Kansas Agents See Increased Demand for Earthquake Insurance

Kansas insurance agencies say they’ve been flooded with queries about earthquake coverage after a 4.8 magnitude temblor struck near Conway Springs on Nov. 12.

“We have been getting calls all day,” said Matt Woodall, who works at a Wichita insurance office. “I haven’t had too many people ask about earthquake insurance before.”

Because Kansas doesn’t have a history of earthquake losses, the price and deductibles are low compared to more quake-prone places like California, The Wichita Eagle reported. The Kansas Insurance Department, citing statistics from the Insurance Information Institute, said only about 7 percent of homeowners in the Midwest carry quake insurance.

Traditionally, earthquakes have been relatively infrequent in Kansas, but dozens of them have rocked the state this year.

Earthquake insurance “is almost a no-brainer, especially with these tremors we’re having,” said Chock Chapple, owner of the Chapple Insurance Group in Wichita.

Adding it to a standard homeowners’ policy would cost $35 to $100 a year for a $100,000 house, according to quotes obtained from local insurance agents.

In Kansas, the insurance is available with deductibles of 2 and 5 percent of the covered amount — $2,000 or $5,000 on a $100,000 house.

According to the state insurance department, some companies have waiting periods of 30 to 60 days after a quake before people can buy quake insurance. But Chapple said most companies have a much shorter moratorium on sales — one to three days after a quake in Kansas. On Nov. 13, his company insured a $500,000 home for $160 a year, he said.

The epicenter of the Nov. 12 quake was near Milan, population 80, about 10 miles south of Conway Springs.

The town suffered structural damage to some of its older brick buildings and residents spent the night cleaning up broken glass and picking up belongings that the quake had randomly dumped from their shelves and cabinets.