Californians to have more choices to keep their properties and investments safe.
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has announced that it will now be offering a new earthquake insurance product to residents of the state to provide them with a greater level of control over the premiums that th
ey pay, and to give them the choice as to whether or not they would like their personal property covered.
This coverage will be more accessible to homeowners by way of a new structure for deductibles.
According to the CEO of the Authority, Glenn Pomeroy, “CEA’s new Homeowners Choice coverage options can help our policyholders take more control of their earthquake-insurance premiums.”
Pommeroy went on to explain that “With just 10 percent of Californians currently buying earthquake-insurance coverage, this new product is an important step toward helping more people protect their homes and personal finances from the devastating disruption of a major earthquake.”
The new CEA product in question is the Homeowners Choice earthquake insurance policy.
This new policy is meant to be a complement to the standard homeowners policy from the CEA. The two forms of coverage can be bundled together to create a single policy to protect the home, personal property, as well as added living expenses. The CEA feels that by being able to offer both types of coverage to homeowners, it provides those customers with greater choice and the ability to properly customize their earthquake insurance in order to suit their budgets.
Approximately 70 percent of the risk of quakes in the United States is located in California. That said, the majority of homeowners still don’t purchase earthquake insurance. Without this additional coverage, should this type of natural disaster occur, homeowners would need to pay for all of the repairing or rebuilding costs out of their own pockets, as well as the replacement of their personal possessions. Should they need to live elsewhere during those repairs, they would need to pay for those costs, as well.
Though there are some disaster assistance programs available from the government for those who do not have any earthquake insurance or for those who are underinsured, there are strict criteria for eligibility, and it is also not always available. Moreover, even for those who do qualify, this does not mean that adequate funds will be provided for covering all of the costs.