Nearly every church buys fire insurance, but the likelihood of suffering significant damage by an earthquake is far greater than fire. Policies can include losses from mudslides and sinkholes if the earthquake was the original event.

Typically, earthquake insurance covers damage to your ministry and your personal property. Most policies also cover costs incurred to minimize further damage after the earthquake, plus costs for additional expenses. Deductibles are generally 10-15% of the insured amount.

Earthquake insurance can insure

• Buildings
• Business Personal Property
• Loss of Business Income
• Earthquake Sprinkler Leakage
• Betterment or Repairs Required by Local Ordinance Or Law

Here is what an EQ policy does not cover

• Damage to land- the policy won’t cover loss to “dirt”, sink-hole, or erosion. EQ will not pay to have a hole filled on your property.
• Damage to vehicles is excluded in an EQ policy. This coverage would be picked up under an auto policy if you have the right coverage.
• Fire is excluded under all EQ policies. The property policy (if in place) would cover the damage caused by the fire. This is true even if an EQ broke a gas line. Both insurers would be involved, but the property insurance would cover the fire loss.
• As is with most insurance policies any pre-existing damage will be excluded.
• Some policies may exclude damage to brick veneer or stone that covers external walls.

We recommend that every business obtain an earthquake quote every year. Your risks depend on how close you live to fault lines, how well your building was built to withstand losses and the type of ground your home is built on.

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This entry was posted on March 4, 2020 at 6:01 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Posted in Church Insurance Church Risk Property insurance Uncategorized by Scott Stuart Comments Off on Why Your Church Should Consider Earthquake Insurance