California Just Had The Biggest Earthquake In Decades. Why We Can’t Sell You Earthquake Insurance

California just experienced the largest magnitude earthquake in over 2 decades. A 7.1 Richter scale shaker that left many people scared and not knowing what to do.

What’s worse is that it comes on the heels of a 6.4 Richter earthquake just two days earlier. A series of 6+ Richter scale earthquakes in such quick succession is incredibly rare. The question on everyone’s mind is will there be another? And how bad will the next one be?

The last 7+ magnitude earthquake resulted in 4 deaths and over 1 billion dollars in damages. We want to protect everyone with earthquake insurance as fast as possible (it’s what we do).

However, we’re not permitted to write policies at the moment. And that’s because we now have a moratorium.

What is a Moratorium?

A moratorium is a waiting period an insurance company puts in place after an event that prevents people from immediately seeking compensation. It is put in place to ensure someone can’t claim on the damage that has already happened or is very likely to happen in the near future.

For example, if there was a raging fire on the street next to yours, insurance companies would be unable to write policies your house because its too close to immediate danger. Without a moratorium, people would only get insurance when they knew there was a disaster about to happen. Insurance companies simply couldn’t afford that.

Although Cullen Insurance would love to write policies for everyone, we are beholden to Insurance carriers who will not allow us to write earthquake policies for a given amount of time.

When CAN we write policies?

California is a high-risk state and having good insurance makes sense. We are almost guaranteed earthquakes and fires, so we are very eager for this moratorium to be lifted so we can protect you.  There is no exact time period for a moratorium to be lifted.  It could be days, weeks or even months.

Fortunately, we only banned from writing policies. We’re not banned from giving free quotes.  So get your quote now and be ready and we will contact you when we are able to bind the policy.

Enter your details below to receive a free quote and we will notify you when the moratorium is lifted.

So how do I protect myself?

Until the moratorium is lifted we’ve put together a checklist on how to prepare for an earthquake and what to do if one happens again.

Click here to see our earthquake survival checklist

We’re also planning a free seminar in the next couple of weeks to teach people preparedness and survival tips. If you are interested in attending the event, fill in the form above and check that you are interested.