Disaster Protection an Important Detail for Home Owner Insurance

Regardless of where they live, people may want to consider whether it makes sense to add earthquake coverage to their home owner insurance policy.

California, along with Alaska, tends to have more earthquakes than anywhere else in the United States. With that in mind, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner recently advised homeowners to be prepared for potential catastrophe by considering earthquake coverage and also by keeping an inventory of their belongings and ensuring that current policies are sufficient.

In his announcement, Poizner noted that about 90 percent of homeowners in the U.S. currently do not have earthquake insurance.

Another thing to consider is that protection against earthquake damage isn't just something for California residents to consider. For example, data from the U.S. Geological Survey notes that there were 3,618 earthquakes recorded nationwide last year, with 3,108 having occurred as of October 21 of this year.

Every state has had some degree of earthquake activity, although the USGS notes that North Dakota and Florida tend to have the least. Given the devastation that can be caused by natural disasters like earthquakes, it's always wise to take a good look at one's home owner insurance to decide whether additional coverage is needed.

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