{"id":4221,"date":"2021-10-01T13:43:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T20:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/?p=4221"},"modified":"2021-10-01T13:43:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T20:43:05","slug":"earthquake-insurance-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/earthquake-insurance-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Renters in Washington State Need Earthquake Insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>To explore this topic\u2014whether or not you should be shopping for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/homeowners-insurance\/\">earthquake insurance<\/a> if you rent your housing in the Evergreen State\u2014start with these two simple but critical facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>First, the state of Washington does have significant earthquake activity.<\/li><li>Your existing renter\u2019s insurance policy almost surely doesn\u2019t cover earthquake damage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Take a look at what you should know about earthquake insurance and whether or not it belongs on your shopping list. Let\u2019s start with a closer look at each of those two quick facts we mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The State of Washington Experiences Frequent Earthquake Activity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re a long-time resident of the state, you might be shocked to know that Washington experiences nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnr.wa.gov\/programs-and-services\/geology\/geologic-hazards\/earthquakes-and-faults\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>a tremor a day<\/u><\/a>. The reason you\u2019re likely to be surprised by that number is that most of the quakes in this state are too small to be felt by most residents or to cause even minimal damage. Nevertheless, the state sits over various fault lines, which is why the activity is constant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not just a vast number of silent tremors, either. Washington has the second-highest number of damaging earthquakes in the United States. The most recent severe activity was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.king5.com\/article\/news\/history\/nisqually-earthquake\/20th-anniversary-nisqually-earthquake-western-washington\/281-df8b4d26-c842-45dc-a7c9-406167d06fc7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Nisqually quake<\/u><\/a>, which struck on February 28, 2001. Centered 11 miles north of Olympia and measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, it caused billions of dollars in damage to roads, bridges, and buildings throughout most western Washington and beyond. Other significant quakes in the state occurred in the 1990s and just about every decade before then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The point being, earthquakes do occur in Washington regularly. While most cost no real damage, it\u2019s not unheard of for more serious tremors to damage state infrastructure, buildings, and personal property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does Renters Insurance Policy Cover Earthquake Damage?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The owner of your Washington State apartment building, home, or other rented property is responsible for walls, roof, furnace, electrical and plumbing systems, and other components of the structure itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But your landlord isn\u2019t responsible for the personal property you keep in that space, and that\u2019s why you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/renters-insurance\/\"><u>renters insurance<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re pretty well protected if you have a quality plan. Your standard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/renters-insurance\/renters-insurance-in-seattle\/\">renter\u2019s policy<\/a> probably covers damage, loss, or destruction of the personal belongings in your apartment or other rented housing from fire and smoke, lightning strikes, high winds, hail storms, theft, and vandalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, one of the few events that are probably not in your policy is earthquake damage. That event is almost always treated as what\u2019s called an \u201cexclusion,\u201d or uncovered activity. Check your policy to be sure, but this natural phenomenon is almost surely not covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Low Cost, High-Value Coverage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since parts of the state of Washington rest on fault lines, and earthquakes are relatively common, insurance might cost more than it would in many other parts of the country, but it\u2019s still highly affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can purchase this coverage as an add-on to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/renters-insurance\/renters-insurance-2\/\"><u>standard renters insurance policy<\/u><\/a>. This is known as an endorsement. Earthquake insurance can also be bought as a separate policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such coverage would not only reimburse you for items damaged or destroyed in a quake but also for such associated costs as debris removal and the expense of temporarily moving to a motel or other housing. At the same time, your rented space is being made habitable again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is This Coverage Worth It?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/does-renters-insurane-cover-earthquake-1.jpg\" alt=\"young woman is using a mobile phone to find earthquake insurance\" class=\"wp-image-4224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/does-renters-insurane-cover-earthquake-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/does-renters-insurane-cover-earthquake-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/does-renters-insurane-cover-earthquake-1-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/10\/does-renters-insurane-cover-earthquake-1-800x531.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep in mind that the cost of a few dollars a month protects you from what could be thousands of dollars you\u2019d have to spend to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/renters-insurance\/renters-insurance-cost-oregon\/\">replace your personal property<\/a> in the event of a damaging earthquake. This might include furniture and furnishings, computers and other electronic devices, and other expensive possessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, you could have the added cost of moving your family into a hotel or other pricey lodging for several weeks or even months while your apartment, house, condo, or other rented space is being repaired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your earthquake insurance policy or endorsement might also cover other so-called \u201cearth movement\u201d events such as sinkholes and landslides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For what might be $200 a year or less, this coverage protects your finances and might well be worth it simply for the peace of mind the insurance offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Find Earthquake Insurance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We don\u2019t know when the next big earthquake will hit the state of Washington, but we do know it will occur at some point that\u2019s probably not too far in the future. Will you and your family be financially protected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is renters insurance with an earthquake endorsement right for you? Let\u2019s work together to figure that out. Your Vern Fonk Insurance agent can answer all of your questions and find you the ideal policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get yourself a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/renters-insurance\/\"><u>quick online quote<\/u><\/a> for renters insurance, or <a href=\"tel:1-800-455-8276\">call us<\/a> today to discuss whether it would be a sensible decision to buy or add on earthquake coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vern Fonk Insurance aims to keep our customers on stable ground financially and help maintain their peace of mind. We look forward to working with you and protecting your loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/renters-insurance\/\">Get a Quote<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:19px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"tel:1-800-455-8276\">Call Us<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:19px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/locations\">Find Your Office<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To explore this topic\u2014whether or not you should be shopping for earthquake insurance if you rent your housing in the Evergreen State\u2014start with these two simple but critical facts: First, the state of Washington does have significant earthquake activity. Your existing renter\u2019s insurance policy almost surely doesn\u2019t cover earthquake damage. Take a look at what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-renters-insurance","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4221"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4226,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4221\/revisions\/4226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernfonk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}