Earthquake Insurance

[TromboneAl]

Right, same here. I don't think there's any solution. If one of us is coming home after the other is asleep, we leave the car outside.

[WanderALot]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

Off topic, but we have the same arrangement -- how's the noise level in your bedroom when the garage door opens?

It's pretty freaking loud! We don't have a whisper quiet opener though. My parents have a similar setup and their opener is VERY quiet, I can barely hear it opening.

[TromboneAl]

My parents have a similar setup and their opener is VERY quiet, I can barely hear it opening.

What brand/model do they have?

[ziggy29]

Originally Posted by Shawn

While distance from the ruptured fault is important, it is not necessarily the driving factor. Soil and general geologic conditions can be quite significant. Think of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (M6.9) in northern California. Some of the most severe shaking occurred in the San Francisco Marina district even though it was 50-100 km from the rupture zone. This was due to the underlying sedimentary fill. Also, consider the collapse of the Nimitz freeway in Oakland, also nearly 100 km from the fault. In part, this was due to higher amplitude ground motions caused by a "Moho bounce" (seismic energy focused back to the surface after reflecting off the boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle).

Yep. There's a lot more to it than distance. I lived in southern San Jose at that time, less than 10 miles from the epicenter, and there was very little damage in our immediate area.

[TromboneAl]

The earthquake insurance bill came today, and the premium has increased to $525 (from $365 last year and $276 the year before). So I'm going to think about this too. My inclination right now is to not get it.

[Pete]

I see people pay 3-4 dollars for coffee. Went out to dinner the other day and payed 50 dollars for four sandwiches and two drinks.

400 dollars is cheap peace of mind, especially now that I paid my house off.

[TromboneAl]

Checking the map, we are either in or on the border of a "IX" area ("Damage considerable tin some structures built especially to withstand earthquakes; threw out of plumb some wood-frame houses built especially to withstand earthquakes....").

Liquifaction potential is high.

Since we're not in a major area, the insuring company will probably not go bankrupt if there's a major quake here.

So I guess I'll continue with it.