Note of the Living Deb

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!