The bad news about earthquake insurance is that your home insurance policy does not offer any protection for damage from an earthquake. The good news is that in Virginia, where earthquakes tend to be unheard of, this protection can be extremely affordable. The purpose of this page is to give you the basics on earthquake insurance so that you can decide if it is worth purchasing.

Epicenter of 2011 Earthquake

Most earthquake insurance plans come with a very high deductible of 10-15% of your dwelling amount. These high deductibles tend to make earthquake insurance helpful in cases where the entire house is destroyed, however not helpful if the house receives minor damage. Costs depends on the area and the likelihood of an earthquake. In other words, earthquake insurance in Virginia is much cheaper than earthquake insurance in California.

Earthquake Insurance Costs, Claims, and Deductibles

Like most insurance claims, your deductible will apply to the first portion of your total cost. For example, if you have a $500 deductible and a $1000 claim; you will be responsible for paying the first $500.

With earthquake insurance, the deductible is a percentage of your dwelling coverage. Most companies require a 10-15% deductible for earthquake claims. Let’s say your house is worth $200,000 and you have earthquake insurance with a 10% deductible. If you had damage to yourproperty from an earthquake, you would be responsible for the first $20,000 of your claim! Once people understand this, they often begin to wonder if earthquake coverage is really worth it in Virginia. After all, earthquakes are fairly uncommon here. It’s a fair question and the answer depends on how much risk you are willing to assume. With coverage available for as little as $50 per year, it is definitely something to consider.

If you are seriously considering earthquake insurance in Virginia, it is very important to find a company that offers a low deductible percentage at a low premium. When it comes to this kind of coverage, it is very easy to over pay for coverage that you can’t afford to use in the event of a big claim. If you are familiar with our company, you know that Erie Insurance is one of our favorite insurers in the state of Virginia. Erie Insurance offers earthquake insurance in Virginia with deductibles of 2% and 5% at a very low cost.

Your home may have survived the last big earthquake in Virginia, but unknown fault lines are usually discovered when a new earthquake hits. Making it through one earthquake does not guarantee that you will make it through the next. Even if your the foundation of your home is earthquake proof, your property can still suffer damage; driveways, pools, and other structures can all be damaged. Repairs for this kind of damage can easily exceed fifty-thousand dollars. Those are repairs that you don’t want to cover on your own.

How do you get earthquake insurance in Virginia?

In Virginia, property owners, condo owners and renters may obtain earthquake insurance only from personal and commercial insurance companies; such as Travelers Insurance, Mercury Insurance, Grange Insurance, Erie Insurance, and The Hartford. You must have an exisiting homeowners policy with one of these companies to be eligible for their earthquake coverage. Use our instant quote tool to compare home insurance rates from these companies.

If you would like assistance in locating an insurance company with reasonable earthquake insurance coverage, call us today at 804-744-3345.

Example of Virginia Earthquake Insurance from Erie Insurance

Consider this example of earthquake coverage from Erie Insurance. Just like other insurance companies, Erie Insurance does not offer Virginia earthquake insurance coverage on standard Virginia homeowners policies. Erie policyholders that desire earthquake insurance in Virginia must add the earthquake endorsement. Erie’s earthquake endorsement is very affordable, as it should be in an area like Virginia. Take a look at the endorsement:

Property Protection – Section I

Our Promise

For an additional premium, we will cover direct physical loss caused by Earthquake including land shock waves or tremors occurring because of a volcanic eruption. This coverage does not increase the amount of insurance shown for Section I coverages and does not include the cost of filling land.

One or more earthquake shocks that occur within a seventy-two hour period shall constitute a single earthquake.

What We Do Not Cover – Exclusions

We do not cover loss resulting or indirectly from:

1. flood of any nature or tidal wave, whether caused by, resulting from, contributed to or aggravated by earthquake.
2. earth movement due to manmade events.

Deductible

We will pay only that part of the loss over 2% of the total amount of inusurance that applies. This deductible applies separately to loss under Dwelling Coverage, Other Structures Coverage and Personal Property Coverage. The deductible amount will not be less than $250 in any one loss.

 

Virginia Earthquake Insurance

In summary, purchasing earthquake insurance in Virginia makes sense if the price is right. If you can find affordable coverage with a low deductible, you should strongly consider going forward with it.