First: our building codes incorporate engineering to cope with the stresses of earthquake insurance for the earthquakes we are most likely to get. Even back in the late nineties when we had the magnitude ~5 earthquake, no one I know had any serious damage.

Second: The “Big One” that is supposed to occur is completely unpredictable. You are gambling that an earthquake is going to happen, and that it is going to cause enough damage to breech your $50,000 deductible. Go ahead and calculate the odds of that happening.

Third: your money would be better spent preventing the possibility of earthquake damage. Most states in the PNW offer earthquake retrofitting classes for free. Then you can apply the almost $4,000 you are going to spend over the next ten years on implementing those retrofits (usually just making sure the house is properly bound to the foundation, and maybe some other reinforcements).

It always amazes me that people react to what is being reported by the media – these events are extraordinary, that is why they are being reported. Spending money to have coverage for events this extraordinarily rare just seems like an emotional response. You lived this long without earthquake insurance, why do you need it now?

If I haven’t swayed you, don’t forget – you also need volcano, flood, and tsunami insurance. Just in case.