Earthquake insurance

Your home is likely not covered for seismic shocks. This guide to Earthquake insurance explains how to protect your Illinois home from tremors.

What is Earthquake Insurance?

Earthquake insurance is a specialized, supplemental insurance policy designed to protect your home and personal belongings from the destructive damage caused specifically by an earthquake. The most important thing for any homeowner to understand is that damage from earth movement—including shocks, tremors, and landslides caused by an earthquake—is explicitly excluded from all standard homeowners, condo, and renters insurance policies. To be financially protected from this specific peril, you must purchase a separate earthquake policy or add an earthquake endorsement to your existing homeowners policy. It covers the cost to rebuild your home, replace your possessions, and pay for temporary housing if an earthquake makes your home uninhabitable.

For residents of Illinois, particularly in the southern half of the state, this is not a distant concern but a real and present risk due to major, active fault lines. Without this specific coverage, you would be left to pay for the catastrophic costs of rebuilding your life entirely out of pocket after a major seismic event. At Mira Insurance Agency, we specialize in helping Illinois residents understand their true seismic risk and access this vital protection. We provide clear explanations and competitive quotes to ensure your largest investment is secure from the ground up.

What is the difference between homeowners insurance and earthquake insurance?

The difference between a standard homeowners policy and an earthquake policy is stark and absolute. Your homeowners insurance is designed to cover a wide range of perils like fire, wind, hail, and theft, but it contains a very specific exclusion for “earth movement.” This means any damage resulting directly or indirectly from an earthquake, whether it’s a cracked foundation, a collapsed wall, or broken personal belongings from the shaking, is not covered. If your home is destroyed in an earthquake, your standard homeowners policy will pay nothing toward rebuilding the structure or replacing its contents. It is a complete and total coverage gap.

An earthquake insurance policy exists for the sole purpose of filling that gap. It is a separate policy or endorsement whose coverage is triggered only when there is damage from a seismic event. It provides the funds to repair your home’s foundation, rebuild collapsed structures, and replace your damaged personal property. It is the only way to protect your financial investment from the immense destructive power of an earthquake. The team at Mira Insurance Agency helps clients clearly understand this critical distinction, ensuring they don’t discover they are unprotected when it is far too late.

Is Illinois on an earthquake fault line?

Yes, a significant portion of Illinois is located within or near two of the most hazardous seismic zones in the entire United States: the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) and the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone (WVSZ). The New Madrid zone, centered in southeastern Missouri, is a massive fault system that extends into southern Illinois, as well as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. This is not a minor fault line; the NMSZ was responsible for some of the most powerful earthquakes in the history of the continental United States. The Wabash Valley zone is another highly active area located along the border of southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana.

Many Illinois residents are surprised to learn they live in an area with a seismic risk that rivals parts of California. The presence of these active fault systems means that the potential for a damaging earthquake is not a question of “if” but “when.” The U.S. Geological Survey continues to monitor these zones for activity, and the risk they pose to the infrastructure and homes in southern Illinois is significant. The advisors at Mira Insurance Agency are knowledgeable about Illinois’s specific geological risks and can help you understand how your home’s location relates to these major fault lines.

How likely is a major earthquake in Illinois?

The likelihood of a major, damaging earthquake striking Illinois is much higher than most residents assume. According to the U.S. Geological Survey and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, there is a significant probability of a major earthquake occurring in the central U.S. within our lifetime. Scientific studies estimate that there is a 25% to 40% probability of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake occurring in the New Madrid Seismic Zone within any 50-year period. An earthquake of this magnitude would cause widespread, serious damage to homes, roads, and infrastructure throughout southern Illinois and would be strongly felt as far away as Chicago.

The risk in the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone is also considerable, with scientists believing it is capable of producing earthquakes up to magnitude 7.5. While these are probabilities and not certainties, the risk is substantial enough that federal and state emergency agencies conduct regular drills, like the “Great ShakeOut,” to prepare for such an event. At Mira Insurance Agency, we believe that understanding and preparing for a high-consequence, moderate-probability event is a wise financial strategy. We help you translate that risk into a tangible protection plan for your home.

What does earthquake insurance cover?

An earthquake insurance policy is typically structured with three main coverage components, similar to a standard homeowners policy but applied specifically to seismic events. The first and most important is Dwelling Coverage. This pays to repair or rebuild the physical structure of your home, including its foundation, walls, and roof, if it is damaged in an earthquake. The second component is Personal Property Coverage, which pays to replace your personal belongings, such as furniture, electronics, and clothing, if they are damaged or destroyed by the shaking. This coverage is essential for getting your life back to normal after a disaster.

The third key coverage is Additional Living Expenses (ALE), or “Loss of Use.” If your home is rendered uninhabitable by earthquake damage, this coverage pays for the additional costs you incur while living elsewhere during repairs. This can include the cost of a hotel or temporary rental, restaurant meals, and other necessary expenses above and beyond your normal cost of living. Some policies may also offer coverage for things like debris removal or building code upgrades required during reconstruction. The team at Mira Insurance Agency can walk you through these different coverages to help you select the limits that best fit your family’s needs.

How do earthquake insurance deductibles work?

Understanding the deductible is one of the most important parts of an earthquake insurance policy, as it works very differently from a standard home insurance deductible. Instead of a flat dollar amount (like $1,000), an earthquake insurance deductible is typically a percentage of the coverage limit. This percentage can range from 5% to 25%, depending on the policy and your location’s risk level. For example, if your home’s dwelling is insured for $300,000 and you have a 10% deductible, your deductible would be $30,000. This is the amount you would have to pay out-of-pocket for structural repairs before the insurance company would pay anything.

This high, percentage-based deductible can be a shock to many homeowners, but it is what makes the coverage affordable. By having the homeowner retain a larger portion of the initial risk, insurers are able to offer protection against catastrophic, total-loss scenarios at a reasonable price. It’s important to note that many policies have separate deductibles for dwelling coverage and personal property coverage. The experts at Mira Insurance Agency specialize in explaining these complex deductible structures in simple terms, helping you choose a deductible percentage that aligns with your financial preparedness.

Can you get earthquake insurance in Illinois?

Yes, earthquake insurance is absolutely available to homeowners and renters throughout Illinois. Although it is not as commonly purchased as it is in California, most major insurance carriers that write homeowners insurance in Illinois also offer earthquake coverage as either an endorsement that can be added to your existing home policy or as a separate, standalone policy. Because Illinois has a known and significant seismic risk, particularly in the southern third of the state, insurers have developed products specifically for residents in these areas. Availability is generally not an issue for most homeowners.

The key is to work with an insurance agent or agency that understands this specific risk and knows which carriers offer the most competitive and comprehensive coverage in your area. Some companies may have stricter underwriting guidelines for homes of a certain age, construction type (like brick), or proximity to the New Madrid fault line. As an independent agency, Mira Insurance Agency partners with multiple A-rated insurance carriers. This allows us to shop the market on your behalf to find the company that is the best fit for your specific home and location, ensuring you can get the protection you need.

What factors determine the cost of earthquake insurance?

The cost of an earthquake insurance policy in Illinois is determined by a variety of factors related to risk. The single most important factor is your home’s location and its proximity to the New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones. A home in Carbondale or Paducah, Kentucky, will have a significantly higher premium than a home in Chicago. The age and construction of your home are also critical. Newer homes built to more modern codes may receive better rates. Masonry or brick homes are often more expensive to insure than wood-frame homes as they are more susceptible to brittle failure during shaking.

Other rating factors include the coverage limits you choose—a higher dwelling coverage limit will naturally cost more. The deductible percentage you select will also have a major impact on your premium; a policy with a 25% deductible will be much cheaper than one with a 10% deductible. Finally, the soil type your home is built on can play a role, as softer soils can amplify ground shaking. The team at Mira Insurance Agency can provide you with a detailed quote that breaks down these factors, helping you understand how your premium is calculated and what you can do to find the most affordable rate.

When was the last major earthquake in Illinois?

While Illinois has not experienced a catastrophic earthquake on the scale of the 1811-1812 events in recent memory, the region remains seismically active. The last earthquake to cause widespread notice and minor-to-moderate damage in Illinois occurred on April 18, 2008. This magnitude 5.2 earthquake was centered near West Salem, Illinois, in the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. The shaking was felt across more than a dozen states, from Georgia to Nebraska, and as far north as Canada. It caused chimneys to crack, foundations to shift, and masonry to fall from buildings, particularly in the areas closest to the epicenter.

This event served as a powerful modern reminder that the seismic zones affecting Illinois are active and capable of producing damaging earthquakes at any time. It highlighted the vulnerability of the region’s infrastructure, much of which was not built to modern seismic codes. The 2008 earthquake was a wake-up call for many residents and emergency management officials, reinforcing the importance of preparedness and the need for financial protection like earthquake insurance. At Mira Insurance Agency, we use this recent historical example to help clients understand that this is a current and ongoing risk, not just a distant historical event.

Which states have the highest earthquake risk?

When people think of earthquake risk in the United States, they almost always think of California, and for good reason. Due to the San Andreas and other active fault systems, California does have the highest earthquake risk in the contiguous United States. However, the state with the absolute highest risk and the most frequent and powerful earthquakes is actually Alaska. The Alaskan subduction zone is one of the most active in the world. Following these two, states like Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Nevada also have very high seismic hazards.

What surprises many people is that the central U.S., specifically the area of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, is also considered one of the highest-risk regions in the country, right alongside the West Coast states. This puts parts of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee in a high-hazard category. While earthquakes may be less frequent here than in California, the potential magnitude of an NMSZ event is enormous and could cause damage over a much wider area due to the region’s unique geology. The experts at Mira Insurance Agency can put Illinois’s risk into this national context, emphasizing that you don’t have to live on the West Coast to be vulnerable to a major earthquake.

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Is Your Illinois Home Ready to Shake?

Standard home policies don’t cover earthquakes. Get specialized Earthquake insurance to protect your biggest investment from seismic risk. Quote online today with Mira Insurance Agency!