Should i get earthquake insurance in san diego

You may also need insurance to help pay for your condo association assessment to repair your building. Talk to your condo association. You can buy earthquake insurance to cover damage to your home and belongings. It can also pay for living somewhere else while your mobile home is being repaired. CEA offers earthquake policies, for homeowners, mobilehome owners, condo unit owners and renters.

You cannot buy earthquake insurance directly from CEA you buy it directly from insurance companies that are members of CEA. You must have a residential property insurance policy in place in order to get a CEA earthquake policy. You must purchase your CEA policy from the same insurance company that you have your residential policy with-see the list of CEA participating insurers here. Back to Top. Part 1: Your dwelling coverage. This is sometimes referred to as Coverage A and covers your home up to a certain amount, called the limit.

Part 2: Your personal property coverage. This is sometimes referred to as Coverage C and covers things in your home, like furniture, TVs, and computers.

Part 3: Additional living expenses ALE or loss of use. This is sometimes referred to as Coverage D and covers temporary and extra costs to live somewhere else while your area is evacuated or your home is repaired. The CEA Homeowners Choice policy offers the option of choosing separate coverage for dwellings and personal property, with different deductibles. Even though you can select separate deductibles for dwelling and personal property, the Homeowners Choice policy will not apply both deductibles for the same earthquake claim.

This means that CEA waives the personal property deductible if covered damage to your house exceeds the dwelling deductible. If you are a condo unit owner, your HOA may have insurance for common areas and the exterior structure of the building; however, it may not cover earthquake damage to those common areas and exterior structures. Additionally, your association may require you and other unit owners to share repair costs or pay part of their policy deductible through an assessment.

These are not CEA policies. A few companies offer these policies. They are policies that you can buy without buying homeowners insurance from the same company. Your premium depends on many things, such as the location of your home, the cost to rebuild, type of construction, the coverages selected and the deductible. With CEA insurance, older homes may qualify for a discount of up 20 percent if they have been properly retrofitted.

All insurance policies have exclusions. These are the things the policy does not cover. Read your policy to learn about your exclusions. Earthquake insurance usually does not cover anything that your homeowners policy already covers. For example, your homeowners policy covers fire damage, even if an earthquake causes the fire. Therefore, your earthquake policy does not cover fire damage.

Usually, earthquake insurance does not cover damage to your land, such as sinkholes from erosion or other hidden openings under your land. You may be able to buy limited additional coverage to restore or stabilize land. Earthquake insurance does not cover damage to your vehicles.

Check your auto insurance policy to find out if it covers that damage. Earthquake insurance does not cover water damage from outside your home, such as sewer or drain back-up, flood, or tsunami. For example, if you live near a lake that floods your home after an earthquake, earthquake insurance will not pay to repair the damage. A flood insurance policy will cover you. In general, your homeowners or renters insurance does not protect your house from the damage an earthquake causes, even if the damage is indirect.

California law says that both homeowners and renters insurance must cover fire damage that is caused by or follows an earthquake. This means that the fire damage is covered, whether or not you have earthquake insurance. Retrofitting is making changes to increase the safety and strength of your home. This can help you save money on insurance and repairs. The cost of earthquake insurance is based on a number of things, such as the way the home is made and the kind of soil under it. The cost is usually higher for:.

Your insurance company must offer you earthquake insurance even if your property does not meet current Building Code and Health and Safety Code rules about bolting foundations and anchoring water heaters. You may be able to reduce your premium or deductible by retrofitting to make your home safer and stronger. Your insurance company must tell you in writing about these discounts. Retrofitting can:.

To learn more about retrofitting, go to www. The coverage pays only for the building code upgrades you need to get a reconstruction permit. If you notice damage or just suspect it, report it to your insurance company as soon as possible:.

If your insurance company refuses to open a claim, call the California Department of Insurance immediately. Insist that the company assign a claim adjuster to your case. Earthquake damage is not covered under a standard home insurance policy.

Depending on what state you live in, you may or may not need to worry about earthquake insurance. The Insurance Information Institute says that millions of people in 42 states are at risk of earthquake damage to their homes or belongings. So if you don't have it yet and are wondering if it is worth paying for, you're not alone. Learn some facts about earthquakes, the real risks, and some pros and cons of having insurance that covers damages caused by them.

The first thing you need to learn when you're thinking about purchasing earthquake insurance is the real risks of where you live. The U. Geological Survey has the information you need to find out. According to the U. Geological Survey, the U. Most people don't realize that they might live in a zone that could be affected by an earthquake. Out of 50 states, 42 are at-risk.

The known earthquake zones are mapped out on the USGS' websites. Coastlines and mountain ranges are the areas that have the most activity, but this doesn't mean that there isn't a fault near you.

The USGS notes that faults can take thousands or tens of thousands of years to return to an active state, so there might be many unknown faultlines across the U.

Since the records only show known earthquakes and areas mapped by modern sensors, there is no way to know if a quake might occur in places where there has been no seismic activity in the past. The Insurance Information Institute outlines the actual risks in each of the U. The main advantage of buying earthquake insurance is that it will protect the money you have invested in your home if a quake damages it.

If you experience earthquake damage without insurance to offset the costs, you may have to continue paying your mortgage and paying for a new place to live out of your pocket. Mobilehomes that are properly retrofitted are also eligible for premium discounts.

Grants for retrofitting may also be available. Read the California Insurance Commissioner's latest bulletin on grace periods, and contact your insurance company directly for more information. With more than 1 million policyholders, CEA is one of the world's largest providers of residential earthquake insurance. Since , CEA has been encouraging California homeowners, mobilehome owners, condo-unit owners and renters to reduce their risk of earthquake damage and loss through education, mitigation and insurance.

Learn more about brace and bolt grants. View Details. Phone: Register for a grant today! Translate Share. Already a CEA policyholder? Get the information you need to manage your policy. Manage Your Policy. North Coast. Tsunamis Along the Coast. Shasta Cascade. Greater Bay Area. Delta Sierra. Landslides, Liquefaction, Or Levee Failure. Central Coast. Central Valley South. Landslides, liquefaction, or levee failure.

Southern California Coast. Inland Southern California. San Diego. Be Prepared for an Earthquake. Personal Preparedness There are easy steps you can take now to be earthquake ready: Create an earthquake safety plan for you and loved ones, including pets. That is possible. Southern California on high earthquake alert, bringing anxiety and preparation ». The authority says it has sufficient funds to handle a catastrophe. That 7. Maybe the disaster movie that Ridout described would leave me shortchanged, but I take comfort in knowing my family is prepared for most emergencies.

Full coverage: 2 major quakes hit Southern California ». Pomeroy, the earthquake authority chief, said there are a number of variables that will affect the cost of quake coverage — is your house built on bedrock or sand, for example, one story or two? I asked if he had a theory for why Ridgecrest residents were twice as likely to buy coverage as average California homeowners. Such people tend to be more prepared for contingencies.

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