As the state continues to experience one quake after the next, experts are cautioning residents to be ready for more.
May was a month that brought a rash of quakes to Oklahoma (which many are blaming on the hydraulic fracturing, “fracking” being conducted in the state), and this has caused homeowners to purchase earthquake insurance, as experts warn that more tremors are likely on their way.
This recent trend has been causing this sector of this insurance industry to experience rapid growth.
As a person’s home is likely the largest investment in his or her life, it is important to protect it against the risks that could cause damage to it. Statistics from 2011 show that in Oklahoma, only 1 percent of homeowners carried coverage against earthquake damage. As the state doesn’t have a long history of quakes, most people don’t feel that this is a risk that is worth the expense of purchasing an earthquake insurance policy.
Earthquake insurance may be relatively new in importance to the state, but people are learning fast.
In 2011, the ground shook with a 5.6 quake and since then, it feels as though the ground has decided not to give up on the tremors. Over the last few months, the ground has started shaking, and it is doing it quite often. While many people are saying that the sudden onset of the tremors is the result of the fracking activity in the state, as some evidence is reflecting, However, others are saying that it is merely the natural shifting of tectonic plates.
Either way, insurers are finding that their phones are ringing much more often when it comes to protection against this particular peril. The current estimates that have been released by the state commissioner are that the percentage of homeowners that now have quake insurance coverage is now much closer to the 18 percent mark. This is a tremendous difference from what it had been only three years beforehand.
According to the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner, John Doak, “You take the last 30 or 40 years in Oklahoma, the last two or three years. We’ve had 18-20 times the amount of seismic activity in our state.” This can help to explain the rush for earthquake insurance. That said, it should be noted that while the policies are selling quickly, the majority of people across the state still do not have coverage.