Maybe you’ve felt the rumble of an earthquake before, and if you have, you might have experienced a quick jolt or shake of the ground. Maybe things around you rattled on a shelf or a picture fell. If you experience an earthquake in your area that causes damage to your home, earthquake coverage can help!
What Can Happen in an Earthquake?
Earthquakes are common, and it’s often difficult to predict exactly when they will strike. An earthquake happens when blocks of underground rock, or earth plates, shift and cause seismic waves that make the ground shake.1 The shift could be so small or so far underground that you might not feel the effects of it at all. When the shift does cause a destructive earthquake, things such as landslides, mudflows, and ground shifts could happen. This could cause damage to the outside or inside of your home, such as:
Foundation damage
Exterior damage
Cracks in the wall or ceiling
Buckling in the floor
Earthquake coverage may help cover the cost of repairing damage to your home, but another type of coverage called loss of use coverage is needed to pay for the cost of temporary living arrangements while your home is being rebuilt.
Is an Earthquake Claim Different Than Other Claims?
Before you report a claim for earthquake damage, check to make sure you have earthquake coverage and what the deductible is. Some insurance companies may put a cap on the amount of coverage for contents in the event of a claim. The process for reporting a claim on your homeowners insurance policy for damage from an earthquake does not differ from the process for reporting any other claim on that policy. However, the deductible will be different.
The deductible for reported earthquake damage is a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than the standard deductible for all other claims. Dwelling coverage is the coverage for your home's physical structure and is generally separate from personal property coverage, as well as some other coverage categories.
For example, if your dwelling coverage is $100,000 and your deductible on earthquake claims is 2%, you will be responsible for the first $2,000 worth of the repairs if your home is damaged by one of these natural disasters.
If you feel the earth shake, you can have peace of mind if your home is protected with earthquake coverage.