Homeowners (2024)

Do I Need Residential Earthquake Insurance?

For many California homeowners, their ownership interest in their home is their largest financial asset. Guard against financially devastating shaking events with CEA earthquake home insurance.

Earthquakes are unlike any other natural disaster. There aren’t any warning signs or advanced notice. One thing is certain: California with nearly 16,000 known faults could suffer a devastating earthquake in the near future.

Earthquake insurance is not required in California, unlike home fire insurance for those with home mortgages or automobile liability insurance for drivers. If you choose not to protect yourself with earthquake insurance, you will be responsible for all the related expenses, such as 100 percent of the cost to repair your home, replace your belongings, and live elsewhere after a major earthquake.

How Expensive is Earthquake Insurance?

Our affordable earthquake insurance policies let you select the coverage that best fits your budget. CEA premiums are determined by several factors including your home’s age, earthquake-risk location data such as proximity to a fault and soil type, foundation type, construction type, and roof type.

For the best choice of CEA earthquake home insurance policies, select deductibles from 5%-25%. For new policies written on or after August 1, 2023 and renewals on or after November 1, 2023, homes with a Coverage A dwelling limit greater than $1,000,000, or dwellings built before 1980 on a raised or other type foundation that do not have a verified retrofit, are only eligible for a 15%, 20% or 25% deductible.

Learn more about homeowners coverage

How to Qualify for a Discounted Premium

A seismic retrofit involves strengthening your home’s foundation to make it more resistant to shaking. CEA offers earthquake home insurance premium discounts (up to 25%) for older houses that have been properly retrofitted to better withstand earthquakes.

Find out about our discounts for retrofitted older houses.

Grants to help pay for a house retrofit are available under the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) and Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS) programs.

Where to Buy Earthquake Insurance

CEA homeowners earthquake insurance is easy to buy. Contact your home insurance agent to discuss adding a separate earthquake policy to your homeowners insurance. You can add the coverage today—no need to wait until your homeowners policy comes up for renewal.

CEA works with 20 residential insurance companies that serve the majority of California homeowners. Only Californians whose home is insured by those companies are eligible to purchase a CEA earthquake policy.

Read Your CEA Policy Carefully

*We encourage you to read your entire CEA policy—and its policy declarations page—to understand your coverages and how they work. Exclusions and special limits apply. All terms and conditions of CEA insurance coverage are found in the CEA insurance-policy form. Refer to a sample policy, below.

** Reflects policy option changes that went into effect for new policies written on or after August 1, 2023 and for renewals on or after November 1, 2023. These changes include Dwelling Deductible Options (Coverage A), Personal Property Limits (Coverage C), Breakables, and Exterior Masonry Veneer. Learn more about our 2023 Policy Option Changes.

Homeowners (2024)

FAQs

What is homeowners in insurance terms? ›

Homeowners insurance is a package policy. This means that it covers both damage to property and liability or legal responsibility for any injuries and property damage policyholders or their families cause to other people. This includes damage caused by household pets.

What insurance companies are pulling out of New Jersey? ›

Although other auto insurers, including Geico, Kemper, Nationwide and Safeco, left New Jersey years ago, citing the same inability to recover high costs, Allstate is by far the largest carrier to announce a withdrawal.

Who has the cheapest homeowners insurance? ›

State Farm is the cheapest home insurance provider in 22% of states and Allstate is the cheapest provider in 18% of states. Oklahoma has the most expensive home insurance with policies averaging $6,325 per year, while Hawaii offers the lowest average annual premium at $782.

How much is homeowners insurance in New Jersey? ›

The average cost of homeowners insurance in New Jersey is $1,315.00 which is lower than the national average of $2,511.25 according to our analysis of homeowners insurance premiums using data provided by Quadrant Information Services.

What defines a homeowner? ›

Word forms: (regular plural) homeowners. noun. (Insurance: Residence insurance) A homeowner is a person who owns a house, or owns the house or apartment that they live in. This policy is the most commonly written policy for a homeowner, and is designed to cover all aspects of the home, structure, and its contents.

What does homeowners insurance actually cover? ›

Homeowners insurance covers damage to your home's structure and personal belongings and protects you if someone is injured on your property. It's important to understand your policy's limitations and when to elect add-ons, such as scheduled personal property, earthquake, flood, and water backup coverage.

What is the best insurance to have in New Jersey? ›

The top five best car insurance companies in New Jersey are Travelers, Geico, State Farm, Progressive and NJM Insurance based on coverage and reputation.

Is Allstate pulling out of NJ? ›

Allstate plans to continue increasing auto insurance rates in at least 10 states in 2024, including New Jersey and New York, where the company received double-digit rate increases late last year, according to the company's Q4 earnings call.

Is it illegal to not have insurance in NJ? ›

As is true in most states, New Jersey drivers are required by law to purchase a minimum amount of car insurance to drive legally on public roads. Without this coverage, you may incur penalties, including fines, jail time and license suspension.

Who is the most expensive homeowners insurance? ›

Travelers is the most expensive homeowners insurance company for $200,000, $350,000, $500,000 and $750,000 dwelling coverage amounts. Rates vary significantly among companies because they each have their own formulas for pricing. That means it's vital to comparison shop homeowners insurance quotes when buying a policy.

Which homeowners insurance is best? ›

According to our analysis using our in-depth methodology, we came up with this list of the top 7 homeowners insurance companies:
  • Allstate: Our pick for extended coverage.
  • State Farm: Our pick for new homeowners.
  • Farmers: Our pick for customizable coverage.
  • Nationwide: Our pick for inclusive standard coverage.
2 days ago

Why is my homeowners insurance going up so much? ›

As inflation increases, insurance companies respond by raising rates. That's because the cost of items in your home will cost more than they did last year. As the price for appliances and equipment escalates, rates will adjust as well.

Is NJM a good insurance company? ›

Despite its small size, NJM earns above-average customer and claims satisfaction scores, with low customer complaints and competitive prices, even among industry giants like Progressive, State Farm and GEICO. Keep reading this NJM car insurance review to determine if this regional insurer is right for you.

Does NJ require homeowners insurance? ›

New Jersey doesn't require home insurance by law, but if you finance your home, your lender may require you to have a homeowners insurance policy. Your policy's coverages safeguard your property and assets.

What is the average insurance in New Jersey? ›

Our data shows that, for full coverage auto insurance, New Jersey drivers can expect to pay an average of $209 per month, which is 25% over the national average of $167 per month.

What does homeowners insurance mean dictionary? ›

home·​own·​er's insurance. ˈhōm-ˌō-nərz. : insurance that covers primarily a person's residence and that also covers the owner for liability resulting from his or her personal acts.

What is also known as homeowners insurance? ›

Homeowners insurance (also known as home insurance) isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. That's not just because it protects your home and possessions against damage or theft. In this article, we'll walk you through the basics of homeowners insurance policies.

What are the three main types of homeowners insurance? ›

Homeowners insurance coverage can include a combination of dwelling protection, personal belongings coverage, and personal liability.

What is another name for homeowners insurance? ›

In certain cases, homeowners insurance is referred to as "hazard insurance," "dwelling coverage," "HO-3 insurance," or "HO-5 insurance." These terms are used interchangeably to describe the same essential protection that safeguards a homeowner's property against various risks and liabilities.

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