George,

I wonder if homeowners on your list know that unless they add an earthquake rider to their homeowner policy, they have no insurance against earthquake damage. This is even true of a policy which is supposed to cover "everything."

We discovered this in 1984 when we moved into a house with window walls. Two months later there was a 30-second tremor and I could hear vibrations in a wall for an entire minute after the shock passed. There was no damage but it was a wake-up call. Large sheets of plate glass aren't cheap, and it doesn't take much double-pane plate to equal the cost of a new car.

I checked with the insurance agent and learned that, while I had bought the most complete policy his company (Erie) offered, even this HO-5 policy didn't cover earthquake damage per se.

The rider costs very little. It's merely a threshold to cross so the insurer can't exercise his earthquake disclaimer. In 1984 it had a mandatory $3,000 deductible and probably still does. For an area with as many tremors as we get, and as close as they are, it's a wise addition.

Rey Barry (electronic mail, December 9, 2003)