ESTACADA, Ore. – Residents who lost their homes during recent landslides in Lake Oswego and Estacada didn't have landslide insurance.

Many people don't realize such coverage even exists or that there are tools available to assess your own landslide danger.

Roger Moore, who lives near an Estacada home in the Twin Islands community that was destroyed by a landslide and subsequent fire, said he was told he could not get natural disaster insurance.

Randy Kaufman, a Vancouver, Wash., insurance agent, said that is a common misconception.

"Most of them are called 'Difference in conditions policies,' " he said.

Kaufman just wrote a policy on a $750,000 Portland home. He said the policies are expensive, costing from $150 to $250 a month depending on a home's value and the slide danger.

If you live in an area with a history of slides, it might not even be available.

"I'm sure that if they have already been designated as a potential landslide area that more than likely they are not going to be able to get it," Kaufman said.

But he said most homeowners should be able to get such a policy if they can afford it above and beyond their regular home insurance.

In the meantime, Portland State University geologist Scott Burns, an expert on landslides, said there are precautions you can take around your home.

"Check their gutters. Check the drain pipes. Check the drains on the street and in the driveway and on the patio," he said. "Ask where that water is going. Get that water collected. Don't allow it to collect on the slopes."

Burns said your home could be at risk even if you don't think it is on a steep slope.

You can check a Natural Resource Conservation Service Web site to see what types of soils are on your land and what hazards you could face.