Did the Earth Move for You Baby?!?!?

Well, unfortunately, the tag line on this blog is not what you think.

We felt an earthquake yesterday that rattled building from Sudbury to Quebec City, and as far south as New York City. The Epicentre was about 55 kilometres north of Ottawa. I have not heard of any major damage or injury in this area (although I have heard rumours of minor damage, as well as some more serious damage in Quebec).

I am not trying to be exploitive (I heard that “I survived the 2010 Earthquake” t-shirts were on sale online before the day was done!), but feel obligated to advise that I have been trying to get the word out for a long time, that earthquake is not covered under your standard home insurance policy. Most people weren’t listening or weren’t interested in buying this coverage because they felt it would never happen here. People are listening now, when I point out that there is a fault line in Ottawa and serious earthquakes can occur. If clients choose not to purchase this coverage, that is their choice, but I need to do my best to make sure that they are aware that it is not covered under a standard policy, but that the coverage can be added on to that policy.

We buy insurance to protect us in case of disaster, and an earthquake is one of a few potential disasters that the vast majority of people don’t have insurance protection for. Below are links to a few sources of information about Earthquake and the risks in and around this area.

Links

• OttawaCitizen/Earthquake
• Interactive Map and feature about Quakes in the Capital
• Globe and Mail National article about June 2010 Earthquake in Ontario-Quebec
• Rhodes & Williams Insurance Earthquake Insurance Page
• Earthquakes Canada page from Natural Resources Canada
• Earthquake Preparedness Document from the Government of Canada