Insurance for Excavation and Underpinning Damage: Read the Exclusion

Reviewed September 7, 2026.

Damage from neighboring excavation may raise both a claim against the responsible parties and a claim under the damaged owner's property policy. These are separate routes with different requirements.

Pioneer Tower and the later Bentoria decision

In Pioneer Tower Owners Assn. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 12 NY3d 302 (2009), the Court of Appeals held that the particular earth-movement and settling-or-cracking exclusions did not unambiguously exclude the neighboring-excavation loss.

But Bentoria Holdings, Inc. v. Travelers Indemnity Co., 20 NY3d 65 (2012) enforced an earth-movement exclusion expressly extending to man-made or artificial causes. Pioneer therefore does not establish universal coverage for negligent excavation or underpinning.

Preserve the evidence and policy rights

Arrange an appropriate engineering assessment, document the condition before and after the work, and protect the property from further damage without compromising safety. Notify potentially applicable insurers promptly and retain the complete policies, endorsements, photographs, monitoring records and repair estimates.

Review causation, all exclusions and conditions, proof-of-loss duties and suit limitations. A demand for coverage is not necessarily enough to preserve the time to sue.

Kushnick Pallaci PLLC assists clients throughout New York with property-damage insurance coverage. Contact 631-752-7100 or vtp@kushnicklaw.com.

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