This guide is general information, not insurance or legal advice. Coverage, prices and rules vary by insurer and by state, so read your policy documents and check with your insurer, a licensed agent or your state’s department of insurance before you decide.
Key facts
- Standard homeowners, renters and condo policies do not cover earthquake damage; you need a separate policy or an endorsement.
- Fire that follows a quake is the usual exception, because homeowners policies typically cover fire regardless of the cause.
- Earthquake deductibles are often a percentage of your coverage limit, commonly 10 to 20 percent, rather than a flat dollar amount.
- California insurers must offer policyholders earthquake coverage in writing every other year, with 30 days to accept.
- Only about 10 percent of California residents carry earthquake insurance, despite the state experiencing 90 percent of the country’s earthquakes.
Many homeowners assume their policy responds to any disaster, and an earthquake seems to fit that assumption. It usually does not. Standard policies generally exclude earth movement, which means a quake that cracks your foundation or drops a chimney can leave you paying for repairs yourself unless you bought separate coverage. Here is what the common myths get wrong, and what earthquake coverage actually does.
Myth: My standard home policy pays for earthquake damage
It does not, with one notable exception. The California Department of Insurance states plainly that homeowners, renters and condominium policies leave out damage from natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods and landslides. The same exclusion applies to most policies elsewhere: hazard coverage pays for perils like fire, vandalism and falling objects, but not for land movement, which includes earthquakes and landslides.
The exception is fire. A standard homeowners policy typically covers fire damage triggered by a quake, and it may cover additional living expenses if that fire makes your home unlivable during repairs. Depending on your policy, other indirect damage, such as water damage from pipes burst by shaking, may also fall under your homeowners coverage rather than a quake policy. Our guide to what homeowners insurance covers explains how these exclusions work.
Myth: Earthquakes are only a risk in California
California does dominate the numbers. The state experiences 90 percent of the country’s earthquakes, and the San Andreas fault runs more than 800 miles, joined by the Hayward, Calaveras, Rose Canyon, San Jacinto and Elsinore faults. But quakes are not a West Coast-only problem. South Carolina, hardly the first state people name for seismic risk, records roughly 10 to 15 earthquakes annually, with three to five felt by residents.
Two more points sharpen the picture. First, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Geological Survey estimate that earthquakes cause about $14.7 billion in damage every year in the United States. Second, known faults do not tell the whole story: several major California earthquakes, including Northridge in 1994 and Ridgecrest in 2019, occurred on faults that were unknown at the time. The USGS publishes an interactive fault map you can use to check known faults near your home.
Myth: If it is a big disaster, the government will cover me
This belief is common, and it is worth testing against how rarely people actually buy the coverage. According to FEMA, only 10 percent of California residents carry earthquake insurance, even though the California Earthquake Authority reports a 99 percent chance the state will see one or more earthquakes of magnitude 6.7 or greater in the next 30 years. If government aid reliably filled the gap, that take-up rate would make sense. In practice, disaster assistance is not automatic, and nothing about it is guaranteed to rebuild your home.
Programs, eligibility rules and amounts vary by event and by state, so check official sources such as FEMA and your state emergency management agency for what applies where you live. What the insurance structure itself tells you is simpler: earthquake coverage exists as a separate product precisely because neither your homeowners policy nor any standing government program is designed to make you whole after a quake.
Myth: Earthquake policies cover everything the quake causes
They do not, and the limits matter. The California Department of Insurance puts the purpose of earthquake insurance plainly: it is meant to get a roof back over your household, not to replace everything you lost. Policies carry limits on what they pay, and deductibles reduce the payout further, as the next section explains.
Scope is also narrower than people expect. Earthquake coverage typically pays for direct damage to the property caused by shaking. Indirect damage, such as fire or water damage from burst pipes, is usually handled under your homeowners policy instead. Timing matters too. In most cases, quakes that strike within a 72-hour period are grouped together, so you file one claim and face a single set of deductibles. Shaking that hits more than 72 hours after the initial quake may be treated as a separate occurrence, which can mean another claim and another deductible.
What an earthquake policy or endorsement typically includes
You can buy earthquake coverage two ways: as a separate policy, or as an endorsement added to your homeowners policy. Either way, the structure looks a lot like a home policy. It typically provides dwelling coverage for repairing or rebuilding the structure, personal property coverage for belongings such as appliances, electronics and furniture, and coverage for additional living expenses if the home is uninhabitable.
Renters, condo owners and mobilehome owners have versions too. A renter or condo policy can cover damaged belongings and pay for somewhere to live while the home is repaired; condo owners may also want coverage for their share of the association’s repair assessment.
In California, where the California Earthquake Authority provides most earthquake insurance, policies are sold through participating residential insurers, and you must have a residential property policy in place to buy one. State law requires California homeowners insurers to offer earthquake coverage to existing customers in writing every other year, and you have 30 days from the mailing date to accept.
Why high deductibles are common in quake coverage
Earthquake deductibles work differently from the flat dollar amounts on most home policies. They are usually a percentage of your coverage limit, commonly 10 to 20 percent. On a home insured for $200,000, a 10 percent deductible would be $20,000. Some insurers, including the California Earthquake Authority, offer a range of options, from 5 to 25 percent, so you can trade premium against deductible.
Two details often surprise people. First, a percentage deductible is subtracted from a covered loss; you do not have to hand over that amount out of pocket before receiving a claim payment. Second, some coverages escape the deductible entirely. On CEA homeowners policies, for example, the first $1,500 of emergency repairs and loss-of-use payments are not subject to the deductible. Be aware that a minor quake is unlikely to cause damage exceeding a high deductible, which means many small events produce no payout at all. Our guide to deductible terms covers the vocabulary. How a payout is calculated, including the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value, is explained in replacement cost vs. actual cash value.
How to weigh the cost against your actual risk
Start with location. Most homeowners in the United States face a fairly low risk of earthquake damage, while those living near a fault line face a much more pronounced one. Check the USGS fault map, then consider your home’s construction. More than 1.2 million California houses built before 1980 sit in high-hazard areas and are vulnerable to sliding off their foundations in a strong quake.
Retrofitting can reduce that risk, and grants can offset the cost. California’s Earthquake Brace + Bolt program offers grants of up to $3,000 to bolt older houses to their foundations and brace crawl space walls, with more than 1,100 eligible ZIP Codes across the state. Income-eligible households, at or below $89,040 annually, may qualify for supplemental grants of up to $7,000, which can cover up to 100 percent of a retrofit. Since the program began in 2013, more than 32,500 homeowners have received grants.
Smart tip
Do not assume an older home has already been retrofitted. In a study of homeowners after the 2014 South Napa earthquake, one-third of owners interviewed did not know whether their house had been retrofitted, and several believed a braced chimney meant the house was adequately strengthened.
Weigh the premium against what you could actually absorb. If a six-figure loss would be unmanageable and you live near a known fault, coverage deserves a serious look. If your risk is lower, a higher deductible paired with a retrofit may be the better trade.
Quakes share their excluded status with floods, which are also left out of standard home policies; our flood insurance basics guide covers that gap. And for the full picture of what a home policy does and does not pay for, start with what homeowners insurance covers.
Questions we hear
Does homeowners insurance cover earthquakes?
In most cases, no. Homeowners, renters and condominium policies do not cover damage from earthquakes, floods or landslides. You need a separate earthquake policy or an endorsement added to your home policy.
What happens if an earthquake starts a fire?
A standard homeowners policy typically covers fire damage triggered by a quake, and it may cover additional living expenses if that fire makes your home unlivable. The shaking damage itself still requires earthquake coverage.
Why are earthquake deductibles so high?
Earthquake deductibles are usually a percentage of your coverage limit, often 10 to 20 percent, because a single event can damage many homes at once. On a $200,000 dwelling limit, a 10 percent deductible means $20,000 subtracted from a covered loss.
Is earthquake insurance required if I have a mortgage?
No. Lenders require homeowners insurance, but earthquake coverage is optional. Whether it makes sense for you depends on your location, your home’s construction and what you could afford to pay out of pocket.