People ask us all the time if they need earthquake insurance. The simple, snarky answer is “it depends”… Here’s the short answer: earthquake insurance makes a ton of sense if you have a lot of equity in your home or income property.
In addition, if you depend upon cash flow from income property, consider this:
- Would you just walk away from a pile of cash if it were laying on the street? (meaning – DON’T rebuild?) NO you wouldn’t!!
- If someone told you you could rebuild your $1 million home for $153,500 (insurance premium + deductible) instead of $1 million, you would take them up on their offer, right? YES you would!!
Earthquake insurance, though high in cost and deductible, will replace your home, contents AND provide cash for extra living expenses such as a temporary residence, meals, etc.
Selecting an Earthquake Insurance Policy
We suggest 3 approaches you can consider for the purchase of earthquake insurance:
- Purchase a “full coverage” policy that covers the structure, contents and living expenses, or
- Purchase a “mini-policy” that covers the structure, $5K for contents and $1,500 for additional living expenses, or
- Customize it! We have policies where you declare the amount of coverage for the structure. For example, you can insure a $1 million structure for $500,000 and pay less than you would for the full $1 million coverage.
Everyone’s situation is different. We can help you navigate the options for coverage and pricing. And you may even come to the conclusion that you don’t need earthquake insurance after all!
At least you did your homework!
Contact us with your questions about an earthquake policy – no cost or obligation.