Do you need earthquake insurance?
EUGENE, Ore. – Fresh on Kris Hallenburg's mind is not if our area will experience a major quake, but when.
"I think it's going to come," said Hallenburg, a Eugene homeowner. Indeed, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded beneath a mountainous area 25 miles from Coos County in early 2009.
Another Eugene homeowner, Al King, said the first thing he thought about after hearing the news of Tuesday's devastating quake in Haiti was the security of his own home.
"It absolutely made me think about earthquake insurance," King said.
The Department of Consumer and Business Services estimates about 20 percent of Oregonians have earthquake coverage. That percent likely will go up, said Jim Perucca. He's executive vice president at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers group of Oregon.
Perucca said he continuously sees spikes in earthquake insurance coverage after a big quakes. However, he said, most people do not need it. That's because most people live in wood-framed homes. Those homes, he said, weather quakes with little damage.
Plus, "there's a very big deductible that has to be overcome before any earthquake coverage would kick in," Perucca said.
He estimates a $15,000 deductible for a $100,000 home.
However, brick homes, older homes and homes built on hills are good candidates for insurance, Perucca said. Those homes tend to fare the worst in the event of a quake.
For such homeowners as King, he says he's going to contact his broker this week. And for Hallenburg, she tells KVAL News she purchased earthquake insurance a few years ago so she'll be ready – when that big earthquake comes.
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