Do you even need to think about Earthquake Coverage in New England?
Did you know your homeowners insurance policy does not cover damage to your home or contents caused by an earthquake? Did you also know there is a major fault that comes down from the White Mountains right through the Merrimack Valley? Did you further know, for not a lot of money, you can add earthquake coverage to your homeowners or tenants policy?
A number of insurance companies have ceased writing earthquake coverage in the Northeast. They won’t even raise the rates, they have just stopped writing it. They know we are due for a major quake and they believe it will be big!
Why is that? Why would an Insurance Company not increase the rates? The reason is that the fault that comes down through the Merrimack Valley from the White Mountains is based in granite. The San Andreas fault in California is based in gravel. When there is an earthquake in California, the aftershocks get absorbed in the gravel. In New England, the concern is that the aftershocks will be “bouncing” off granite, making the aftershocks almost or as powerful as the quake itself. This will result in continued damage in a quake event and that damage is likely to be sizable.
The cost of coverage in New England is $0.35 cents per $1000 in value. In CA the cost is $4 per $1000 in value. Again, companies walking away from the exposure won’t even increase the rates, they believe the quake will be significant.
At Doherty Insurance, we watch closely the activity and reasoning of insurance companies. We watch also, the earthquake movement around the world. It can be argued that the shifts of plates around the world would only logically mean that our plates will shift in response.
At Doherty Insurance, we highly recommend to all our clients that they purchase earthquake coverage for your home and business. Our buildings aren’t necessarily built to withstand an earthquake.
Call us to discuss this further, or call your current agent and ask them to add this coverage to your policy: 978-475-0303.