I have always wanted to buy an earthquake insurance for my house in Oakland Hills.  Being so close to the major seismic faults, I know that the questions is not if but when will we have a Big One.  I have priced Earthquake insurance before and decided to retrofit the building instead, as the cost of the annual premium was comparable to the cost of retrofit.  However, at the time of my house insurance renewal I received a quote for the Earthquake insurance policy in addition to the regular house insurance and was surprised to see that it was significantly lower than before.  After some additional research and few quotes from other companies, I was able to find a policy that made sense and didn’t break the bank.

If you own a home, an apartment or commercial building, San Francisco-based insurance consumer rights organization United Policyholders (“UP”) says now is the time to reconsider whether earthquake insurance is right for you.  Check out the following article for more information:  http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/united-policyholders-urges-homeowners-to,1235604.shtml.