Peace of mind that no earthquake can shake.

Transcription

1 California Earthquake Authority Your Guide to Earthquake Insurance Peace of mind that no earthquake can shake. Policy information for owners of Homes and Mobilehomes.

2 Five reasons to buy a CEA policy. 1. Excellent financial ratings. CEA s financial strength is rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company (a company that rates insurance companies). 2. Expert service. CEA policies are available exclusively through CEA s participating insurance companies, which handle CEA-policy applications, renewals, billing, and claims. 3. Rates based on science, not profit. CEA rates are based on the best available science for assessing earthquake risk and do not include any amount for profit. 4. Not tied to government budgets. California s budget issues have no impact on the CEA s ability to pay its claims, because the CEA is a privately financed entity and receives no money from the state budget. 5. Without earthquake insurance, the cost of any damage is your cost. If your CEA policy claim exceeds your deductible, you don t have to pay the deductible before claim-payment eligibility is triggered. Prepare to survive and recover. After a damaging earthquake, your personal strength to recover can come from many places, like a California Earthquake Authority policy from the insurance agent you already know and trust. Earthquake insurance from the CEA it will help get your life back to normal after the ground stops shaking. Why earthquake insurance? Most residential policies do not cover earthquake damage. In most cases, a separate earthquake policy is required. Without earthquake insurance to help you recover from catastrophic damage, you will be responsible for all costs to repair or rebuild your home and replace your personal property, and to live and eat elsewhere while your home is being repaired or rebuilt. Government assistance may not work for you. State and federal government residential disaster-assistance programs, if available, adhere to strict eligibility criteria and may not always be available. If disaster grants are available, and if you qualify, you may not receive funds sufficient to repair or rebuild your home and/or replace your damaged property. And if government loans are available, they may be limited, and you must repay them. EARTHQUAKE FACT 20 The number of seconds it took the 1994 Northridge earthquake to cause the largest dollar loss of any earthquake in California history.

3 CEA coverages for homeowners and manufactured home/mobilehome owners: Earthquake insurance from the CEA is designed to help pay to repair or rebuild your home if it suffers significant damage from an earthquake. The CEA offers either a Homeowners or a Homeowners Choice policy each has multiple coverage levels and options, to help you create the right policy for your insurance needs. Under CEA s standard Homeowners policy, you must purchase all of the following coverages: Dwelling (Coverage A) and Extensions to Dwelling (Coverage B), Personal Property (Coverage C), and Loss of Use (Coverage D). Beginning July 1, 2012, the CEA s new Homeowners Choice policy is available, which gives you coverage options: Buy only Dwelling (Coverage A) and Extensions to Dwelling (Coverage B), or add Personal Property (Coverage C) or Loss of Use (Coverage D) coverages, or add both. It s your choice, so you can manage your own residential insurance coverage and premium. Get the strength to rebuild. If your home suffers catastrophic earthquake damage, the CEA can provide you with the strength to rebuild. With nearly $10 billion in claimpaying power, supported by the service expertise of its participating insurance companies, the CEA could cover all of its claims if the 1906 San Francisco, 1989 Loma Prieta, or 1994 Northridge earthquake reoccurred today. How do I buy CEA earthquake insurance? CEA policies are sold and serviced exclusively through CEA s participating insurance companies. A list of participating insurers is available at Call your broker, agent, or residential insurer for more information about coverages and policy limitations. Only your broker, agent, or residential insurer can give you an accurate premium quote. But you can use CEA s online Premium Calculator at to get an estimate. CEA Policies The CEA offers insurance policies to help homeowners, mobilehome owners (written under a homeowners policy), condominium owners, and renters recover from damaging earthquakes.

4 California Earthquake Authority Homeowners Policies Coverages Homeowners Homeowners Choice* (NEW Effective July 1, 2012) Coverage A & Coverage B - Combined Single Limit Dwelling and Extensions to Dwelling Coverage to repair, or in the event of a total loss, replace, an insured home when damage exceeds the coverage deductible, up to the policy limit. Coverage Limit Deductible Coverage C - Personal Property Coverage to replace personal property such as furniture and household items, when damage exceeds the coverage deductible, up to the policy limit. Coverage Limit Options Deductible Coverage D - Loss of Use Coverage for additional living expenses, if you are unable to live in your home as a result of earthquake damage, up to the policy limit. There is no deductible for Loss-of-Use Coverage. Coverage Limit Options Must be equal to the Coverage A limit on primary homeowners or mobilehome owners policy 10% or 15% of your Coverage A & Coverage B - Combined Single Limit $5,000 $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 Personal property is paid if your covered dwelling loss exceeds your Coverage A deductible Included $1,500 $15,000 $25,000** Must be equal to the Coverage A limit on primary homeowners or mobilehome owners policy 10% or 15% of your Coverage A & Coverage B - Combined Single Limit Optional Coverage $5,000 $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 10% or 15% of your Coverage C limit. Your personal-property deductible is waived if your covered dwelling loss exceeds your Coverage A deductible Optional Coverage $1,500 $15,000 $25,000** Deductible No deductible No deductible Building Code Upgrade Coverage Additional coverage which provides funds for bringing your home up to current building codes when repairing or replacing a home. Coverage Limit Options Deductible Emergency Repairs Coverage for reasonable emergency repairs following an earthquake. Coverage Limit $20,000*** Building Code Upgrade Coverage is paid if your covered dwelling loss exceeds your Coverage A deductible Coverage A & B - Combined Single Limit: Up to 5% of Coverages A & B Coverage C - Personal Property: Up to 5% of Coverage C $20,000*** Building Code Upgrade Coverage is paid if your covered dwelling loss exceeds your Coverage A deductible Coverage A & B - Combined Single Limit: Up to 5% of Coverages A & B Coverage C - Personal Property: Up to 5% of Coverage C Deductible Up to $1,500 is not subject to any deductible** Up to $1,500 is not subject to any deductible** CEA s rates are based on science, not profit, and premiums are calculated according to the dwelling s insured value, location, construction type, foundation type, age, and number of stories. Note: For claims that exceed your CEA policy deductible, you needn t spend money out-of-pocket before becoming eligible for payment on your claim. *Homeowners Choice policy available for policyholders with new and renewal policies effective on or after July 1, **Available for policyholders beginning with new and renewal policies that are effective on or after January 1, ***Coverage limit not available for Mobilehomes.

5 Additional CEA coverages for home and mobilehome owners: CEA coverages for home and mobilehome owners, explained: Dwelling and Extensions to Dwelling (Coverages A and B): The cost, up to the policy limit, to repair or rebuild an insured home when covered damage exceeds the policy s 10 or 15% deductible. Personal Property (Coverage C): > After covered damage to your home exceeds the dwelling deductible, CEA s standard Homeowners policy replaces covered personal property (such as electronics, furniture, and household items) up to your Coverage C limit. > CEA s Homeowners Choice policy offers the option to select or decline personal-property coverage. With Homeowners Choice personal-property Coverage C, you can choose a deductible of 10 or 15% of the Coverage C limit. The Coverage C deductible is completely waived if covered damage to the home exceeds the dwelling deductible. Loss of Use (Coverage D): If you are unable to live in your home because of earthquake damage or if a civil authority prohibits you from occupying your home after an earthquake, you may be eligible for Loss-of-Use coverage, up to your Coverage D limit. > CEA s standard Homeowners policy provides Loss-of-Use coverage for additional living expenses if you cannot live in your home after an earthquake. > CEA s Homeowners Choice policy offers the option to select or decline Loss-of-Use coverage. > Under either policy, Loss-of-Use coverage never has a deductible. Reasonable and necessary emergency repairs: Up to 5% of the insured value of your house and 5% of your personalproperty limit will be covered as part of your dwelling and personalproperty policy limits. > The first $1,500 of emergency-repair costs to allow you to secure your dwelling and personal property and avoid further damage are not subject to a deductible. > Costs in excess of $1,500 for covered emergency repairs, however, will be subject to the deductible. > Payments under emergency-repair coverage reduce the limit of insurance on your structure and personal-property coverages. > An amount equal to up to 5% of the dwelling-coverage limit is provided as additional insurance for debris removal. > Up to is available to replace, stabilize, or restore the land that supports your home; payments under this coverage reduce the limit on your structure coverage. > Typically, home repairs or rebuilding after an earthquake must be done under the newest building codes. Up to for these building code upgrades is provided in your CEA policy, in addition to the insured value of your dwelling. And policyholders may purchase an additional. (The increased-limit option is not available for manufactured-home/mobilehome owners.) Sublimits for certain specifically covered items do apply. For a complete list of coverages, exclusions, sublimits, and conditions, talk to your broker, agent, or residential insurer, or you can download a specimen policy on the CEA Web site at

6 Claim examples: Homeowners and Homeowners Choice with different coverage limits and damage amounts Both the CEA s standard Homeowners and Homeowners Choice policies pay the same amounts when all coverages are selected on the Homeowners Choice policy. While declining optional coverage reduces your premium, your total claim payment also may be reduced, as illustrated in the example below. Your first scenario involves a catastrophic quake. Coverage Type Dwelling (Coverage A) and Extensions to Dwelling (Coverage B) Personal Property (Coverage C) Loss of Use (Coverage D) Homeowners (Deductible*) (No Deductible) Homeowners Choice (All optional coverages purchased) (15% Deductible: $15,000) (No Deductible) Homeowners Choice (All optional coverages declined) Declined by policyholder Declined by policyholder Damage Scenario Amount of Damage Amount of Damage Amount of Damage Dwelling $250,000 $250,000 $250,000 Emergency Repairs $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Personal Property $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 Loss of Use Coverage Type Payments by CEA After Deductible Payments by CEA After Deductible Payments by CEA After Deductible Dwelling $200,000 $200,000 $200,000 Emergency Repairs $1,500** $1,500** $1,500** Personal Property $35,000 $35,000*** Loss of Use (Declined by policyholder) (Declined by policyholder) Total Claim Payment $246,500 $246,500 $201,500 * Under a standard Homeowners policy, personal-property coverage is applicable when the covered damage to the home exceeds the dwelling deductible. ** Under CEA homeowners policies, the first $1,500 of emergency-repairs coverage is not subject to any deductible. *** Under a Homeowners Choice policy, the deductible for personal-property coverage is waived entirely when the damage to your home exceeds your dwelling deductible.

7 As an example, here s how the CEA s standard Homeowners and Homeowners Choice policies could respond if an earthquake damages your house or manufactured home/mobilehome. The CEA Homeowners and Homeowners Choice policies pay different amounts, depending on the policy and coverage selected. The damage cost does not exceed the dwelling deductible, but Homeowners Choice still can help you pay for personalproperty damage if you purchased the optional personal-property coverage and its lower-deductible option. Your second scenario involves a moderate earthquake. Coverage Type Dwelling (Coverage A) and Extensions to Dwelling (Coverage B) Personal Property (Coverage C) Loss of Use (Coverage D) Homeowners (Deductible*) (No Deductible) Homeowners Choice (All optional coverages purchased) (15% Deductible: $15,000) (No Deductible) Homeowners Choice (All optional coverages declined) Declined by policyholder Declined by policyholder Damage Scenario Amount of Damage Amount of Damage Amount of Damage Dwelling $30,000 $30,000 $30,000 Emergency Repairs $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Personal Property $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 Loss of Use Coverage Type Payments by CEA After Deductible Payments by CEA After Deductible Payments by CEA After Deductible Dwelling (Deductible not met) (Deductible not met) (Deductible not met) Emergency Repairs $1,500** $1,500** $1,500** Personal Property * (Deductible not met) $20,000*** Loss of Use (Declined by policyholder) (Declined by policyholder) Total Claim Payment $11,500 $31,500 $1,500 * Under a standard Homeowners policy, personal-property coverage is applicable when the covered damage to the home exceeds the dwelling deductible. ** Under CEA homeowners policies, the first $1,500 of emergency-repairs coverage is not subject to any deductible. *** A Homeowners Choice policy features a dedicated deductible for your personal-property coverage this can allow a personal-property recovery even if your home is not substantially damaged. If damage to your home does exceed the dwelling deductible, however, the Homeowners Choice deductible for personal-property coverage is waived entirely.

8 How Homeowners Choice is different. Purchase only the Coverages you need. You can buy: > Dwelling Coverage only; > Dwelling and Personal-Property Coverage; > Dwelling and Loss-of-Use Coverage; > Dwelling, Personal-Property, and Loss-of-Use Coverages. Benefit from lower deductibles. > Choose a 10% or a 15% deductible for Dwelling or Personal-Property coverage. > Personal-Property deductible is waived if you meet your Dwelling deductible. Spend only what you can afford. > Choose the coverages and deductibles that best suit your budget and financial needs. EARTHQUAKE FACT California has two-thirds of the nation s earthquake risk. Some 2,000 known faults crisscross the state, producing an average of 102 earthquakes a day more than 37,000 each year. EARTHQUAKE FACT California law requires you to have a residential insurance policy in-force with a CEA participating insurance company in order to have a CEA earthquake policy. If your residential insurance policy cancels, your CEA policy cancels at the same time. It is important to make sure your CEA policy remains in-force and is updated anytime you make a change to your residential insurance policy.

9 About the CEA The CEA can provide you with the strength to rebuild. The CEA has nearly $10 billion in claim-paying power, combined with the service expertise provided by its participating insurance companies. The CEA is a publicly managed, privately funded organization that provides catastrophic residential earthquake insurance and encourages Californians to reduce their risk of earthquake loss. State budget issues have no impact on the CEA s ability to pay claims, because the CEA receives no money from the state budget. About 70% of all residential earthquake insurance policies sold in California are sold by the CEA. For more information, visit the CEA online: California Earthquake Authority 801 K Street, Suite 1000 Sacramento, California TOLL FREE (888) California Earthquake Authority