TITLE
"Managing Subsidence," Journal of Insurance Issues, Cassandra R. Cole, Patrick F. Maroney, and Kathleen A. McCullough, Spring 2004, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 1-21. Full-text articles soon will be available through ABI/INFORM and EBSCO; click here for article PDF. 

ABSTRACT
The issue of subsidence is important in many parts of the country.  Whether caused by mines collapsing, oil pumping, or weather, property owners are faced with how to finance these losses, which are not typically covered in standard property policies. Several states have devised funding mechanisms such as reinsurance facilities and organizations specifically designed to provide subsidence insurance in an effort to offer property owners some protection against certain types of subsidence losses.  This paper explores the various causes of subsidence  and discusses some of the solutions states are currently employing.  The paper also investigates the appropriateness of extending the funding mechanisms for mine subsidence to other subsidence-related perils such as sinkholes. 

[Keywords: subsidence, sinkholes, reinsurance, risk-financing]