Missouri just held an event noting the 200 year anniversary for the New Madrid earthquake. John M. Huff, the acting director Missouri’s Department of Insurance, spoke at said event to help bring awareness to the weak number of homes that actually have earthquake insurance within the state. He has also has expressed in the past, that there’s a large percentage of homeowners that will not be accurately protected if an earthquake happens these days.
Huff’s concern is, that over the past ten year’s the amount of earthquake policies purchased has sharply decreased and the ones that do have the coverage have high deductibles and may not be adequately insured. But consumers are complaining that earthquake insurance has also drastically increased, in some cases, doubled in many counties.
A lot of insurance policies do not include insurance from damages caused by earthquakes. Instead, consumers have to purchase riders or endorsements for their home policies. Huff also stated that those areas, in which, are more at risk for earthquakes have even less coverage.
Homeowner’s needs are not being met by products that are offered by insurance companies concerning earthquake protection. Earthquakes are affecting huge cities or metropolitan areas and insurance policies for earthquakes are in fact scarce.
The New Madrid area is noted to have one of the highest seismic activity in America and is located in the southeastern region of Missouri which also spreads over parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and southern Illinois. The State Emergency Management Agency presents resources for earthquake preparedness on its website. It also has a complete list of insurance companies in Missouri offering earthquake coverage for online shopping.
