SALT LAKE CITY — The owners of the Noah’s Ark replica in Northern Kentucky are suing insurers for refusing to cover them for … rain damage.
Ark Encounter said insurers refused to pay them about $1 million in damages after massive rain in 2017 and 2018 caused a landslide to appear on the road that leads to the ark, according to The Courier-Journal. The owners asked five of its insurance carriers for help but were rejected each time.
So, Ark Encounter and Crosswater Canyon Inc. are suing their insurers. They filed a 77-page lawsuit with the U.S. District Court asking for compensation and punitive damages, according to The Associated Press.
"Subsequent to heavy rains, a significant landslide occurred along portions of the slope, which eliminated the structural support for the roadway, caused significant damage to the road surface itself and the incorporated improvements, and rendered portions of the road unsafe and unfit for use," the lawsuit reads, according to WLWT-5.
According to WLWT, the defendants said only some of the losses were covered under their policy.
"By refusing to pay all but a very small proportion of Plaintiffs' covered claim, the Defendants have failed to meet their Policy obligations and failed to handle Plaintiffs' claim properly and in good faith, causing Plaintiffs to incur significant additional loss and expense," the lawsuit reads, according to WLWT.
However: The Noah’s Ark replica — first unveiled in 2016, according to my colleague Kelsey Dallas — sustained no significant damage. The access road has also been rebuilt from the landslide.
Officials: This is why some officials with the Ark Encounter have asked for the company to reconsider the lawsuit. Melany Ethridge, a spokeswoman for the replica’s public relations firm, reportedly laughed when she was told the Ark Encounter was filing a lawsuit because of flood damage.
- "You got to get to the boat to be on the boat," she said, according to The Courier-Journal.
- Ethridge told CNN that the damage didn’t come from a flood, either, despite what many believe.
- "Contrary to some reporting, the damage to certain areas of the Ark Encounter themed attraction was not caused by a 'flood,'" she told CNN. She added, "The ark was built on bedrock and was never in jeopardy," she said. “We are highly confident of the merits of our case as we seek a fair resolution with the insurance companies."
Context: Noah’s Ark is described in Christian, Jewish and Islamic holy texts as a vehicle for Noah to save the world by bringing his family and at least two animals of each kind aboard the ship.
"The Ark will equip visitors to understand the reality of the events that are recorded in the book of Genesis," according the ark’s official website.