The cost to add earthquake insurance is just one of three major factors when considering earthquake insurance for your home. There are three primary things you need to know, here they are:
First, For most Utah homes the cost will about double when you add earthquake insurance to your current policy. So if you pay $1000.00 for homeowners insurance, it will go up to about $2000.00, give or take a few hundred dollars. When you think about it, that’s not much, for about $75.00 – $100.00 per month you can add earthquake insurance to your home.
The second major factor to take into consideration is the deductible. Earthquake deductibles are much higher than your traditional homeowner’s deductible of $1000.00 or $2500.00. The industry standard has been increasing and is around 15%. That’s 15% applied 3X, first to the dwelling, then to the contents and again to the additional living expense. For this example, let’s use a 2000 square foot home with $400,000 in dwelling coverage:
Dwelling Coverage: $400,000 X .15 = $60,000 deductible for the dwelling
Contents Coverage: $200,000 X .15 = $30,000 deductible for your contents
Additional Living: $100,000 X .15 = $15,000 deductible for you to live in another home while your home is being rebuilt
So the total out of pocket in this example may be as high as $105,000, better than losing your home, right?
The good news is that at Anderson Insurance Group we have solutions with deductibles as low as 5% so instead of $105,000 out of pocket it may be as low as $35,000. One of those companies is United Insurance Group, who offers a policy with one of the lowest deductibles in the insurance industry.
The third item to consider is where you home is located. In Utah there are two primary sources of damage, ground shaking and liquefaction. Your home may not be in a high liquefaction area but may be in a high ground shaking area. Here is a link to the Utah Geological survey that will help you determine where your home is located. Earthquakes – Utah Geological Survey
Call a knowledgeable Anderson Insurance agent today for more information and pricing on earthquake insurance in Utah. We represent United Insurance Group and other companies to offer you the protection you need for when “The Big One” hits.
