California Earthquake Insurance

Earthquake insurance is necessary because earthquakes in California are a fact of life. Most homeowners and commercial property policies exclude coverage for earthquake damage and earthquake sprinkler leakage. If you own a home, apartment building, office, industrial or mercantile property in California, you need to consider purchasing earthquake coverage.

Tegner Miller Insurance has been providing insurance coverage to California property owners for more than 100 years. We are earthquake insurance experts. We work with the leading residential and commercial insurers to find the insurance policy that best fits your needs.

Residential Earthquake Insurance

Protecting your family’s most valuable asset from a damaging earthquake requires the purchase of earthquake insurance. At Tegner Miller Insurance we offer both stand-alone earthquake policies and earthquake insurance as part of a California homeowners package. We offer the most competitive earthquake insurance products in the industry from a choice of different insurance companies. We help you choose the product that best fits your needs.

Earthquake insurance premiums vary depending on many factors.
Premiums are determined differently by each carrier who take into account such things as where you live, the age of your home, the type of foundation, the number of stories, whether you live on flat ground or a slope and whether your home has been retrofit. Generally, older homes cost more to insure than newer homes and retrofitting is important for homes built prior to 1960. Remember, however, that the premium should not be the only consideration when purchasing a policy. Often, you can find policies with low premiums but at the expense of adequate coverage. The worst possible scenario would be to find out that the earthquake damage you suffered is not covered by your policy.

It’s important to buy the lowest deductible you can.
The deductible is the part of the claim that you pay before your insurance company starts to pay. Most of our residential earthquake policies have a 10% deductible, meaning if your home is insured for $500,000, you have to pay the first $50,000 of an earthquake claim. If your home rebuilding cost is $1.5 million or more, we may be able to offer you a 7.5% or even a 5% deductible. Some insurance companies will only offer you a 15% deductible. We suggest taking a 15% deductible only as a last resort to no coverage at all.

If you own an older home you can still obtain excellent earthquake insurance...
...as long as your home has been retrofit. Retrofitting is the process of bolting the home to the foundation, insuring that any cripple walls are properly supported and making sure that your water heater is correctly secured. If you have an older home, the cost to retrofit your home can vary from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. This is money generally well spent since you can usually obtain a lower deductible and better pricing on your earthquake insurance. Once the work is completed, most people usually find that they save enough on their earthquake insurance to pay for the work in 3 or 4 years, not to mention the increased value of their home due to the completion of this important work.

Most earthquake insurance policies have limits for certain types of property.
Examples of this are damage to pools, retaining walls, walkways, personal property, etc. Often you can increase these limitations by purchasing an endorsement for an additional premium. Talk to us about the various options available.

An earthquake policy for a single family residence may include the following coverage:

• Dwelling: The structure and all permanently installed fixtures
• Other Structures: Structures not directly attached to your home (detached garages, guest homes, pools, walkways, etc.)
• Personal Property: The belongings inside your house
• Loss of Use/Additional Living Expense: Pays if you have to live elsewhere while your house is being rebuilt (Important!)
• Building Codes & Ordinances: Pays for upgrades to, or demolition of, your home due to building ordinances.

Commercial Earthquake Insurance

Protecting your business' most valuable asset from a damaging earthquake requires the purchase of earthquake insurance.
At Tegner Miller Insurance we offer a wide range of insurance markets and the know how to get the right coverage and the right price. The commercial earthquake insurance policy or more commonly known in the industry as the D.I.C. or Difference in Conditions policy is available from both admitted and non-admitted, high quality insurers. Pricing and terms can vary substantially from market to market.

Earthquake insurance premiums vary depending on many factors.
Premiums are determined differently by each carrier who take into account such things as building location, age & construction of the building, the type of foundation, the number of stories and if the building has been retrofit.

The deductible is the part of the claim that you pay before your insurance company starts to pay.
It's important to buy the lowest deductible you can, but you must be careful. Commercial DIC policies offer deductibles on a per unit basis or on an aggregate basis. Make sure you know the difference before you buy.

For an older building, retrofitting can be the difference between getting earthquake insurance and not.
We consider retrofitting to be a good investment for the property owner, resulting in lower premiums and greater value for the property.

We work with many property owners, property managers and business managers on insuring schedules of property.
If you have a large or small schedule of locations, we can provide innovative solutions to your or your client's needs.

We work with the leading earthquake insurance providers in the world to find you the best terms and pricing available. Fill out the form above to get a California earthquake insurance quote.

Tegner Miller Insurance: Protecting Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, West Los Angeles, Westwood, Mar Vista, and all of California since 1902.