Did you feel tremors from the November earthquakes in Oklahoma? Many people in surrounding states say they felt the strange sensation of the tremor. The Insurance Information Institute reports that 92 percent of the U.S. population lives in a seismically active area. Earthquakes have occurred in 39 states and have caused damage in all 50 over the past 100 years.
Most business managers wouldn’t dream of going without insurance coverage for fire or theft, but a surprising number go without earthquake coverage. Even in “earthquake country,” a quake large enough to cause damage occurs infrequently, making it easy to overlook the need for coverage. Businesses can often obtain earthquake coverage by adding an endorsement to their commercial multiperil policy. Smaller businesses can often find this the easiest and least expensive source of coverage. Monoline earthquake policies, or standalone policies, can also provide coverage. Larger businesses often include their earthquake coverage in a difference in conditions (DIC) policy. These non-standard policies provide “all-risk” coverage for exposures (such as earthquake and flood) excluded by the commercial property policy. As non-standard policies, coverage terms will vary from insurer to insurer, so you will want to review your policy to be sure it specifically includes earthquake coverage.
To read more about Earthquake insurance, click on the November/December newsletter under the Resources tab.
To review your earthquake risk and coverage, contact BPJ at (417) 887-3550 or email info@bpj.com.