Earthquakes
 |
EARTHQUAKES
Since 1900, earthquakes have occurred in 39 states and have caused damage in all 50. About 5,000 quakes can be felt each year. The earthquake and fire that devastated San Francisco on April 18, 1906 was one of the worst natural disasters in the United States. It produced insured losses of $235 million at the time, equivalent to $5.2 billion in 2007 dollars. A study by AIR Worldwide estimates the loss at $108 billion, were the quake to hit under today's economic and demographic conditions.
| |
|
THE TEN MOST COSTLY U.S. EARTHQUAKES
($ millions)
|
|
|
|
Estimated property damage (1) |
Rank |
Year |
Location |
Magnitude |
Dollars when occurred |
In 2007 dollars (2) |
| 1 | 1994 | Northridge, CA | 6.7 | $13-20,000 | $18-$28,000 |
| 2 | 1989 | San Francisco Bay area; Loma Prieta, CA | 6.9 | 7,000 | 11,702 |
| 3 | 1964 | Alaska and west coast of United States (tsunami damage from earthquake near Anchorage, Alaska) | 9.2 | 500 | 3,344 |
| 4 | 1971 | San Fernando, CA | 6.5 | 553 | 2,831 |
| 5 | 2001 | Washington, Oregon | 6.8 | 2,305 | 2,698 |
| 6 | 1987 | Southern California; primarily in Los Angeles–Pasadena–Whittier area | 5.9 | 358 | 653 |
| 7 | 1933 | Long Beach, CA | 6.3 | 40 | 638 |
| 8 | 1952 | Kern County, CA | 7.5 | 60 | 469 |
| 9 | 1992 | Southern California; Landers–Joshua Tree–Big Bear | 7.6 | 92 | 136 |
| 10 | 1992 | Northern California Coast; Petrolia–Eureka | 7.1 | 66 | 98 |
(1) Includes insured and uninsured losses.
(2) Adjusted to 2007 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey; Munich Re; Insurance Information Institute. |
| |
|
THE TEN WORST EARTHQUAKES IN TERMS OF VICTIMS (1)
Rank |
Victims |
Date |
Event/Magnitude (2) |
Place |
| 1 | 255,000 | 1976 | Earthquake (M 7.5) | China |
| 2 | 220,000 | 2004 | Earthquake (Mw 9.0), tsunami in Indian Ocean | Indonesia, Thailand, et al |
| 3 | 73,300 | 2005 | Earthquake (Mw 7.6); aftershocks, landslides, floods | Pakistan, India, et al |
| 4 | 66,000 | 1970 | Earthquake (M 7.7); rock slides | Peru |
| 5 | 50,000 | 1990 | Earthquake (M 7.7); landslides | Iran |
| 6 | 26,271 | 2003 | Earthquake (M 6.5) | Iran |
| 7 | 25,000 | 1978 | Earthquake (M 7.7) in Tabas | Iran |
| 8 | 25,000 | 1988 | Earthquake (M 6.9) | Armenia, ex "USSR" |
| 9 | 22,084 | 1976 | Earthquake (M 7.5) | Guatemala |
| 10 | 19,118 | 1999 | Earthquake (M 7.0) | Turkey |
|
(1) Based on Swiss Re list of deadliest catastrophes, 1970-2005.
(2) M is general magnitude that indicates the strength of an earthquake at its epicentre. Mw measures the total energy released by an earthquake and is proportional to the size of the fracture surface and the displacement. The Richter magnitude ML is the maximum amplitude of the ground motion signal recorded on a standarized seismograph.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2006. |
| |
|
EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE
Standard homeowners, renters and business insurance policies do not cover damage from earthquakes. Coverage is available either in the form of an endorsement or as a separate policy. Earthquake insurance provides protection from the shaking and cracking that can destroy buildings and personal possessions. Coverage for other kinds of damage that may result from earthquakes, such as fire and water damage due to burst gas and water pipes, is provided by standard home and business insurance policies. Unlike flood insurance, earthquake coverage is available from private insurance companies rather than from the government. In California, homeowners can also get coverage from the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), a privately funded, publicly managed organization. A 2006 A.M. Best study estimates that in California 12 percent of 2005 residential policies and 11 percent of commercial packages included earthquake coverage. This contrasts sharply with 31.4 percent of total residential and commercial lines policies (combined) in 1996, just two years after the devastating Northridge, California earthquake.
| |
|
EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE, 1999-2006
($000)
Year |
Net premiums written (1) |
Annual percent change |
Combined ratio (2) |
Annual point change |
| 1999 | $730,494 | NA | 64.5 | NA |
| 2000 | 762,443 | 4.4% | 77.7 | 13.2 pts. |
| 2001 | 857,562 | 12.5 | 108.9 | 31.2 |
| 2002 | 999,455 | 16.5 | 86.6 | -22.3 |
| 2003 | 1,048,714 | 4.9 | 55.7 | -31.0 |
| 2004 | 1,098,441 | 4.7 | 48.4 | -7.3 |
| 2005 | 1,106,378 | 0.7 | 50.7 | 2.3 |
| 2006 | 1,315,494 | 18.9 | 40.1 | -10.6 |
(1) After reinsurance transactions, excluding state funds.
(2) After dividends to policyholders. A drop in the combined ratio represents an improvement; an increase represents a deterioration. See also Glossary.
NA=Data not available.
Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Annual Statement Database, via Highline Data, LLC. Copyrighted information. No portion of this work may be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of Highline Data, LLC. |
| - The state-run California Earthquake Authority (CEA), the largest provider of earthquake insurance in California, is not included in this chart. The CEA accounted for $454.5 million in premiums written in 2006, down 9.7 percent from $503.4 million in 2005. At the end of 2006 the CEA had about 755,000 policies in force in the state, about the same as the previous year.
| |
|
EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE, DIRECT PREMIUMS WRITTEN BY STATE, 2006 (1)
($000)
Rank |
State |
Direct premiums written |
| 1 | California | $1,062,083 |
| 2 | Washington | 117,912 |
| 3 | Missouri | 78,431 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 57,818 |
| 5 | Oregon | 52,176 |
| 6 | Illinois | 46,052 |
| 7 | New York | 37,786 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 35,719 |
| 9 | Florida | 33,929 |
| 10 | Indiana | 31,154 |
| 11 | Ohio | 29,452 |
| 12 | South Carolina | 29,069 |
| 13 | Texas | 28,825 |
| 14 | Utah | 24,562 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 17,399 |
| 16 | Massachusetts | 16,700 |
| 17 | Alaska | 16,396 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 15,942 |
| 19 | New Jersey | 15,731 |
| 20 | Georgia | 15,523 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | 14,057 |
| 22 | Nevada | 12,855 |
| 23 | Virginia | 10,901 |
| 24 | North Carolina | 10,170 |
| 25 | Colorado | 8,730 |
| 26 | Maryland | 8,723 |
| 27 | Alabama | 7,875 |
| 28 | Hawaii | 7,583 |
| 29 | Michigan | 7,368 |
| 30 | Arizona | 7,201 |
| 31 | Louisiana | 6,369 |
| 32 | Connecticut | 5,867 |
| 33 | Kansas | 4,859 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | 4,579 |
| 35 | Minnesota | 3,931 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 3,815 |
| 37 | Iowa | 3,290 |
| 38 | Montana | 3,012 |
| 39 | Nebraska | 2,778 |
| 40 | Idaho | 2,617 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | 2,318 |
| 42 | D.C. | 2,287 |
| 43 | Wyoming | 2,276 |
| 44 | New Mexico | 2,175 |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 1,949 |
| 46 | West Virginia | 1,554 |
| 47 | Maine | 1,464 |
| 48 | Delaware | 1,352 |
| 49 | Vermont | 1,191 |
| 50 | South Dakota | 476 |
| 51 | North Dakota | 239 |
| | United States | 1,916,523 |
|
(1) Excludes state funds.
Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Annual Statement Database, via Highline Data, LLC. Copyrighted information. No portion of this work may be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of Highline Data, LLC. |
| - The state-run California Earthquake Authority (CEA), the largest provider of earthquake insurance in California, is not included in this chart. The CEA accounted for $454.5 million in premiums written in 2006, down 9.7 percent from $503.4 million in 2005.
| |
| |
|
