Earthquakes In Oklahoma
Yes, even in Oklahoma we experience earthquakes. And yes, they are known to cause damage the close to the epicenter of the earthquake you are. But if your policy does not include earthquake insurance, you may be in for trouble when trying to repair damages.
What Is Earthquake Insurance?
There are three things that earthquake insurance covers for you. Your dwelling, loss of use coverage, and personal property coverage.
Dwelling: This would be the home you live in. Dwelling coverage will help with repairs and rebuilding if necessary. You will also want to make sure you ahve additional coverage in you rpolicy for outdoor structures such as pools and storage buildings if you have them. Also be sure that your policy includes building things back up to code, in the event that there are code changes when you have to perform the repairs.
Loss Of Use: This policy will help cover the costs of staying in hotels or lodging if your home or dwelling is a complete loss.
Personal Property:Clothing, electronics, furniture, and other personal items that can be destroyed in an earthquake will be covered under a personal property policy. Ask your agent if you have this coverage in your policy.
Things That May NOT Be Covered
It is known that earthquakes can trigger other events and natural disasters such as tsunamis and flooding. If there is water damage to your property because of this, you would need to make sure that you have a flood insurance policy.
If your vehicle were to be damaged in an earthquake, that would be covered by your auto insurance policy, not your earthquake insurance.
If your home were to catch fire, that would have to be covered by your homeowners policy and not the earthquake policy.
Do I Need Earthquake Insurance?
There are 42 states that experience over 20,000 earthquakes a year. While the majority of these are in California, that does not mean that damage is limited to the West Coast. If your homeowners policy does not already provide coverage for this, you should check to see if you live in an at-risk area for earthquakes. Call the Oklahoma Insurance Connection now to get more information and make sure you are covered.