Last week was an interesting, exciting or scary week depending on your viewpoint, or maybe all three. How often does one experience an earthquake and a hurricane in the same year much less the same week?
With the occurrence of these two natural disasters, it's appropriate to address how coverage for earthquake and flood apply to the Homeowners Insurance Policy. The simple answer is that there is no coverage. Two of the main exclusions on the HO policy are from losses due to flood and earthquake. While flood insurance requires a separate policy, most HO policies are capable of being endorsed to provide coverage for damage to buildings and contents caused by an earthquake. As a rule the deductible is based on a percentage of the replacement value of your dwelling, anywhere from 5% to 25% . The premium is not cost prohibitive for the protection it affords.
Business property policies treat flood and earthquake in the same manner; coverages for these perils are excluded. You have the option to buy coverage via endorsement to the property policy for both, and when this isn't an option, you can buy stand alone coverage.
If you are interested in learning more, or have question about earthquake and flood coverage, give us or call, or e-mail gsafford@jsinsurance.com.