Do These Changes Help?
The CA Earthquake Authority has announced some changes in policy choices, including being able to lower your deductible to 5% and raising your personal property coverage to $200,000. The problem, it seems, is that to take advantage of the changes, it’s going to cost you more.
For example: if you live in a one-story home in the east bay, without a completed retrofit, valved at $600,000, to get a 5% deductible policy with $200,000 of personal property coverage, you’ll still pay over $3,000 per year.
Do you need EQ insurance? I would never tell folks to drop or not get EQ insurance – that’s a personal decision. I do suggest, however, that in calculating your risk you take into consideration that, historically, we know that houses which are correctly retrofitted are the ones which are much more likely to remain on their foundation during a serious quake. Also, houses which fall off their foundation are the ones which are seriously damaged, sometimes to the point of being a tear-down.
If your decision is to forgo EQ insurance, it becomes even more important to have your home correctly retrofitted. In just a few years, in most cases, the money you didn’t spend on insurance will pay for your retrofit.
What does your home need to be correctly retrofitted? I cover that in my personal consultation. See https://quakeprepare.com/quakeconsult
QuakePrepare has now installed over 2,150 automatic gas shut-off valves in the bay area, including doing well over 50 neighborhoods. If you or your neighbors don’t have one yet, let us get you scheduled. In most areas, the standard cost is still $245. Go to https://quakeprepare.com/quakevalves and we’ll get you scheduled for a Saturday or Sunday installation.
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