Earthquake damage is not covered by a basic homeowner’s policy.
People do not find earthquake Insurance that important. People generally think that earthquake insurance is too expensive and covers too little for money’s worth. Some people just think that they don’t need earthquake coverage because they do not live in an earthquake prone area. Even in California, where earthquake fears are a part of daily life the percentage of homeowners who have got earthquake coverage is very low. Only 12 percent of homeowners in California have got Earthquake Insurance coverage. Surprisingly, according to the California Earthquake Authority, this figure has actually gone down instead of going up. As per the CEA the percentage of homeowners having earthquake coverage in 1996 was 30 percent. However the fact is that you may feel safer if you get earthquake coverage even if you are not living in an earthquake prone area.
Earthquakes have occurred in 39 states since 1900, and about 90 percent Americans live in areas considered seismically active. According to the U.S Geological survey, there is a 70 percent probability of the occurrence of more than one earthquakes of magnitude 6.7 or larger in the San Francisco Bay area within the next 30 years. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake is equivalent to the 1994 Northridge, Calif. earthquake that had killed 57 people and damaged property worth $20 billion.
Looking at these stats it is quite reasonable to get earthquake coverage added to your home insurance. No one ones to think that something as destructive as an earthquake might occur close to them, but one must be prepared.