{"id":17382,"date":"2013-11-18T13:05:57","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T19:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=17382"},"modified":"2013-11-18T13:05:57","modified_gmt":"2013-11-18T19:05:57","slug":"five-things-oklahomans-need-to-know-about-earthquake-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2013\/11\/18\/five-things-oklahomans-need-to-know-about-earthquake-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Things Oklahomans Need to Know About Earthquake Insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Seismograph\"<\/a><\/p>\n

viviannguyen \/ Flickr<\/p>\n

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Seismologists at the U.S. Geological Survey recently warned that the ongoing earthquake swarm in central-Oklahoma is likely to continue, could get worse, and might be linked to wells<\/a> oil and gas companies use to store drilling waste-fluid deep underground.<\/p>

In response, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak advised Oklahomans to buy earthquake insurance<\/a>.<\/p>

Oklahoma already has\u00a0highest average cost<\/a> for homeowner’s insurance, thanks, in part, to frequent hail, floods, high winds, tornadoes and wildfires \u2014 disasters many Oklahomans are well-versed in. But earthquakes are a new experience for many Oklahomans, as are the the related financial costs of preparedness.<\/p>

Here are five things Oklahomans should know about earthquake insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Almost No Oklahomans Have It<\/h3>

Less than 1 percent of Oklahomans carry earthquake insurance, according to commissioner Doak.<\/p>\n

2. Many Oklahomans Might Not Know They Don’t Have It<\/h3>

Earthquake insurance has to be purchased separately from standard homeowner’s policies, The Oklahoman<\/em>‘s Paul Monies reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Earthquake insurance is either an endorsement added to existing coverage or a separate policy from another insurance company.<\/p><\/blockquote>

In response to the quakes and complaints from constituents, State Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, says he will refile a bill requiring insurance companies to alert Oklahomans whether their policies cover earthquake damage.<\/p>

Shelton filed the bill last year, the Associated Press reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Shelton says the measure was opposed by the insurance industry and died in a House committee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Policies are Cheap<\/h3>

A typical Oklahoma homeowner will likely pay $100 to $150 per year for earthquake coverage, says Commissioner Doak. Earthquake policies usually cover structure repairs, damage to personal property, and debris removal.<\/p>\n

4. But Deductibles are High<\/h3>

Deductibles for earthquake damage claims are usually higher than standard homeowners’ insurance claims \u2014 usually 5 to 10 percent of a home’s value, Monies reports:<\/p>\n

At 10 percent, out-of-pocket costs to repair earthquake damage would be $12,000 for a $120,000 house, the median home value in Oklahoma County.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

5. You Might Have to Wait Months for Coverage<\/h3>

Due to the likelihood of aftershocks, most insurance companies enforce a post-earthquake “lockout period” that has to expire before homeowners can add coverage The moratorium is usually 30-60 days, but could be as high as 90 days.<\/p>

The size of an earthquake that triggers a lockout period varies between insurers, too, but Lance Singleton, the Chief Financial Officer for the Oklahoma Agency Alliance, tells News9’s Heather Hope<\/a> many insurers start the clock after a 4.0-magnitude or greater temblor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seismologists at the U.S. Geological Survey recently warned that the ongoing earthquake swarm in central-Oklahoma is likely to continue, could get worse, and might be linked to wells oil and gas companies use to store drilling waste-fluid deep underground.In response, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak advised Oklahomans to buy earthquake insurance.Oklahoma already has\u00a0highest average cost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":17383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[490],"tags":[489,500,98],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17382"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17382"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17390,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17382\/revisions\/17390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}