Agent in Wine Country Makes Argument for Earthquake Insurance

Brian Anderson

Executive Editor
100+ Post Club
656
Earthquake insurance is a tough sell even in California, but a new article written by P&C broker Bruce Sackrison, a contributor to the Napa Valley Register, makes a pretty good case in his first column:

Yes, you need earthquake insurance. Besides our August 2014 quake, there is a seven out of 10 chance that Napa gets hit with “The Big One” sometime in the next 30 years. If we do, thousands will be homeless. You could lose everything.

This is a sobering fact. Why do so few homeowners have earthquake insurance? Only 5.3 percent of Napa county homeowners have earthquake insurance. That’s compared to 12 percent of all California homeowners who have an earthquake insurance policy.


He goes on to list and refute the five most common reasons he hears for not having earthquake insurance – people think homeowners covers it; can’t afford it; deductible is too high; government will bail me out; won’t happen to me.

There was a story that made news last fall predicting a “99.9% chance” of a magnitude 5.0 or greater earthquake hitting L.A. by the middle of 2018, to which the U.S. Geological Survey said it’s only an “85%” chance.

Of course it’s not surprising to hear California can expect to experience a major earthquake or two in coming years, but surprised by how certain scientists seem to be about its inevitability and it’s kind of disturbing how few Californians (only about 1 in 10?) will be insured if/when "The (next) Big One" does hit.

Hope Bruce and his colleagues out there rack up some new business…

Do you need earthquake insurance? | Business | napavalleyregister.com
 
Back
Top