The Ground Shifts. Your Business Shouldn't.
Covering the one peril your property policy leaves out
Earthquake insurance covers direct physical loss to your buildings, equipment, inventory, and income when the ground moves — a peril that standard commercial property policies specifically exclude. A single event can damage structures, shatter inventory, and shut down operations for weeks, and without this coverage that loss falls entirely on the business. For any company with property in a seismic region, earthquake cover is the difference between a recoverable setback and a permanent closure.
Because it is excluded from the base policy and priced to the exposure, earthquake coverage is a deliberate decision rather than an automatic inclusion.
What Earthquake Insurance Covers
Earthquake insurance typically provides coverage for:
Buildings & Structures — Direct physical damage to owned buildings, and to tenant improvements and betterments you are responsible for.
Contents, Equipment & Inventory — Business personal property damaged or destroyed by the shock and its immediate effects.
Business Interruption & Extra Expense — Lost income and the added costs of operating elsewhere while you repair and rebuild.
Ordinance or Law / Code Upgrade — The added cost of rebuilding to current building codes after a covered quake, where included.
Sprinkler Leakage & Related Damage — Secondary damage arising directly from the earth movement, subject to policy terms.
What It Does Not Cover
Earthquake policies commonly exclude or treat separately:
Fire following an earthquake (generally covered under the standard property policy, not here)
Flood and tsunami (a separate flood or DIC policy)
Land, soil, and the cost of stabilizing it
Pre-existing damage or gradual settling and cracking
Losses below the policy's percentage deductible
Coverage and deductibles vary significantly by region and construction type.
Who Needs Earthquake Insurance?
Earthquake insurance is important for businesses that:
Own or lease property in seismically active regions — the West Coast, Nevada, Utah, Alaska, and the New Madrid and Wasatch zones among them
Hold significant value in buildings, equipment, or inventory
Depend on a physical location to generate revenue
Have loan or lease agreements that require catastrophe coverage
Occupy older or unreinforced-masonry buildings
If your revenue depends on a building, an earthquake is a business-continuity risk.
How Coverage Is Structured
Earthquake coverage is typically written with:
A percentage deductible — often 5% to 25% of the insured value, not a flat dollar amount
Separate limits or sublimits for buildings, contents, and business interruption
Placement as a standalone policy or through a difference in conditions program
Monoline earthquake or an endorsement, depending on the market
Underwriting driven by location, construction, age, and soil conditions
The percentage deductible is the most important and least understood term.
Real-World Claim Examples
An earthquake cracks a building's structure and forces a multi-week closure
Shaking topples racking and destroys warehouse inventory
Equipment is knocked out of alignment and must be replaced
A tenant's improvements are damaged and the lease makes them responsible
In each case, the standard property policy's earthquake exclusion leaves the loss uncovered without this policy.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Earthquake coverage varies widely based on:
The percentage deductible and how it applies per location
Sublimits for contents, business interruption, and code upgrade
Construction class and seismic retrofitting
How it coordinates with the property and flood program
A policy with the wrong deductible or sublimit can leave a business far short of a full recovery.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we structure earthquake coverage around what your business actually stands to lose — building value, inventory, and the income a closure would cost — and we make the percentage deductible clear before you ever need to use it. Where a broader solution fits, we place it through a difference in conditions policy that can also address flood and other excluded perils.
Preparing for the shake is cheaper than rebuilding after it.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See what to confirm in a commercial earthquake policy — what's standard, what's often limited, and what to add if needed — plus the gap most often missed, in the Commercial Earthquake Policy Feature Checklist.
Complete the Commercial Earthquake Supplemental online in a few guided steps, download the fillable PDF, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get earthquake insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate earthquake insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
What does earthquake insurance cost?
It depends on your exposure. Earthquake insurance is priced on factors like your industry, size, prior claims, and the limits and deductibles you select — so two businesses rarely pay the same. We shop your account across competing carriers and present the trade-offs in plain English.
Is earthquake insurance required?
Requirements vary. Earthquake insurance may be mandated by statute, or required under your contracts, leases, or loan agreements — and in many cases it is simply prudent given the risks involved. We look at your specific obligations and exposures, then recommend the coverage and limits that fit.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.