Does Homeowner's Insurance Cover Earthquake Damage?

Homeowner’s insurance can be confusing and difficult, but being able to understand it can make a difference in saving your home and personal belongings. Being insured is an essential precaution that provides financial protection against disasters that affect the living situation of your home. It is important to be proactive and look over your policy annually to ensure that the coverage is the same and doesn’t need to be updated. Making sure you're keeping up with your home inventory and home maintenance can ensure that your home is constantly being protected and covered.

Homeowners insurance is sold as a package policy, which means it covers the damage made to your property as well as the liability or legal responsibility of any injuries caused by you, your family members, or pets to other people. The average policy covers damage from explosions, fire, windstorms, hail, riots, vandalism, theft, and water damage (excluding floods). Any damage caused by earthquakes will only be covered if you purchase an additional earthquake insurance policy that will cover such natural disaster. Maintenance-related issues will not be covered and is therefore the homeowner’s responsibility.

Homeowners Insurance Earthquake Coverage

Standard homeowner’s insurance will not cover earthquake damage. However, it will cover losses from a fire or any perils issues following the earthquake that will make the home unlivable. Homeowner’s earthquake insurance is available as a separate policy from private insurers. The cost of such coverage varies by the state you live in, the value of your home, and its proximity to a fault line. There are three main components to your home insurance earthquake coverage that you should be aware of:

• Dwelling Coverage - This helps you pay for the repair and rebuilding of the physical structure and attached structures of your home, such as a damaged garage, cracks in the walls, ceilings, foundation, etc. Similar to your homeowner’s insurance, there is a deductible that limits the portion of this coverage.

• Personal Property Coverage - This covers the reimbursement of some of your personal belongings that were damaged during the impact. Personal property claims can include protection of your furniture, electronics, sporting goods, etc. Although most personal belongings are covered, there is a deductible and limit separate from the dwelling coverage.

• Additional Living Expense - This covers temporary and additional costs for having to vacate your home and live somewhere else while your home is being repaired. They will either reimburse you or pay for a temporary rental of a home, apartment, or hotel room. It can also cover a temporary phone line, moving and storage, furniture rental, and laundry — all depending on the policies of your insurance company.

Although earthquake home insurance covers damages cause by the quake, this coverage does have some limitations: Earthquake home insurance does not cover

• Any fires due to the natural disaster, because that should already be covered under your homeowner's insurance

• Vehicle damages should be protected through auto insurance that will cover the damages

• Any damages to the land such as the landscape and sinkholes is a separate coverage that can be added to your homeowner's insurance

• External water damage, such as flooding and tsunamis, is a separate flood insurance that must be purchased or added separately

Be sure to review your insurance policies to ensure your home is being properly protected!

Advantages of Choosing HomeID

Ensuring the safety and protection of your home and personal belongings is important to every homeowner. HomeID is a tool that was designed to help protect your investments in the most efficient manner imaginable. Our home inventory management feature allows you to track and record important information regarding your assets. With this information, you will be able to accurately recall what you owned and therefore will have the ability to file both detailed and accurate insurance claims in the case of a loss or emergency.

HomeID also provides an advanced home maintenance solution that will help you schedule necessary maintenance tasks in an effort to protect your home from wear and tear and even future hazards. It can also be used as a reminder to review your insurance policy at least once a year to ensure you're covered and your home remains healthy.

Why People Love HomeID

1. “Being a victim of a fire, I now understand the importance of home inventory. It is very difficult to remember all of your personal belongings once they’re gone. HomeID has made it super easy for me to organize my valuables and keep track of them.” – Mark G., Sacramento, CA

2. “With new programs rising and technology changing, some platforms are difficult and confusing to utilize, but HomeID has been the easiest inventory platform I’ve come across. I really like how easy it is to upload and access files…making an account was the best choice I could have made for my home.” – Emily B., Naples, FL

Create Your Own Account

Don’t let your largest investments go to waste because of a disaster or accident! Take control and track your personal belongings throughout your entire house with HomeID’s inventory management system. Save yourself the headache of filling out insurance claims by logging in your home assets and warranties for each space of your home to ensure everything is properly accounted for. Create your free HomeID account today and secure your home with the best home management platform available for homeowners!