Earthquakes are rare in NC, but they happen. Are you covered?

North Carolina isn’t California. California is known for having earthquakes, and sometimes strong quakes. You rarely hear about earthquakes in North Carolina, but they do occur here.

A couple of tremors in North Carolina over Easter weekend reminded me that standard homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover damage from earthquakes. If you want to make sure your home is covered for earthquake damage, you’ll need to add it to your policy in the form of an endorsement.

Some mobile homeowners’ policies do provide earthquake coverage, so it’s important to check with your insurance agent to make sure you’re covered.

Not all insurance companies offer the earthquake endorsement, so you should check with your agent to see if it is an option with your current carrier.

Over the holiday weekend, two earthquakes hit Surry County, within a few miles of each other. One was a 2.3 magnitude. The second was a 1.5 magnitude.

In 2020, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, centered in Sparta, was felt across North Carolina. It was the strongest earthquake to hit North Carolina since 1916. While there were no reports of fatalities, many homes and businesses were damaged. Unfortunately, many of the homes and businesses lacked earthquake insurance.

For most families, their home is their biggest investment. I urge homeowners to protect their investment by making sure they have sufficient insurance coverage, and to make sure they review their coverage with their insurance agent annually.

Earthquake insurance covers repairs needed because of earthquake damage to your dwelling and may cover other structures not attached to your house, such as a garage or a storage building. It also insures your personal property against damage from an earthquake.

In addition, earthquake insurance may cover the cost to remove debris and pay for extra living expenses you may have while your home is being rebuilt or repaired.

Earthquake insurance generally isn’t very expensive. But its deductibles work a little differently that we’re used to for homeowners’ insurance. For homeowners’ insurance, your deductible is usually a set amount, say $500, $1,000 or even more.

For earthquake insurance, your deductible is usually a percentage of your home’s value, say 5% or 10%, up to 25%. So, if your house is valued at $200,000 and you have a 5% deductible, you’d be responsible for the first $10,000 and your insurance company would be responsible for the remaining damage.

While that may seem like a lot of money, it’d be a lot easier to come up with $10,000 than the entire $200,000.

It’s always good to check with your insurance agent periodically regarding all your insurance needs. Insurance is all about managing risks. You’d do well to discuss earthquake insurance with your agent the next time you review your policy.