[Mario R]

Please, only people who understand this reply. I realize at first, you'll say in CA, no Shae-beep you should get it. But with 15% deductible and coverage is very limited, is it worth is.

It costs more than Homeowners Policy and if an EQ levels out all of Los Angeles, are you guaranteed money? Or will the company go bankrupt and I'll get nothing?

[vikkym24]

Even if the company goes bankrupt, the California Insurance Guarantee Association ("CIGA") will respond. (You'll observe that a small portion of premium (like $2.00) goes to CIGA.) CIGA is like the FDIC for insurance companies.

Now back to EQ coverage. If you suffer a total loss on your property due to EQ and you don't have coverage, then you're out 100%. With EQ, you're out only 15%.

You decide.

[Tommy T]

I wouldn't NOT have it if I lived in CA. I used to live in an area in the Midwest where there was a slight chance of having damage from a quake. (A small fault line in Nebraska.) I carried EQ insurance on my home. (Since there was only a slight chance, it cost very little to carry it.) I moved 100 miles away from there to a place where we have next to no chance of having any damage from an EQ, so I don't carry it now. (We are half way between two fault lines [the one in Nebraska and the New Madrid fault line that runs more or less along the Mississippi River], but not close enough to either to have any significant damage.)

Is there a government back-up program to the EQ insurance? I know that here in the Midwest, several years ago, one business owner had an EQ policy on his business (here in the city in which I currently reside) and when there was a flood, he was covered for the flood since the EQ policy covered flood since floods often accompany EQs. The other businesses around were not covered since they did not have EQ insurance and didn't have flood insurance. But when it comes to flood protection, in nearly every case, you have to have flood insurance. However, the program is worked out through the government since major flood activity could very well wipe out insurance companies if they tried to handle it themselves. It would seem to me that in areas like CA where EQs can be severe, there would be some sort of government program so that people could be insured and companies wouldn't be wiped out.

By the way, is 15% your deductible or your co-insurance? Often, your deductible is expressed as a stated amount, such as $500 or $1,000. Co-insurance is usually expressed as a percentage. A deductible on homeowners insurance is often somewhere between $250 and $1,000. Your deductible can be anywhere in a certain range. 15% fits well within that range. Is the coverage really as bad as you think?

[Joanne S]

It may worth carrying if you suddenly have a quake in the locality. But to most homeowners in California earthquake insurance dozen?t worth putting money at. Only around 10% to 20% homeowners carry earthquake insurance in CA. However, the decision practically depends on you, if you would feel safer with earthquake coverage; you may get it, otherwise save the money that would go towards premium.

The earthquake insurance premium is normally high since the insurer has to distribute the cost of covering EQ amongst the policyholders. Hence, the price may seem exorbitant to someone who has ?1? to ?nil? chances of suffering earthquake damages but it may sound quite reasonable a price for individual living near the EQ prone zone.

I think California Earthquake Authority is the authoritative body managing EQ insurance in California and insurance companies need to be a member of CEA to offer policies to CA homeowners. And at the event of EQ damages California Earthquake Authority would pay out for the losses.