Provide earthquake preparedness resources for your insurance clients
Going on its ninth year, millions of people will participate in today’s worldwide event known as The Great ShakeOut, at 10:17 a.m. PDT. It’s a good time to remind your homeowner and business clients the importance of having earthquake insurance in the event of an emergency.
An average earthquake lasts about a minute, but the damages last far beyond that. Aftershocks of larger earthquakes can last for years. By educating your clients about earthquake preparedness, they will be better equipped to survive and recover quickly.
Learn preparation steps you can take to minimize damage plus what to do during and after a quake.
From the Southern California border to the tip of Washington, West Coast states encounter earthquake hazards specific to each area. California is at higher risk compared to the rest of the country (except for Alaska), with hundreds of identified faults. About 200 are of them are considered potentially hazardous. More than 70 percent of the state’s population resides within 30 miles of a fault. Each year, California generally gets two or three earthquakes large enough to cause moderate damage to structures (magnitude 5.5 and higher).
Oregon lies atop two colliding tectonic plates, causing the Oregon coastline to bulge upwards. Each year there are more than a thousand quakes in the state, but less than three percent are strong enough to be felt.
While most earthquakes occur in Western Washington, some damaging events do occur east of the Cascades. The greater risk for Washington is tsunamis. They can last for hours, and the first of the waves can be followed by other waves minutes or even hours later. The later waves can be even larger than the earlier ones. An excellent resource is the Washington Emergency Management Tsunami Program.
Related: Why your West Coast homeowners need Arrowhead’s Residential Earthquake Insurance
To date, there have been over 10 million participants in the Great ShakeOut, including an array of organizations, businesses, and individual families. To participate, sign up on the appropriate ShakeOut state website.
When you register your agency, and when your clients register themselves or their businesses, you (and they) will be listed on your state’s website. In fact, when you register, you can add a link to your agency’s website.
ShakeOut organizers have prepared a plethora of earthquake preparedness resources that are free. You can download and email or print and hand out to clients. These materials range from social media posts to flyers and posters on earthquake preparedness during and after a quake. View the resource pages to download California materials, Oregon materials, and Washington materials.
Related: Riding Out the Next Big Earthquake
Our Residential Earthquake carriers have upgraded various coverages, expanding limits in specific areas; view details online and check with your Residential Earthquake Rep for any questions you may have.
Prepare your clients for the next big one with these earthquake preparedness tips from The Great ShakeOut.