Earthquake Insurance: What You Need to Know
Earthquakes happen, and when they do, they often cause significant damage to your home and other property. Policies for earthquake coverage vary greatly, therefore you need to understand your risks and which policies will offer you the best coverage and peace of mind.
As an independent insurance agency, Comma Insurance offers choices for earthquake home insurance, not just a one-size-fits-all solution.
If your agent only offers you earthquake insurance as a low cost rider to your existing homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy, be sure to look at what it does and doesn’t cover: Personal belongings? Additional living expenses? Water damage? Enough to rebuild your home?
Often these policies leave consumers with the impression they are covered for damage in an earthquake, when in reality, many insurers typically don’t cover cosmetic damage to brick exteriors, or they have high earthquake deductibles – like 15-20% of your home value – before the policy's benefits apply.
Earthquake Insurance
Do you need earthquake insurance to protect your home if you have insurance coverage for your home or apartment? Will personal property coverage be enough to replace your property? What about additional living expenses? What happens if you need to rebuild your home?
Do You Really Need Earthquake Insurance?
The answer is most likely yes. Fault lines exist all over the United States and unfortunately, earthquakes happen. The damage caused often costs thousands of dollars to repair. An insurance claim placed through your homeowners or renters insurance policy is likely to be denied because an earthquake is generally listed as an exclusion.
This means that as an average person or family, without earthquake coverage you may find yourself living off of credit cards trying to cover additional living expenses - while attempting to replace your belongings, and wondering how you will rebuild your home or pay to move.
Earthquake Insurance Deductibles: How They Are Different from Homeowners or Renters Insurance
While earthquake insurance, homeowners insurance, and renters insurance all protect your home and provide some personal property coverage, it is important to recognize that the deductibles for homeowners or renters insurance coverage are different from that of earthquake insurance.
Both homeowners or renters insurance is similar to car insurance. Insurers typically offer deductibles in dollar amounts. Once you pay the deductible, your insurance policy covers the damages depending on the type of policy you purchased.
Earthquake however are different. These insurance deductibles are generally 10 or 20% of the policy amount.
It is important to consider the amount needed to rebuild your home, what you would need in personal property coverage, and what you could reasonably pay in the amount of earthquake insurance deductibles.
You must carefully read and understand your earthquake insurance policy because you may have more than one deductible that you could be responsible for paying. For example, if you have a fence on your property or another structure in addition to your home, each one of those items may have a separate deductible.
Earthquake Insurance Coverage: Get a Quote
The professionals at Comma Insurance can help evaluate your risks and offer you a range of options so you can purchase earthquake insurance confidently, knowing that the coverage makes sense for you. We aren’t here to sell you a random policy. We’re here to make a difference and help you protect your home with an earthquake insurance policy you understand. We can help you understand how earthquake insurance policies work, find the right policy and deductible for your needs, and help you feel better prepared for anything that the weather has to offer.
Call Comma Insurance now to get your free, no-obligation quote for earthquake insurance: 405.225.2820.
