Earthquake Insurance

The world has seen its fair share of devastating earthquakes in recent years, which has driven greater awareness of the need for earthquake insurance. Like flood and fire insurance, earthquake insurance is sometimes but not always included in homeowner’s insurance policies. Unless a homeowner’s policy explicitly provides for earthquake damage, it will not pay out a dime for it. And just as there are particularly fire-prone and flood-prone areas, there are earthquake-prone areas. California comes to mind as the obvious example, but it is far from the only example. If you live in such an area, earthquake insurance is typically required as a condition of buying a home. But even if it isn’t, you ought to do your own homework and decide whether it might make sense to buy one anyway. Earthquake insurance could mean the difference between getting a fresh start and hopelessly losing everything.