From the 50th anniversary of the Great Alaskan Earthquake to the tremor in Southern California, risks remain present.
Another tremor has rocked Southern California, this one on Friday, just in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the quake that occurred in Alaska and to remind business owners and homeowners of the importance of earthquake insurance.
This is the second quake to strike California in as many weeks and it sends a message to property owners.
Earthquake insurance is not included in the standard homeowners or business policy and should be considered in many regions where there is a risk of shaking and shifting earth. At the same time, many property owners still don’t purchase this additional protection because they feel that the premiums are two high when compared with the perceived risk.
Equally, many large organizations are taking this time to remind people of earthquake insurance and the risks they face.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is using the fiftieth anniversary of the Great Alaskan Earthquake to remind the world of the impact that a catastrophic quake could have, and that it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that it could actually occur.
Half a century ago, the Alaskan tremor lasted for three long minutes and triggered a tsunami. It left massive ground fissures in its wake and collapsed structures that were located on Vancouver Island. That event is being remembered as the most powerful one that has ever occurred in recent North American history. It remains the second most powerful quake ever to be recorded by a seismograph, says the IBC.
The outcome of a study was released last fall regarding catastrophic events such as that one. It was commissioned by the IBC and looked into the impact of two possible massive seismic events within that country. The first on the west coast in British Columbia, and the second in the eastern part of the country. In the first scenario, the estimated economic losses were $75 billion, of which $20 billion would have been insured.
This is an important point about earthquake insurance coverage, particularly as the country has a 30 percent chance of experiencing another large tremor within the next half century. The situation is not entirely different in the United States, where this coverage also remains low.
