Earthquake/Volcano/Lahar Homeowners' Coverage (Seattle, Maple Valley: transplants, sales, insurance)

[Caver Girl]

We are recent transplants to Washington state and live in Maple Valley. I am curious to know if we should consider getting Earthquake/Volcano/Lahar Homeowners' Coverage??

[azoria]

Not trying to be snippy here, but if that huge volcano erupts and there is a lahar, I doubt that the few adjusted dollars the insurance industry might hand out years later after all kinds of legal wrangling (see hurricane Katrina) would be much of a compensation for the kind of calamity that would be likely to ensue after such an event.

Save your money and hope for the best. Don't give it to the insurance companies.

[Caver Girl]

Not snippy at all! Thank you for your input!!

[Andy]

Originally Posted by azoria

Not trying to be snippy here, but if that huge volcano erupts and there is a lahar, I doubt that the few adjusted dollars the insurance industry might hand out years later after all kinds of legal wrangling (see hurricane Katrina) would be much of a compensation for the kind of calamity that would be likely to ensue after such an event.

Save your money and hope for the best. Don't give it to the insurance companies.

I went through a major event and my insurance company was awesome.

If you do live in an area that has had some historical lahar event and the extra insurance is cheap, I'd get it. Most areas in MV probably do not need it so consult a geologist or geographer.

[Hemlock140]

We always had earthquake insurance in CA before moving here, and got it though the agent said "no one gets that." After the Nisqually Quake of 2001 everyone started buying it. I don't think anyone is offering Volcano insurance, but the regular homeowner policy may include reference to damage from it, but most likely only physical damage to the home, not removal of ash as we saw when Mt. St. Helens blew it's top in 1980.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

We always had earthquake insurance in CA before moving here, and got it though the agent said "no one gets that." After the Nisqually Quake of 2001 everyone started buying it.

The people who had their foundations cracked by the quake and had earthquake coverage fared well, those who didn't not so much. I remember all of those post-earthquake sob stories of people with cracked foundations not getting any help from their insurance company because they didn't have earthquake coverage.

[RustinginSeattle]

My thought is to consider the year of your house and whether or not it is retrofitted to the foundation. You might also consider the topography of the land your home is on (hillside, fill dirt, etc).

I would have skipped EQ insurance, but my house is built on an old concrete block foundation and cannot be retrofitted (strapped to the foundation every 2-3 feet). It is a 2 story home and the area I live in has a lot of fill. A good size EQ could knock my home off of the foundation and I would lose one of my biggest investments.

EQ insurance is catastrophic. Most deductibles are 15%, so you would need to have $30K of damage to a $200K house (rebuilding cost, not sales value), before your insurance would even kick in. To keep costs down, I have switched to a policy that doesn't include personal property items or much money for loss of use (a place to live while your home is unliveable).

If your home is new and properly attached to its foundation, you could maybe skip EQ insurance, but it would also be a pretty cheap policy for you.

I used to be a Home and Auto insurance agent for 12 years. When I stopped working, I really wanted to cut costs, but I continue to keep my EQ insurance.

Keep in mind, if there is an EQ, even a small one, you can't purchase EQ insurance for at least 30 days afterwards.

[suziq999]

Hey Rusting, could you explain more about the ages and such? Or I could PM you.

For instance, we're buying a relatively expensive home (no where near 200k) so the premium on the earthquake insurance seems astronomical to me.

It's a relatively new home (2000 a newer) but it is on a hillside.

I know you couldn't say specifically but do you have any recommendations? Is there something I could look for or is it explicitly stated as retrofitted? Thanks for your help.

[TwoByFour]

Our Seattle home was 100+ years old when we recently sold it. It had been through several 6.0+ EQ's and survived. I did some retrofitting but never bought EQ insurance. King County and probably all of W. Washington, have very stringent building codes so if your home was built in 2000, I personally would not worry about EQ insurance as far as structural damage. You might want to talk to a geologist about your hillside though.

Lahar is interesting but personally I think is a stretch. The Lahar that is projected to come off Rainier some day is down the Nisqually which is way south of Maple Valley.

[RotseCherut]

My advice is to get a house outside the lahar zone. Basically, places lower in elevation and within a close proximity to the mountain are not a property I would invest my life savings into. But, that is just me. They say the volcano can erupt anytime from 500 years to today.

If you think it's all fantasy, I encourage you to take a drive to Orting, like I did, and look at all the Volcano evacuation signs and the giant volcano sensors and air-raid sirens installed all over. This will be very sobering and make you respect the possible threat that does exist. I went to Orting to just pick up some stuff from a farm, but I was quite surprised and sobered at what I saw on the way through this beautiful valley.