Owners Of Noah’s Ark Replica Suing Insurer Over Water Damage

arkencounter/Facebook

One of the great things about the modern world, and something that has been used by many people to varying results, is the ability to sue whoever or whatever you want.

Back in biblical times, the luxury of suing people didn’t exist. The penal system was based on the newly, divinely devised 10 commandments, which unfortunately didn’t include anything saying ‘thou shalt not initiate legal proceedings against thy neighbour over something thou should’ve prepared for thyself’.

Nowadays though, insurers often protect themselves and their clients against ‘acts of God’ because, well, hindsight is 20/20 and they need to cover their bases.

One company who – more than anyone else – probably should’ve taken out the act of God insurance are the owner’s of a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark in northern Kentucky.

It turns out, a 510-foot-long replica of Noah’s Ark wasn’t built to withstand a few days of heavy rain, let alone 40 days and 40 nights.

The company, Ark Encounter, are now reportedly suing their insurers for refusing to cover rain damage, as heavy rain in 2017 and 2018 caused nearly $1 million in damages to the replica Ark and its surroundings.

The heavy rain apparently caused a landslide on the access road to the attraction, making it unsafe to use. The company’s five insurers, however, reportedly refused to cover the $1 million damages.

Ark Encounter has now filed a 77-page lawsuit in US District Court, asking for compensatory and punitive damages, CNN reports.

The lawsuit claims the insurers acted in bad faith (yep), after they told the owners to proceed with repairs to the attraction but only paid out ‘a very small portion’ of the cost.

Melany Ethridge of Ark Encounter told CNN:

Contrary to some reporting, the damage to certain areas of the Ark Encounter themed attraction was not caused by a ‘flood’.

The ark was built on bedrock and was never in jeopardy.

We are highly confident of the merits of our case as we seek a fair resolution with the insurance companies.

At least the people on board the biblical ark would’ve been safe at the time. Imagine the lawsuits which would’ve emerged from the people left behind…

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Charlie Cocksedge

Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.