California Has Another Great ShakeOut

At 10:16 a.m. on Thursday employees at Golden Bear Insurance Co. were all under their desks practicing good risk management.

Oct. 16 marked another Great ShakeOut event in California.

According to California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, today more than 10 million Californians will participate in the “largest disaster preparedness event ever” when they drop and take cover.

The California Earthquake Authority estimates 25.2 million worldwide will participate in the ShakeOut drills, which are organized in 47 states and other coutnries.

CEA was reminding Californians of the recent South Napa Earthquake, this year’s 20th anniversary of the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the upcoming 25th anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

At Golden Bear, a seller of earthquake insurance, Claims Manager Beth Ossino said that in a short time after the Napa Quake the company had personally contacted all its insureds in the Napa area.

She said the ShakeOut drill teaches employees to ensure their safety so they can respond to their clients.

“Our job is to get boots on the ground as soon as possible following an earthquake to help our insureds restore their homes and businesses,” Ossino said. “In order to do that, we have to know how to respond to a quake ourselves: drop, cover and hold on is step one of our organization’s earthquake preparedness plan. Step two is get up and help our insureds.”