Northridge Anniversary: Surprising Poll Results 20 Years After Costliest Earthquake in U.S. History
Comparable Quake Today Would Cause $24 Billion in Insured Losses; Those Most at Risk Don’t Buy Coverage
NEW YORK, January 13, 2014 — A recent poll by the Insurance Information Institute
(I.I.I.) found that only one out of 10 American homeowners (10 percent)
have earthquake insurance, compared with 13 percent in 2012. In western
states, 22 percent of homeowners said they have earthquake insurance,
down from 27 percent.
“When the Northridge earthquake happened 20 years ago, we estimated
that nearly 29 percent of homeowners in California had earthquake
coverage,” said Pete Moraga with the Insurance Information Network of California
(IINC). “However today, according to the California Department of
Insurance, only about 10.6 percent of homeowners have the coverage.”
“While the number of people buying earthquake insurance has
declined, the potential cost of U.S. earthquakes has been growing
because of increasing urban development in seismically active areas and
the vulnerability of older buildings, which may or may not have been
built or upgraded to current building codes,” said Dr. Robert Hartwig,
CPCU, an economist and president of the I.I.I.
