned mine maps, state by state
Each page names that state's own offices, its own counties and its own numbers.
Please read
Disclaimer
The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.