By Patricia-Anne Tom
April 9, 2010

To alleviate concerns about homeowner under-insurance, the California Department of Insurance has informed Insurance Journal that it has scheduled a hearing for May 17 in Los Angeles to discuss proposed regulations governing standards and training for estimating replacement value on homeowners’ insurance.

According to CDI, the proposed regulations would:

1. Set out requirements applicable to replacement value and replacement cost estimates to create a more consistent, comprehensive and accurate replacement cost calculation;
2. Set forth training standards for agents and brokers who sell homeowners insurance;
3. Set forth standards for real estate appraisers who estimate replacement cost for insurance purposes;
4. Require the application of certain standards when estimating replacement cost and construction costs; and
5. Establish record keeping requirements.

The regulations would apply to fire and casualty broker-agents and personal lines broker-agents. The reason for proposing the regulations is to ensure that homeowners have more accurate replacement value estimates for their homes.

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By Jen Haley, producer   March 4, 2010: 4:24 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNN) — The earthquakes in Haiti and Chile remind us about how vulnerable our own homes may be in the event of an earthquake. While we have the good fortune to even have the option to buy earthquake insurance for our homes, there are some things you should know about this type of coverage.

1. Your risk

In the United States about 5,000 earthquakes strike each year. Since 1900, earthquakes have occurred in 39 states and caused damage in all 50.

The potential damage and cost of earthquakes is increasing all the time because there’s simply more buildings and development in risky areas. Plus, older buildings tend to be more vulnerable to a quake.

While the United States experiences only 2% of the world’s earthquakes, some 90% of its population lives in seismically active areas. Some of the most vulnerable cities include: major metro areas in California, Seattle, Portland, New York City, Salt Lake City and St. Louis.

2. Pricing factors

Earthquakes in the United States are not covered under standard homeowners policy. You’ll have to buy a separate policy.

Rates vary widely by each insurance company. Some factors that could impact your rate include:

• The age of your home. Older homes cost more to insure.
• Whether your home is made of wood or brick. Wood homes withstand quake stress better according to the Insurance Information Institute.
• Soil consistency. If your home is on land that has a lot of moisture or it’s on land that’s been filled, your home is more vulnerable to quake. damage, says Jerry Miller with the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America.
• How close your home is to a fault line.

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