A to Z Challenge: Revising My Homeowner's Insurance to Cover Earthqukes

[livingdeb]

Because of the rising popularity of fracking, I've decided to get earthquake insurance.

The cost

I was hoping it would be cheap because earthquakes are (currently) basically unheard of here, and it is cheap. It's costing me $38 per year.

This is for the same type of coverage as the rest of my homeowner's insurance, so (I'm hoping) it's full coverage but with a high deductible ($6675) to keep my premium costs down. I can cover a few thousand dollars (and small claims only raise your rates, so there's no point in making them). But I could not financially handle my house collapsing, at least not easily.

On fracking

My old boyfriend, CS, had a textbook in the 1980s that explained that one method of getting rid of toxic waste, deep-well injection, was found to lead to earthquakes, so it was no longer used.

Well, it's not the 1980s anymore. Although fracking similarly involves injecting stuff deep into the earth, they get to do it anyway. Because this new form of natural gas extraction is so valuable, people are working on how to balance gas extraction with actual earthquake damage. For details, the print article Fracking and Earthquakes: Exploring the Connection has a fascinating and readable summary of the situation.

My state loves fracking and hates regulation (of energy companies among other things). And although I am not on a known fault line, there is a one running right through my city. Scientists may figure out good limits which politicians may then enforce. But I'm not holding my breath. So I sign petitions and have insurance.

Comments

[texpenguin.livejournal.com]

So, we live on the San Andreas fault, and we do not have earthquake insurance. We were advised (and our research on the matter seemed to coincide) against it because it actually covers very little. The vast majority of earthquake damage is caused by the secondary events, the fires from broken gas lines or the flooding from broken water mains, and those secondary events are not covered by earthquake insurance (but may already be covered by your existing homeowners policy). The structural damage from the quake itself will be relatively minor, comparatively. We figure if the Big One actually does hit here, this will be declared a national disaster zone, and there will be government or non-profit aid available if our house actually does manage to fall down with no secondary damage. Worst case,we could sell the land and still be able to buy a pretty nice house Texas!

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I think you may even have told me this before. If my cost goes up, I'll re-think my decision.