Earthquake & DIC
Like flood, earth movement is excluded from standard property and homeowners forms. In California that makes it a deliberate decision rather than an oversight — and the deductible structure is what the decision actually turns on.
Scope
Most owners who decline earthquake coverage are really reacting to the deductible rather than the premium. That is a legitimate call, but it should be made with the real numbers in front of you.
Detail
Earthquake deductibles are percentages, not flat amounts, and separate percentages often apply to building, contents, and loss of use. Converting those to dollars is the first thing we do, because it reframes the question entirely.
Soft-story retrofits, foundation bolting, and cripple-wall bracing meaningfully change pricing and availability — but only if the carrier receives the engineering documentation. Work done and never submitted is work you paid for twice.
A difference-in-conditions policy fills perils excluded elsewhere, and which perils it fills varies by form. Some include quake, some include flood, some include both. Read which one you have.
Free, confidential, and no obligation — with a written summary either way.
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Tell us what you are insuring and where it stands. If there is a non-renewal notice or an escrow deadline, say so — those move to the front of the line.
Prefer to talk? Call or text (305) 990-2753 or email team@haymakersre.com
FAQ
Because the peril is correlated — a single event damages an entire region at once, so carriers manage aggregate exposure through high percentage deductibles rather than through premium alone. It is a structural feature of the product, not a negotiating position.
No. The CEA is one route for residential property, and there is an active private and surplus-lines market for both residential and commercial risks, frequently with different deductible structures. We quote across them.
Fire following earthquake is generally covered by the standard property policy, even though the quake damage itself is not. It is one of the few places the exclusion has a carve-out, and it surprises people in both directions.
Related lines
Building, contents, and business income — written to the right valuation basis with a deductible structure you can absorb.
See coverage →Premises and operations liability for owners and tenants, plus professional liability where the work carries advice as well as labor.
See coverage →Ground-up and renovation coverage sized to hard cost and schedule, with soft costs and delay in completion where the loan requires it.
See coverage →NFIP and private flood for coastal, riverine, and post-fire debris-flow exposure — a peril standard property forms exclude entirely.
See coverage →Capacity above the primary tower — usually the cheapest limit you will ever buy relative to what it protects.
See coverage →First- and third-party cyber for businesses that hold client data, move money, or would stop operating without their systems.
See coverage →