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Shop around for earthquake
insurance

By
Patty Fisher
Mercury News

Article Launched: 10/22/2007
01:36:46 AM PDT

If you live anywhere near the Hayward Fault, I probably don't
have to remind you to freshen up that supply of bottled water
and flashlight batteries. You might even be starting to think
seriously about buying earthquake insurance.

The U.S. Geological Survey reminded us last week that the
Hayward Fault is due for a devastating quake any day now -
just like the deadly jolt it gave us 139 years ago to the day
Sunday. The reminder set off my own personal seismometer:
People started contacting me with questions about earthquake
insurance.

Apparently readers think I'm an expert. Last month I wrote
a column about the California Earthquake Authority in which I
questioned the value of the expensive insurance policies it
sells.

Let's be clear: Like most columnists, I'm not an expert in
anything except spinning mundane events of everyday life into
16 inches of heart-rending prose. But I have amassed a bit of
knowledge about earthquake insurance lately. So in honor of
the 139th anniversary of the first Great San Francisco
Earthquake, I'll share this with you:

Independent
companies

There are better policies out there than those the state
earthquake insurance authority is offering. Independent
companies write policies, too.

"Sometimes the state-run earthquake coverage is the best
deal, but most of the time it's not," said Chris Grammar of
Allied Brokers in Palo Alto.

Grammar ran some numbers for me: Say you have

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a 2,000-square-foot house in Willow Glen built in the
1980s. You could buy $500,000 worth of coverage - with a 15
percent deductible - from one of the big companies affiliated
with the California Earthquake Authority for $1,400 a year.
But an independent company could sell you a policy for about
$1,000 or less, and you'd get more coverage for personal
property and other damages.

Grammar showed me how I could save at least $300 a year on
my earthquake insurance in Palo Alto by ditching the state
coverage.

In some high-risk areas, like Los Gatos, independent
companies charge more than the state earthquake authority.
That's because the state has to insure everyone and spreads
the risk more evenly, whereas independent companies go after
low-risk properties.

But the rates vary wildly. So, if you're among the majority
of California homeowners with no coverage, shop around. And
check out the company carefully. You want to make sure it will
still be there after the Big One - particularly if your house
isn't.

How to foster
goodwill

I love this kind of feedback:

After I wrote about foster parents who use their own money
to buy clothes, diapers and other necessities for kids who may
be theirs for only a few days, I got a call from LeAnn
Crawley. She and the other moms in her San Jose play group
wanted to help those foster parents.

"I have a crib in the basement that I've been keeping
purely for sentimental reasons," she said. "Someone could get
good use out of it."

She and the other moms also have clothes and toys they'd
like to donate.

I suggested Crawley call the Foster and Adoptive Parent
Resource Center, which operates the Clover Closet at the Santa
Clara County Children's Shelter. Foster parents can shop at
the closet for clothing, books, car seats and other items -
free of charge. To donate new or gently used stuff, especially
clothes for teens, call (408) 975-5309.

Crawley, whose 4-year-old daughter is adopted, admires
foster parents but says she could never be one. "Once I took
children in, I could never let them go," she said.

Instead, she's letting go of her crib - and setting a great
example.

Contact Patty Fisher at [email-masked]
or (408) 920-5852.

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