The last time I felt an earthquake was about 4 years ago when I was getting a massage in the Orange County area. The masseuse said “I think we just had an earthquake”, then left the room in the middle of the massage to go inspect the area. Once she returned she continued to chat and make small talk with me the rest of the massage. So, that massage was not a relaxing one, to say the least.
Well, I woke up about an hour ago by the bed feeling as if it was rolling. Since I was still half asleep it took me a few seconds to process what was going on. I was wondering if I was dreaming or not. I thought “We are having an earthquake!”
I went to Facebook first to see if others had posted stuff with the same feeling. And, yes there were quite a few people posting stuff within one minute saying they had felt the same. I found out apparently, there were 2 earthquakes even before that (that I slept through). Then, became obsessed with finding information on what was going on. Now I can’t sleep and I’m an insurance geek so here I am sending you this email.
Well, hopefully you are reading this at normal hours so you had a good nights sleep.
At the time that I am writing this we have had a 5.8, 5.7 and third earthquake measured at 5.6 in Hawthorne, Nevada.
My mind suddenly remembers an email from a client yesterday regarding earthquake insurance .Yesterday, was my 40th birthday so I only worked part of the day as I spent the day celebrating with my daughters. I must get back to my client, I thought……
So, to address her concerns and many that you may have too here is a little information about earthquake insurance.
First off, the two biggest things that are NOT COVERED by your homeowners policy are Flood and Earthquake.
Earthquake insurance is offered by your homeowners insurance company every time you purchase a new policy and every other year your policy renews. This is a California law. You receive your policy in the mail. Then, you receive a separate letter that may say something like Earthquake offer on the outside of the envelope.
The letter generally has a quote for earthquake insurance and has a box for you to check to opt in for the coverage or not. Again, you can only opt in at that time to get the earthquake insurance through your homeowners company.
You can also buy a stand alone earthquake insurance policy.
To give you an idea of the cost for a stand alone policy; I just ran a quote for a home in Madera that is 1900 square feet and these are the 2 coverage options available .
Standard Coverage Estimate:
Single Limit $404,000
Dwelling – Included in Single Limit
Other Structures – No coverage
Personal Property – Included in Single Limit -$5,000 max
Loss of Use – Included in Single Limit – Max $1,500
Additional Coverage – Included in Single Limit
Deductible – 15% of Single Limit
Estimated Annual Premium $457.00
Comprehensive Coverage Estimate:
Single Limit $682,000
Dwelling – Included in Single Limit
Other Structures – Included in Single Limit
Personal Property – Included in Single Limit
Loss of Use – Included in Single Limit
Additional Coverage – Included in Single Limit
Deductible – 10% of Single Limit
Estimated Annual Premium $641.00
The rates for earthquake insurance are also dependent of where you live and the age of your home. Last week, I did a quote for a client who lives in San Francisco and it was $9,000.
Now, these rates may be different when the insurance world wakes up in the morning. There will likely even be a monetarium on new policies issued for a period of time. But, if you received one of those earthquake offers within the last 30 days you should be able to still opt in.
This is really scary stuff. I’m hoping nobody was hurt and this was the last earthquake.
If you have any further questions regarding this, as usual feel free to email or call me at 559-281-2957.
Ok, I’m hoping I can get back to sleep now that I got that off of my chest.
Talk Soon.