Who buys earthquake insurance?
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there is a 70 percent probability that one or more damaging earthquakes of magnitude 6.7 or larger will strike the San Francisco Bay area during the next 30 years. A magnitude 6.7 earthquake is equivalent to the 1994 Northridge earthquake that killed 57 people and caused $20 billion worth of damage. Not surprisingly, Californians buy the most earthquake insurance. However, earthquake insurance has been sold to residents of all 50 states. After all, earthquakes have been known to occur even in the central regions of the continent. The Earthquake Education Center at Charleston Southern University claims there is a 40 to 60 percent chance of a major earthquake somewhere in the eastern United States in the next 20 years. Less than 10 years ago, there was an earthquake with an epicenter just below the Great Lakes. Shocks from that earthquake were felt as far north as Toronto, Canada. It is with this in mind that South Carolina Insurance News Service
