Earthquake Insurance Calculator

No — standard homeowners insurance policies in the US specifically exclude earthquake damage, so earthquake coverage has to be purchased separately, either as a standalone policy or as an endorsement added to an existing homeowners policy. Without it, earthquake damage to your home and belongings is entirely out of pocket.

Earthquake deductibles are usually set as a percentage of the dwelling's insured value (commonly 5–25%) rather than a flat dollar amount, since a single earthquake can cause catastrophic, widespread damage across an entire region simultaneously. On a $400,000 home, even a 10% deductible means $40,000 out of pocket before coverage begins, which is why the deductible percentage is one of the biggest levers on both your premium and your real-world claim payout.

Significantly — buildings with more flexible structural systems (steel frame, properly reinforced wood frame) generally perform better in earthquakes and are priced with a lower risk multiplier, while rigid, brittle construction like unreinforced masonry is far more prone to catastrophic failure and carries the highest risk multiplier in this calculator's illustrative model. The actual premium difference from a real insurer will depend on their specific underwriting guidelines and any retrofit work done to the structure.

If an earthquake makes your home temporarily uninhabitable, you may need to pay for temporary housing, meals, and other living expenses while repairs are made — loss of use coverage is meant to reimburse those additional costs. This calculator estimates it as a fixed share of dwelling value as a placeholder; a real policy would specify its own dollar limit or percentage for this coverage.

That depends on your seismic risk zone, your dwelling's construction, and your financial ability to absorb a total or near-total loss without insurance — in genuinely high-risk zones like coastal California, the Pacific Northwest, or the New Madrid seismic zone in the central US, the potential loss from a major quake can dwarf years of premium payments, which is why residents in those areas are commonly advised to at least evaluate coverage seriously even when the premium seems expensive.