Earth movement — earthquakes included — is excluded from standard homeowners policies. If shaking damages your home, a regular policy won't pay for it. Earthquake coverage comes as a separate policy or an endorsement, and it works a little differently than the insurance you're used to.
Who this is for: homeowners in earthquake-prone regions, and anyone who's noticed that "earthquake country" covers more of the map than they expected.
Why it's a separate policy
Like flood, earthquake damage tends to hit many homes in the same area at the same time, so insurers handle it outside the standard policy. Depending on where you live, you might buy it as an endorsement from your regular carrier, as a stand-alone policy, or — in California — through the California Earthquake Authority, which sells policies through participating insurers.
How percentage deductibles work
This is the part worth slowing down on. Most insurance deductibles are a flat dollar amount. Earthquake deductibles are usually a percentage of your dwelling coverage — commonly somewhere between 5% and 25%, and you pick the number when you buy.
Here's what that means in practice. If your home is insured for $400,000 and you choose a 10% deductible, the first $40,000 of earthquake damage is yours to absorb before the policy pays anything. A lower percentage means a higher premium; a higher percentage means cheaper coverage that only kicks in for serious damage. Neither choice is wrong — it depends on how much of a hit your savings could take.
What it covers
A typical earthquake policy has three parts: the structure of your home, your personal property, and additional living expenses if you can't stay there during repairs. Each part has its own limit, and personal property often carries lower sub-limits for things like jewelry and electronics. Fire that follows an earthquake is usually covered by your standard homeowners policy, even without earthquake coverage — that's a long-standing carve-out worth knowing.
What it doesn't cover
Flood damage, even flooding triggered by a quake (like a tsunami), needs flood insurance. Land itself — a cracked lot or slope — is generally not covered. Vehicles fall under auto insurance. And pre-existing damage is out, so waiting until after a tremor to buy coverage doesn't work; many insurers also pause new sales briefly after a significant quake.
Is it worth thinking about?
There's no need for alarm math here. The honest framing: if a quake seriously damaged your home, could you handle the rebuild cost yourself? If yes, you may reasonably skip it. If not — especially if most of your net worth is in the house — it's worth pricing. The cost varies a lot by location, soil, and the age and construction of your home, so a real quote tells you more than any rule of thumb.
Seeing your homeowners options side by side makes it easier to spot which carriers offer earthquake coverage in your area, so a quick comparison is a sensible first step.