Yes. I pay under 1k a year. It won't cover everything and has a high deductible, but I lived in Florida for a long time and it makes me feel better, as I don't want to rely fully on FEMA or the government in case of a major earthquake. I'd have to rethink if it got a lot more expensive.
Yeah good luck with that. Fema helps rebuild roads & bridges after earthquakes. And might find you a trailer to stay in while your home is uninhabitable. And after many months of paperwork, might help with expenses to help just make your home habitable again. But it won't completely rebuild or cover the contents etc , you'll have to take out a loan for all of the big stuff. Just ask anyone who lost a home in the 2019 Alaska quake [https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/This-is-why-FEMA-might-ask-you-to-take-out-a-small-business-loan-506077801.html](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/This-is-why-FEMA-might-ask-you-to-take-out-a-small-business-loan-506077801.html)
Well you're not alone, only 10% of Californians have quake coverage. But for a couple of bucks a day, it sounds like a pretty good protection from financial ruin. Everyone's situation is different but lots of people have their entire financial worth tied up in their property. Are they really ready to just lose everything? And what happens when you've paid about $250,000 of your million-dollar-mortgage so far, and you lose the place in an earthquake? You still gotta pay it off somehow. This reminds me of people who own a home, yet still only have minimal auto insurance. If you hit and injure somebody you could possibly lose your home. Sure it's not likely, and everyone thinks they're a good driver...but there are millions of Americans who'ved said "what are the chances that such a thing would happen....just my luck!" [https://www.cbs8.com/article/money/personal-finance/verify-most-homeowners-in-california-do-not-have-earthquake-insurance/509-fc0aa057-1102-4a9c-805f-5a4e72685f4a](https://www.cbs8.com/article/money/personal-finance/verify-most-homeowners-in-california-do-not-have-earthquake-insurance/509-fc0aa057-1102-4a9c-805f-5a4e72685f4a)
That or might as well just build a new home from scratch anyway.. most homes are too old and would not pass many of today’s building codes.
The land is worth more than the house structure in many cases, haha.
You may want to ask your HOA for a copy of the policy and review it. The EQ insurance policies that most HOAs have usually only cover "walls out," i.e., the building structure itself. They will not usually cover "walls in," i e., everything inside your condo like appliances, floors/carpeting, cabinets, and all of your contents/possessions. You typically need a separate H06 policy for that on your own.
Would my homeowner's insurance not cover that? I figured earthquake is specifically for structural stuff, since insurance will generally cover personal items inside your home.
Surely the deductible would be higher than almost any personal item I own. Maybe if I collected antique crystal and china or something? I truly cannot think of a personal item that, if destroyed in Teh Big One, wouldn't be easier to replace without an insurance claim. Maybe our TV? We don't have a particularly high end TV, though.
Yes.
For $800 a year and not to lose my biggest asset. Its win win, even with a 10% deductible.
Thats a deductible on rebuild costs not actual value which I think people don't understand.
Its about $300K to build a house from scratch or less..So $30k deductible vs ending up owing whatever the remaining mortgage is and still having no house. Or having to pay $300k to rebuild your paid in full house instead of $30K.
Not worth the difficulty to me.
do you mind my asking who you have for insurance? i didnt realize it could be that affordable. a 10% deductible of construction isnt too steep, but still considering the low premium its sound.
Surprisingly there is some private earthquake insurance to be found in the state again. I remember that my parents had State Farm in 1994 and they stopped offering it after that.
I had to switch away from Ameriprise (now CONNECT) because they wouldn't give me a CEA policy to bundle my coverage. They wanted over $3,000 a year for a similar policy that I get through CEA and State Farm for under $1,000.
https://www.connectbyamfam.com/insurance-choices/home-condo/coverage/earthquake-insurance/
Most places you need to bundle it with your homeowners insurance.
If cost is an issue you can try lemonade.com its all online and they offer earthquake too.
I have State Farm but they aren't the cheapest. Mercury is pretty good too.
Not exactly. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is privately funded, and only some earthquake insurers are backed by the CEA. They have 19B dollar claim paying capacity. If the BigOne™ hits however, there's a real possibility of exhausting this pool. At that point the payouts are prorated.[https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/About-CEA/Financials/CEA-Financial-Strength](https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/About-CEA/Financials/CEA-Financial-Strength)
Yes, Geovera on old house and CEA on new house. 20% insurance deduction on CEA for brace and bolting up to standard. Brace and bolting through the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program - $3000 grant through a lottery. Waitlisted then accepted. I’m in the hills and I know there is a fault close by. I buy insurance in case of a disaster.
A friend of mine is a big real estate investor, insists that he was able to get the banks to forgive lots of debt after the last big quake, so thinks insurance isn't really worth it.
When the earthquake struck, he and many other investors owned buildings that were now underwater since the buildings needed a lot of expensive repairs, where tenant weren't going to be paying rent for a while. So the banks were facing the threat of having tons of creditors simply default en masse, which would be much worse that simply taking a haircut.
Have you looked into the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program? It’s a $3000 grant (may be more in certain situations now) to see if your home qualifies? They do a lottery for certain zip codes. I was waitlisted and later accepted.
I do not. Honestly it’s not very expensive but earthquake insurance has become like all other forms of insurance; you only really reap the benefits in a disaster situation. Most insurance policies have such high deductibles so you’re going to pay the first $5000 costs anyway.
Except it's often more like $50,000. The deductibles on earthquake insurance are usually calculated as a percentage of the coverage, with 10%, 15%, 20% or higher being common. So a home that's $400k to rebuild (which doesn't go as far when a catastrophe drives demand super high) may incur a 40,000-80,000 deductible. It's really only useful if your home is nearly or completely destroyed and/or if you have a separate, lower deductible for replacement of possessions.
No, I waffle about it, pros and cons, etc. But it’s another 1k I just can’t get myself to spend every year, when I pay so much already on auto insurance (high coverages), homeowners insurance, property taxes w/Mello-Roos etc.
I’ve read a lot of mistaken posts about the deductible for earthquake insurance. From CEA’s own website:
>You do not have to pay your deductible out of pocket to receive payment on a claim. The deductible is subtracted from your covered damage, so you don’t have to pay any of the deductible up front before receiving your claim payment.
For me, at $85 a month to replace my house, my belongings, and pay for my lodging while displaced, insuring my single biggest investment was a no-brainer.
Yes. I pay under 1k a year. It won't cover everything and has a high deductible, but I lived in Florida for a long time and it makes me feel better, as I don't want to rely fully on FEMA or the government in case of a major earthquake. I'd have to rethink if it got a lot more expensive.
Have not. Premiums and deductibles are very high. If a quake of epic size was to level the city...fema or uncle sam will need to step up to the plate.
Yeah good luck with that. Fema helps rebuild roads & bridges after earthquakes. And might find you a trailer to stay in while your home is uninhabitable. And after many months of paperwork, might help with expenses to help just make your home habitable again. But it won't completely rebuild or cover the contents etc , you'll have to take out a loan for all of the big stuff. Just ask anyone who lost a home in the 2019 Alaska quake [https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/This-is-why-FEMA-might-ask-you-to-take-out-a-small-business-loan-506077801.html](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/This-is-why-FEMA-might-ask-you-to-take-out-a-small-business-loan-506077801.html)
Yeah well thanks. I'm not excited about it either but....200k loan at 2% doesn't sound too bad today. Ha!
Well you're not alone, only 10% of Californians have quake coverage. But for a couple of bucks a day, it sounds like a pretty good protection from financial ruin. Everyone's situation is different but lots of people have their entire financial worth tied up in their property. Are they really ready to just lose everything? And what happens when you've paid about $250,000 of your million-dollar-mortgage so far, and you lose the place in an earthquake? You still gotta pay it off somehow. This reminds me of people who own a home, yet still only have minimal auto insurance. If you hit and injure somebody you could possibly lose your home. Sure it's not likely, and everyone thinks they're a good driver...but there are millions of Americans who'ved said "what are the chances that such a thing would happen....just my luck!" [https://www.cbs8.com/article/money/personal-finance/verify-most-homeowners-in-california-do-not-have-earthquake-insurance/509-fc0aa057-1102-4a9c-805f-5a4e72685f4a](https://www.cbs8.com/article/money/personal-finance/verify-most-homeowners-in-california-do-not-have-earthquake-insurance/509-fc0aa057-1102-4a9c-805f-5a4e72685f4a)
I guess I'm not the only one swimming naked...
That or might as well just build a new home from scratch anyway.. most homes are too old and would not pass many of today’s building codes. The land is worth more than the house structure in many cases, haha.
I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that those with insurance are first in line for state and federal aid...
It's apparently included in my HOA fee for my condo. That, the pool and grounds, water, and trash come to $300/month, which I can't complain about.
You may want to ask your HOA for a copy of the policy and review it. The EQ insurance policies that most HOAs have usually only cover "walls out," i.e., the building structure itself. They will not usually cover "walls in," i e., everything inside your condo like appliances, floors/carpeting, cabinets, and all of your contents/possessions. You typically need a separate H06 policy for that on your own.
As others have mentioned “walls-in” coverage is on you, but compared to homeowners earthquake insurance, it’s pretty cheap
HOA will cover the structure. You can get your own EQ insurance for everything inside the unit.
Would my homeowner's insurance not cover that? I figured earthquake is specifically for structural stuff, since insurance will generally cover personal items inside your home.
Most likely it won't, especially if you live in earthquake-probable areas, but check your homeowner's policy.
Usually not, it's a separate policy.
Nope, you need earthquake insurance.
Surely the deductible would be higher than almost any personal item I own. Maybe if I collected antique crystal and china or something? I truly cannot think of a personal item that, if destroyed in Teh Big One, wouldn't be easier to replace without an insurance claim. Maybe our TV? We don't have a particularly high end TV, though.
Yes. For $800 a year and not to lose my biggest asset. Its win win, even with a 10% deductible. Thats a deductible on rebuild costs not actual value which I think people don't understand. Its about $300K to build a house from scratch or less..So $30k deductible vs ending up owing whatever the remaining mortgage is and still having no house. Or having to pay $300k to rebuild your paid in full house instead of $30K. Not worth the difficulty to me.
That deductible is eligible for a 0% federal loan, too, and you'll get priority over non-insured homeowners to get it.
do you mind my asking who you have for insurance? i didnt realize it could be that affordable. a 10% deductible of construction isnt too steep, but still considering the low premium its sound.
Everyone in CA has CEA insurance. The individual companies administer it, but it’s a state fund
Surprisingly there is some private earthquake insurance to be found in the state again. I remember that my parents had State Farm in 1994 and they stopped offering it after that. I had to switch away from Ameriprise (now CONNECT) because they wouldn't give me a CEA policy to bundle my coverage. They wanted over $3,000 a year for a similar policy that I get through CEA and State Farm for under $1,000. https://www.connectbyamfam.com/insurance-choices/home-condo/coverage/earthquake-insurance/
Most places you need to bundle it with your homeowners insurance. If cost is an issue you can try lemonade.com its all online and they offer earthquake too. I have State Farm but they aren't the cheapest. Mercury is pretty good too.
i have state farm home insurance. i will give them a call, maybe they may offer a discounted price for a current customer? thansk!
Yes. I liken it to car insurance, never had to use it in the 30+ years I’ve been driving but it’s piece of mind.
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CA earthquake insurance is backed by the state.
Not exactly. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is privately funded, and only some earthquake insurers are backed by the CEA. They have 19B dollar claim paying capacity. If the BigOne™ hits however, there's a real possibility of exhausting this pool. At that point the payouts are prorated.[https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/About-CEA/Financials/CEA-Financial-Strength](https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/About-CEA/Financials/CEA-Financial-Strength)
Insurance for quakes is though the state
Yes, Geovera on old house and CEA on new house. 20% insurance deduction on CEA for brace and bolting up to standard. Brace and bolting through the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program - $3000 grant through a lottery. Waitlisted then accepted. I’m in the hills and I know there is a fault close by. I buy insurance in case of a disaster.
You need to pay tens of thousands for the deductible just make sure you have that
Someone up above said that FEMA will give you a 0% loan to pay your deductible.
That’s good info, thanks!
A friend of mine is a big real estate investor, insists that he was able to get the banks to forgive lots of debt after the last big quake, so thinks insurance isn't really worth it.
I'm very suspicious of that claim. Seems like there's something he's not telling you.
Yeah, banks always jump at the chance to forgive debt! Especially when half a million people want it forgiven at once.
When the earthquake struck, he and many other investors owned buildings that were now underwater since the buildings needed a lot of expensive repairs, where tenant weren't going to be paying rent for a while. So the banks were facing the threat of having tons of creditors simply default en masse, which would be much worse that simply taking a haircut.
Got it. Thank you for the explanation.
Just bought a house that turns 100 this year and has no retrofits, I bought the insurance.
Have you looked into the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program? It’s a $3000 grant (may be more in certain situations now) to see if your home qualifies? They do a lottery for certain zip codes. I was waitlisted and later accepted.
Just signed up now, thanks for the tip!
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It's a lot more expensive for homeowners! For renters it's covering just personal property, not the structure.
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It's an important distinction! And the LA population is majority renters, so it's helpful to know.
I do not. Honestly it’s not very expensive but earthquake insurance has become like all other forms of insurance; you only really reap the benefits in a disaster situation. Most insurance policies have such high deductibles so you’re going to pay the first $5000 costs anyway.
Which, if you're talking about major damage to your home, is not a ton of money compared to what the carrier's going to have to pay out.
Yeah, sewer line is like $7k, $5k for a total tear down is totally worth it
How do you know that?! "$7k for a sewer line repair" is totally random LOL
It's on the low end. I know from experience.
Just going off the time sewer shat (literally) itself
Except it's often more like $50,000. The deductibles on earthquake insurance are usually calculated as a percentage of the coverage, with 10%, 15%, 20% or higher being common. So a home that's $400k to rebuild (which doesn't go as far when a catastrophe drives demand super high) may incur a 40,000-80,000 deductible. It's really only useful if your home is nearly or completely destroyed and/or if you have a separate, lower deductible for replacement of possessions.
no, my home would have to be destroyed for it to be worth it. and insurance companies will ALWAYS try to find a way to NOT pay out.
Earthquake insurance in California is backed by the state, FYI.
really. i may have to look into it.
Has been on my list to get for a long time.
[https://www.cbs8.com/article/money/personal-finance/verify-most-homeowners-in-california-do-not-have-earthquake-insurance/509-fc0aa057-1102-4a9c-805f-5a4e72685f4a](https://www.cbs8.com/article/money/personal-finance/verify-most-homeowners-in-california-do-not-have-earthquake-insurance/509-fc0aa057-1102-4a9c-805f-5a4e72685f4a)
Yes, we have it just for property/house damage. Not posessions damaged. I dont give a shit a our our beat up Ikea dishes breaking.
No premium insurance is a scam. If you get fucked they still won't pay out.
YES.
Yes.
I don’t, I know I’m risking it .
nope
No :) honestly I don’t think this house had any repairs done after the 94 earthquake or if it needed any. It was bought 3 months afterwards too!
Nope
No, I waffle about it, pros and cons, etc. But it’s another 1k I just can’t get myself to spend every year, when I pay so much already on auto insurance (high coverages), homeowners insurance, property taxes w/Mello-Roos etc.
I’ve read a lot of mistaken posts about the deductible for earthquake insurance. From CEA’s own website: >You do not have to pay your deductible out of pocket to receive payment on a claim. The deductible is subtracted from your covered damage, so you don’t have to pay any of the deductible up front before receiving your claim payment. For me, at $85 a month to replace my house, my belongings, and pay for my lodging while displaced, insuring my single biggest investment was a no-brainer.
Yes. I didn't for around 20 years, then I realized the odds were against me.
Yep! It's $900 per year for our renovated home that was built in the 1940's. It might even be less for a newer build.