Does My Homeowner’s Policy Cover Earthquake Damage?

AskSherriEarthquakeDear Sherri,

I thought I felt my house shake the other day and the first thing I thought of was earthquake!!!!! Now, my question is, does my homeowner’s insurance policy cover my home for earthquake?– Shakin in Brookyn,

Dear Shakin in Brooklyn,

Well, I don’t know why your house was shaking the other day, because New York hasn’t had an earthquake of any magnitude in over a year, but I’ll have whatever she was having!
On most Homeowner’s policies, earthquake coverage is not automatically included. The good news is that earthquake coverage can be added to most Homeowner policies for an additional premium (or is that just good news for me, the insurance agent?). Most people think it is ridiculous to get earthquake coverage in New York. However, did you know that New York is situated on a major earthquake fault and those seismologists are predicting a major earthquake in the near future? Many might scoff, but they also scoffed about Hurricanes before Hurricane Sandy! Contact your agent to discuss the earthquake endorsement for your Homeowner’s policy.

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