How earthquake insurance works

A standard homeowners policy doesn't cover damage to your home from an earthquake. Your home is insured for earthquake damage only if you've added an endorsement or bought a separate earthquake policy.

How the coverage is added

You may be able to add earthquake coverage to a homeowners policy as an endorsement, a written change to the policy, for an extra premium. If your insurer doesn't offer it that way, it may connect you with another company that sells a stand-alone earthquake policy. Either way, the earthquake coverage will differ from the homeowners policy in important ways, so ask your agent to explain them.

New coverage can pause after a quake. Most insurers won't sell new earthquake insurance for 30 to 60 days after one.

What it covers

Earthquake insurance covers:

• The dwelling. Repairs to your home from earthquake damage, and it may cover other structures, such as a detached garage.
• Personal property. The things in the home.
• Debris removal. The cost to clear it away.
• Building codes and the land. It may cover the extra cost to meet current building codes, and the cost to stabilize the land under the home.
• Additional living expenses. The extra cost of living somewhere else while the home is repaired, such as rent while you keep paying the mortgage. It doesn't pay your regular costs, such as groceries.

The exclusions vary by insurer. Common ones are damage to the land itself, vehicles, damage that was there before the quake, and water from outside the home, such as a flood or a sewer backup. Some policies don't cover masonry veneer, the brick or stone facing on a house.

How the deductible works

An earthquake deductible is usually 10 to 20 percent of the coverage limit, not a flat amount like the $500 or $1,000 on a homeowners policy. On a home insured for $200,000, a 10 percent deductible is $20,000.

A policy may have separate deductibles for the dwelling, for other structures such as a detached garage or a fence, and for personal property.

Earthquake events within 72 hours usually count as one event, with one claim and one set of deductibles. Damage from an aftershock after that can mean a second claim and a second deductible. The period isn't 72 hours on every policy, so ask your agent.

An annotated example

What to do next

Find the declarations page of the homeowners policy and look for an earthquake endorsement or a separate earthquake policy. If there is one, turn its deductible percentage into dollars using the dwelling limit, and write the figure down. Keep it with the house records, next to the homeowners policy.