Beattyville to Lexington · Insurance
Does a Kentucky homeowners policy include mine subsidence coverage?
In non-exempt Kentucky counties, yes — mine subsidence coverage is included at a separate premium unless the insured waived it in writing.
That default matters across the eastern coalfield counties, and most buyers have never heard of it. It is not an endorsement you go shopping for. It is a statutory inclusion that arrives attached to the policy, priced by a state administrator, and the only way it comes off is a written waiver signed by the insured. The subtitle is KRS 304.44-030, and the Kentucky Department of Insurance administers the fund it draws on.
What does the statute actually cover?
KRS 304.44-030(1)(a) requires every policy “issued or renewed insuring on a direct basis a structure located in a county or portion of a county in this state,” except counties exempted under KRS 304.44-060, to include — at a separately stated premium — insurance for loss caused by mine subsidence occurring after July 15, 1984, “unless waived in writing by the insured.”
The 2024 General Assembly rewrote the limits. Under the version effective January 1, 2025 (2024 Ky. Acts ch. 31, sec. 1), the maximum total insured value reinsured by the administrator per structure is five hundred thousand dollars, or an amount the administrator determines subject to the commissioner’s approval, based on the solvency of the fund, premiums and deductibles. Subsection (2) adds coverage of up to fifty thousand dollars for additional living expenses “reasonably and necessarily incurred by the owner of a residence who has been temporarily displaced as the direct result of damage to the residence caused by mine subsidence.”
| Kentucky mine subsidence coverage | What the statute sets |
|---|---|
| Inclusion | Automatic in non-exempt counties unless waived in writing by the insured |
| Premium | Set by the administrator; “deviation from the premium set by the administrator shall not be allowed” |
| Deductible | Loss in excess of 2% of total insured value; never less than $250 nor more than $500 |
| Maximum reinsured value per structure | $500,000, effective January 1, 2025 |
| Additional living expenses | Up to $50,000 for a temporarily displaced owner |
| Fund payment to the insurer | Within 90 days of receiving a loss report |
The deductible structure in subsection (1)(c) is unusual and worth reading closely: the coverage pays “the loss in excess of two percent (2%) of the policy’s total insured value, but at no time shall the deductible be less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).” Two percent of a larger insured value would ordinarily produce a larger deductible — the statutory cap of $500 prevents that.
What counts as “mine subsidence” — and what does not?
This is the definition that decides claims, and it is narrow. KRS 304.44-010(2) defines mine subsidence as “the collapse of underground coal mines resulting in direct damage to a structure,” and then excludes loss caused by “earthquake, landslide, water seepage, volcanic eruption, or collapse of storm, and sewer drains.”
Landslide and water seepage are expressly excluded. In steep eastern Kentucky, those are the two most likely causes of the cracks that make a buyer think “mine subsidence.”
“Structure” is defined in subsection (6) as any dwelling, building or fixture permanently affixed to realty — “but does not include land, trees, plants, or crops.” A driveway heaving or a pasture slumping is not a covered structure loss. Coverage also attaches only to underground coal mine collapse, not to any voided ground.
Which counties are exempt?
I am not going to guess at a county list, because the statute makes it a moving target with two independent triggers. KRS 304.44-060 directs the administrator to exempt policies written or renewed in “counties or portions of counties which do not have underground coal bearing strata or underground coal mines or in counties which have not voted, through their fiscal courts, to approve of the availability of mine subsidence insurance within that county.”
Read that second clause again. Two adjoining counties with identical geology can land on opposite sides of this, because one fiscal court voted to approve availability and the other did not. It is also exemptible by portion of a county. That makes “is this county exempt?” a question for your insurance agent and the Department of Insurance for the specific address — not something to infer from a map of the coalfield, and not something a neighbor’s policy answers.
The clause that matters most to a buyer
KRS 304.44-040 lets an insurer “refuse to provide subsidence coverage on a structure evidencing unrepaired subsidence damage until necessary repairs are made.” So a house with visible, unrepaired subsidence damage can be uninsurable for the one peril it most needs covered, until it is fixed. For a buyer that is a sequencing problem: the repair has to be scoped, priced and ideally completed before the coverage is available, and that work belongs in the negotiation rather than in the first year of ownership.
Which is why distinguishing settlement cracks from something structural is worth paying for before you remove a contingency — see when to bring in a structural engineer instead of a home inspector. For acreage in the same counties, two other diligence items travel with the deed: the agriculture water quality plan a ten-acre tract must have on file, and what the PVA record shows before you tour.
How I raise it with buyers
In my practice the question goes to the insurance agent during the quote, not at closing, and it is phrased as two questions rather than one: is this address in a non-exempt county, and is the subsidence line showing on the quote with its own premium? Because the coverage is included by default, the real risk is not failing to buy it — it is a waiver signed without being read, or a quote that omits the line because the address is exempt and nobody said so. Both are cheap to check while there is still time to ask.
I am your agent, not your lender and not your insurance agent. Coverage questions, waivers and claim decisions belong to a licensed insurance professional and, where damage already exists, to counsel. What belongs in diligence is knowing the coverage exists by default, what it excludes, and that unrepaired damage can block it.
Is mine subsidence coverage expensive in Kentucky?
The premium is not set by the insurer. KRS 304.44-020(4) has the administrator establish premiums and periodically review the level against experience data, and subsection (5) states that “deviation from the premium set by the administrator shall not be allowed.” Ask your agent for the separately stated premium on your own quote — it is a line item by statute.
Does the coverage pay for a cracked driveway or a slumping yard?
No. KRS 304.44-010(6) defines a covered “structure” as a dwelling, building or fixture permanently affixed to realty and expressly excludes land, trees, plants and crops. The definition in subsection (2) also excludes landslide and water seepage as causes.
How fast does the fund reimburse a claim?
KRS 304.44-080 requires the administrator to pay the insurer all amounts due within ninety days after receiving a loss report, and lets the administrator require an itemized statement of damage, repairs made and the cost of each repair. That ninety-day clock runs between the fund and the insurer — your own claim timeline is governed by your policy.
Last updated October 25, 2026.
By Marcos Gil, REALTOR® — Keller Williams Commonwealth · KY Real Estate License No. 296259 · Call or text (859) 310-1209.
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