Day Around the Bay
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When the Hayward fault loudly declares itself to all, Loma Prieta will seem like it was just a relaxing massage. According to Wired, the fault will give the Bay Area "a Katrina-like disaster."
Only more so.
But unlike in the areas affected by Katrina where more than half of the $125 billion in losses was insured, only around 8 percent of homes and businesses in the Bay Area are insured against earthquake damage, according to new research by Risk Management Solutions in Hayward."Our models suggest less than $10 billion will flow into the Bay Area from insurance," said seismologist Mary Lou Zoback of RMS. "And the insurance money comes fairly quickly compared to money from federal and state programs."
Yikes. Thankfully, we rent. But according to that map, when the big one strikes, which should be any second now, we'll be as flat as a Ti Couz dessert. (If you can't hear our screams for help, it's been real, y'all!)
Woodside and Atherton, however, look like they and their treasure chests full of precious jewels will come away unscathed. Bah. So lucky, those filthy rich folk.
But if we do survive, we know only one person we want to cower behind during the post-apocalyptic days, weeks, months after the big one. Sean Penn. Just like in New Orleans, the Academy Award-winning local is sure to be marshal law-ing around town with a firearm or two. Head for Tosca, people. He's your only post-quake hope.
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By suggesting that landlords absorb risk and hence might actually provide a useful service, you have offended me. Apologize!
what is the relevant housing statute that would govern what happens when an earthquake forces you to move from your place? is it like a fire - where you are allowed to return at the same rental price?
what if the landlord drags his feet (since he has insurance to cover him)?
I submit that the only people absorbing risk are the insurance companies, which is why you pay them. renters are simply at-risk.
I've already picked the spot for my tent in Golden Gate Park.
I hope you're not talking about the park bench in front of Hippie Hill because I already called it.
"Our models suggest less than $10 billion will flow into the Bay Area from insurance,"
And most of that will only come after you sue their sorry asses. Forget bottled water, I'm stocking my disaster kit with the name/phone number of a good plaintiff's lawyer.
My wife and I keep pretty much no bottled water around, so we'll be subsisting on wine and cold cans of black beans until the National Guard bails our ill-prepared asses out, days or weeks later.
I look at an earthquake as a good way to finally clear out my cabinets of all that damned canned food I can't figure out a use for. Please remind me again why I bought a can of kidney beans.
After checking all their family is OK, the smart person will declare bankruptcy, move to Atlanta and start over. That's why america rocks the world.
we all should start a ten community out there! i call Secretary of Tent Town.
all the more reason to own a firearm!
What is this 'renter's insurance' I hear so much about?
I'll be downstairs retightening our foundation bolts.
FYI:
Cost to put a house back on its foundation after an earthquake: $50,000.
Deductible on earthquake "insurance": $50,000.
if loma prieta and 1906 taught us anything its that earthquake insurance means nothing if you have no fire insurance to back it up.
It'll be Katrina-style only in that there'll probably be a lot of images of people suffering getting out before help gets here and/or there'll be massive governmental incompetence. The death tolls and damage in a massive quake would dwarf Katrina. Not a pissing contest, since these are obviously horrible things.
Renter's insurance won't protect you unless you also have specific earthquake coverage. Last I checked, it's an extra couple hundred bucks a year, and my insurance agent told me not to bother (although I'm certainly rethinking that).
And even if you have fire insurance, your insurance company will undoubtedly claim that it wasn't the fire that caused your damage, it was the earthquake (for which you are uninsured), that started the fire, and therefore, the fire was earthquake related and then they'll deny your claim.
Think about it. What they hell have you got that's actually worth insuring?
Um, quite a bit, actually. Go through your entire apartment, look at everything you own, and think what it would cost to replace it all in the event of an earthquake-related fire. Believe me, it will add up.
actually, you can look at some of the fire insurance plans for yourself, but the few that i have gone over with others will hold in litigation that if the earthquake caused a "gas leak" or your neighbors house caught fire, then you are protected because it is those things and not the earthquake that lit the match, for the same reason that if the gas leak occurred today without an earthquake you would be protected. again, i may only be looking at a select few insurers, but two policies did hold in LA during their 90's earthquake (i am not at home so cannot give you the names).
The reason nobody has earthquake insurance is because it's expensive and doesn't cover very much. We looked at it pretty carefully, and adding quake coverage for our building would double our premium and then the deductible is huge. And it seemed we would be more likely to be damaged by fire then shaking, and we're already covered for fire.
I remember reading something a while back saying that it was common for people to have quake insurance in CA 30-odd years ago and it was affordable. Then insurance companies decided they didn't want to be in that risk game so they started to pull out and we ended up with the current state pool and maybe less than 20% of homeowners having coverage. Much like trying to buy hurricane insurance if you live in New Orleans or trying to get health insurance if you've had cancer - the market doesn't want to touch you.
Would love to know more about this if anyone really knows stuff...
I'm not saying a court won't rule in your favor, I'm just saying you'll probably have to go to court to get the insurance company to cover you.
But how much of that crap do you actually need to replace? My entire apartment is currently in storage, I haven't noticed that I've missed any of it. Soon I'm just going to stop paying the rent and they'll auction off all my stuff or trash it. Possessions are rubbish.
i have a pete rose rookie card i cherish. it's sure to go up in flames, though.
I bet you $50 it doesn't, ha, ha, ha.
Brock, you may be smug now, but your prose is in serious danger of collapse.
Before I moved here, I was told that earthquake insurance was bunk because "it doesn't cover anything." But when I bought my RENTERS policy, it seemed to make sense to add it on based on the coverage it provided. (Or, rather, based on the coverage my renters policy *doesn't* provide.) It's additional coverage for less than $20 a month and it makes me feel better knowing I have it. I rent the bottom floor unit of a 3 story house so if there's an earthquake, it's probably coming down on all my stuff. Hopefully, I won't be *in* it at the time. (i.e. asleep)
Is this supposed to brighten our day? The odds of being shot or run over in SF are greater folks!
where will i be? biking to mexico of course!
What? 27 comments and no mention of NERT? Get off yer arses and go get trained from the SFFD for free to help mitigate the batshit crazy aftermath ... http://www.sfgov.ord/sffdnert
When you see a car coming, do you just stand there in the middle of the road?
alert. alert. >> Firefox can't find the server at www.sfgov.ord.
Really? I think it is working for me. Mike from kansas city vacation guide
Works good here too my friend.
Paul from registry cleaners.
*w00t* i loved my nert training. those firemen rocked!
CERT/NERT training is so useful, I really recommend folks do it if and when they can. Empowering is an awfully overused word, but it really fits.
Doh! Typo on URL ... Sorry .... http://www.sfgov.org/sffdnert
Q: How many of you actually have earthquake kits and a means to defend your family?
Consider preparing both.
After all, the government is basically saying that its everyone's ass for themselves for the first 72 hours after a major disaster... and that's an optimistic number.
http://www.72hours.org/
Why a "means to defend your family"?
Even if you do stock up on supplies and food, what makes you think your neighbor has done the same? If there are folks around who can't be bothered to buy their own food and instead have to turn to food banks for their meals, what makes you think they have anything stocked up?
PS. You don't actually need cases of 20oz bottled evian; They do make gallon jugs you can buy under $1/ea. You need 1 gallon/person per day for drinking and 3 for drinking/basic cooking/hygene.