Understanding Acts Of God
Acts of God do not imply that no one is liable for damages. A natural
disaster, such as a flood or an earthquake, usually isn’t foreseeable
or preventable. However, the insured cannot use the event as an
excuse for not taking reasonable care to try to prevent or protect
against damages.
Say a dilapidated warehouse collapses during an earthquake and
injures bystanders. The owner claims an act of God caused the
building to fall. However, the insurers will likely asses the claim, and
there may be no recourse in court because the owner did not take
reasonable care to maintain the structural integrity of the building.
Likewise, governments also need to take reasonable care to prevent
disasters. Say a state failed to maintain a dam that burst and caused
major damage to a community.
This is not an act of God. Intense rains may have caused bodies of
water to swell, but the flooding was a direct result of the government’s
lack of action to maintain water retention systems.