Californians are taking out earthquake insurance on their homes as experts warn that the state is overdue a large seismic shock. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) said 52,000 policies were bought in 2016, compared to the annual average of 7,200, lifting the number of active policies to 950,000. Another 18,804 have been taken out this year alone, despite the fact that mortgage lenders don't require buyers to have coverage. The CEA’s claim-paying capacity now exceeds $15 billion, which the insurer says is sufficient to pay covered losses if a major earthquake, like the 1906 San Francisco, 1989 Loma Prieta or 1994 Northridge earthquake, were to strike California today. In an interview with CNN, CEA Director Mark Ghilarducci warned that if there was another major quake along California's fault line, it could cause "catastrophic damage."
Californians are taking out earthquake insurance on their homes as experts warn that the state is overdue a large seismic shock. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) said 52,000 policies were bought in 2016, compared to the annual average of 7,200, lifting the number of active policies to 950,000. Another 18,804 have been taken out this year alone, despite the fact that mortgage lenders don't require buyers to have coverage. In an interview with CNN, CEA Director Mark Ghilarducci warned that if there was another major quake along California's fault line, it could cause "catastrophic damage."