Okay, my friends and clients:
The time has come for us to have a serious chat and for many of you to reconsider your doubts about the value of Earthquake insurance.
After a relatively modest 5.1 Earthquake this past Friday night, and the 4.1 quake Saturday afternoon that caught everyone's attention much more than usual, and after the nerves that were jostled with the pre-quake foreshock and the over 100 aftershocks, I have to ask you:
If you haven't thought about the value of Earthquake insurance as it relates to your home or investment properties, don’t you think it's time to reconsider your position?
It was only a 5.1 quake, and still a few homes were "red tagged" and a one or two water mains broke. And, it was just a 5.1!
It's time to make sure your water supplies are good & that your packaged snacks are enough to get you through a couple of weeks.
And it's time for you to get your Earthquake Insurance in order. Many of our clients already have this incredibly valuable protection, but the majority of our clients don't because as Californians, we tend to downplay the risk and the seriousness of earthquakes. And, many times people just don't want to spend the money.
And, because we've been - in the past 20 years - in what is called a "quiet" time for quakes (this is according to the seismologists that are all over TV this weekend), most people have simply forgotten about this bull-in-the-china-closet potential for a huge life changing experience and the financial devastation that can result from such an occurrence.
We, as a society, have ignored this potential because of many reasonable conclusions, such as
- The deductible is too large (despite programs to purchase back part of the deductible for 1-4 unit homes)
- The cost is prohibitive (COMPARED TO WHAT: A TOTAL LOSS THAT IS NOT FUNDED? Take THAT, 401k. Oh - you don't have one? Line of credit: Not likely - the lines will more likely be frozen following a big quake)
- It won't happen in my life time. (Hmm).
- The Federal and State governments will bail me out. They'll have to. (Well, we are Californians).
You have to consider that the government might not help - it might not be able to do more than provide initial public safety, water restoration, transportation corridor repairs, and triage services.
So, you think the government is going to give you money to fix your home? What about the homes of the other hundreds of thousands - possibly millions (don't forget about the apartment buildings) - of people who are all affected? It probably won't happen, certainly not as a gift or band aid to make it all better.
It has to be that way; the banks and government simply can't give this money away. The money must be repaid, because the Feds and the State officials will likely have to borrow the money that you hope they will give to you. There will simply be too much money in play. The best you can hope for, following a devastating quake, is limited assistance and a low-cost loan. Yes, another LOAN.
Here's a great reason to purchase Earthquake Insurance (one of the reasons why I buy it): In most cases, the cost of Earthquake insurance is substantially less than the cost of any loan you'll get from the government or from your line of credit with your bank. And, you don't have to pay it back! I understand how this appears, but dwell on it a bit and you'll get the point.
And, the point is that purchasing Earthquake insurance is one of the most fundamentally sound investments you can make in your home or investment properties - particularly if you are heavily invested in certain regions of SoCal: LA/OC basin, the Inland Empire, San Diego area, etc.
So what, if you lower your cash flow a bit with the additional earthquake insurance premium? What do you think a bad Earthquake will do to your cash flow?
Why lose it all to save a few hundred dollars? What are you waiting for? Call us to get your Earthquake Insurance started. You don't have to lose everything when a funding mechanism is available to you. Take advantage of it. Call us right away to get started, or drop me an email (stan@hdinsure.com) and ask us to look into this coverage for you.
Insuring Your Success!
Stan Dreckman
PS: For our many clients in the Midwest and Southeast, you are generally more concerned with Wind, Flood, Hail, and other climatic damages. We've sent lots of emails out about Flood insurance, and yet, you still aren't buying Flood insurance when you know you should be. For most of you not in special flood areas, the cost is under $400 a year - that's less than $35 a month. What are you waiting for? Call or email us today!
