Home > Earthquake Policies > Homeowners

CEA Homeowners Earthquake Insurance Policies

Is your customer’s house ready for the next earthquake?

CEA homeowners earthquake insurance policies provide your customers with the strength they need to recover from a damaging earthquake.

Talk to your customer about the CEA earthquake-coverage options that fit their needs and budget. And use our premium calculator to help get them a quick earthquake insurance price estimate.

Did you know?

A homeowners policy doesn’t cover earthquake damage.

A CEA earthquake insurance policy can help pay for damages to your customer’s house or belongings.

CEA homeowners coverage options*

Home (dwelling)**

Learn More

Can be purchased alone or with other coverages. Covers earthquake damage to your customer's house and structures attached to it, like a garage. Upcoming policy options changes will affect deductible options. Deductibles available are 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 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 our 2023 Policy Option Changes.

Personal Property**

Learn More

Coverage to repair or replace your customer's covered personal belongings if they are damaged in an earthquake.

Loss of Use

Learn More

A necessity for additional living expenses if your customer must live outside their unit because of earthquake damage or as directed by a civil authority. This coverage never has a deductible.

Building Code Upgrade

Learn More

Rebuilding after an earthquake generally must be done to current building-code standards—this coverage helps with the added costs.

Emergency Repairs

Learn More

Handy coverage when your customer needs to make urgent, necessary repairs after an earthquake to help protect their house from further damage, such as plywood to board up damaged windows. The first $1,500 has no deductible.

Breakables

Learn More

This coverage helps replace insureds’ valuable fragile personal property like wedding china, glassware, crystal, ceramic, pottery, porcelain, or marble items that are broken because of an earthquake. Available for new and renewal policies written on or after January 1, 2025.

Exterior Masonry Veneer**

Learn More

Not available for new policies written on or after August 1, 2023 and renewals on or after November 1, 2023.

Ready to sell a CEA policy?

*We encourage you to read the entire CEA policy—and its policy declarations page—to understand 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.

Learn more by taking a free agent training course. Once you pass, you’ll earn 2 CE credits.

** 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 FAQs

We've gathered some frequently asked questions from homeowners and agents to help you understand how a CEA policy can help your customer recover from the next damaging earthquake.

Q: Are there any discounts for homeowners?

A. If the insured's qualifying home was built before 1980 and has been seismically retrofitted, they may qualify for up to a 25% premium discount with a retrofit verification.

Learn more about Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) from the California Residential Mitigation Program offering grants of up to $3,000 to help pay for a seismic retrofit. With a verified retrofit, homeowners may be eligible for a premium discount.

Q: How can I help my homeowner client choose the best CEA earthquake policy for their needs and budget?

A. Use CEA’s premium calculator for agents to help your client find a policy that works best for them. You can play around with coverage limits and deductible options, and talk them through their coverage choices (such as all coverages bundled together under one deductible or separated out for our Homeowners Choice policy) to make sure they have the policy that fits their needs.

Q: How does the deductible work for CEA’s homeowners policies?

A. The insured does not have to pay their deductible out of pocket to receive payment on a claim. The deductible is subtracted from their covered damage, so they don’t have to pay any of the deductible up front before receiving their claim payment.

Both standard Homeowners and Homeowners Choice offer deductibles ranging from 5-25%. Upcoming policy options changes will affect deductible options. Deductibles available are 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 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 our 2023 Policy Option Changes.

With the standard policy, all of the insured coverages are together under one deductible. With Homeowners Choice, they can choose to have separate deductibles for their dwelling and personal property. And if earthquake damage meets the dwelling deductible, the personal property deductible is waived.

Q: Is my client's house at risk from an earthquake?

A. There are thousands of known faults in California, and scientists continue to discover new ones. Since earthquakes can happen anywhere in California, damage to your client’s home and personal property is always possible. Check to see earthquake risk near you and your client and help them take steps to get prepared, which includes purchasing the best earthquake policy to meet their needs and budget.

Q: Why should I urge my client to retrofit their older house?

A. California has two-thirds of our nation's earthquake risk. Structures that lack adequate sill plate bolting and cripple-wall bracing are more susceptible to earthquake damage.

The frames of older houses are often not bolted to their foundations, and their cripple walls may lack bracing. Houses without adequate bolting and bracing can slide or topple off their foundation during an earthquake, requiring potentially very expensive repairs. But this serious damage can be prevented with a proper seismic retrofit.

Your client may be eligible for financial help to pay for their house's retrofit. Learn more about our program—Earthquake Brace + Bolt—that offer grants of up to $3,000 to help pay for a seismic retrofit.

CEA policyholders with properly retrofitted houses are eligible for a discount of up to 25% off their CEA policy premium.

Q: My homeowner client says they can't afford the earthquake policy’s deductible. What can I tell them?

A. Remind your client that they do not have to pay their deductible out of pocket to receive payment on a claim. The deductible is simply subtracted from their total covered damage amount, and then CEA pays the full amount of their covered loss up to the applicable coverage limit. The policyholder doesn’t have to pay any of the deductible up front before receiving their claim payment. And, of course, it’s worth noting that while the CEA has a policy deductible ranging from 5% to 25%, for those who don’t purchase earthquake insurance, they essentially have a deductible of 100%!

Both standard Homeowners and Homeowners Choice offer the same range of deductibles (5% to 25%). Upcoming policy options changes will affect deductible options. Deductibles available are 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 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 our 2023 Policy Option Changes.

With the standard policy, all of your insured’s coverages are together under one deductible. With Choice, they can choose to have separate deductibles for their dwelling and personal property. And if earthquake damage meets the dwelling deductible under Choice, the personal property deductible is waived.