Little Earthquakes worse than Big Earthquakes? | Earthquake Insurance

A recent online discussion of recent earthquakes has raised some concern. It went something like this: Just as cows kill 10 times as many people a year as sharks, small earthquakes cause more damage than large ones. Could this mean that cows are more dangerous than sharks? And by extension, small earthquakes are more dangerous than large ones? That is the central takeaway of the new study, published in Seismological Research Letters. It’s a matter of statistics and communication.

It is true that ‘Big’ earthquakes cause big shaking, but they don’t happen very often.  ‘Little’ earthquakes only cause little shaking but shaking is variable and every once in a while, a little earthquake causes greater-than-expected shaking. Overall, a multitude of small earthquakes could add up to a lot of property damage.

It is true that small earthquakes have a much greater frequency than large tremors; it may also be true that small earthquakes may help settle the ground and relieve stress which otherwise could lead to a larger earthquake.

In all seismic regions, there will always be a mix of small and large temblors. Since the science of earthquakes is till evolving as we gather data and learn from each and every event about pattern of faults and intensity of tremors.

Earthquake Insurance is a ‘must’ for those who have a respectable equity position in any property.  Although mortgage companies require Fire Insurance, it is more likely that a home be destroy in an earthquake, thus making Earthquake Insurance a necessary form of protection.

Although earthquakes can technically occur anywhere, our focus of concentration has been on the ‘Ring of Fire’ which is a large area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where may earthquakes and volcan eruptions occur.   In the United States, our direct area of concentration has been the states of California, Oregon & Washington due to geographic location and the highest demand for the insurance protection of property.

We have specialty programs designed to provide coverage specifically to protect each risk only as desired by the property owner.   Building coverage can be purchased without the requirement of purchasing a package policy for other line items that are not desired by the property owner.  Our deductible options range from 25% to 2.5%.

There is never a charge for a risk review and most commonly only takes a couple of minutes over the telephone to assess the need for insurance. We invite anyone who is concerned about protecting property to inquire within!