Lowcountry residents with rising demand over earthquake insurance following Monday’s earthquakes

Insurance companies say that on Tuesday and Wednesday morning they are receiving increasing calls for earthquake insurance following the three earthquakes that happened on Monday in the Lowcountry area.

“We’ve definitely been getting a lot of inbound calls about…do I have it? How does it work? If I don’t have it, can I get it?” said Adam Cantrell, a Downtown Charleston State Farm Insurance Agent.

Earthquake insurance policy can be added easily and it usually doesn’t cost much. For more details, everyone is asked to call their insurance agents and get details depending on the home value, location etc.

“Everybody should meet with their agent, review what they have. It’s definitely an option, an endorsement that you can pay for and help protect your largest material asset you probably own. I always say you want to be shopping coverage, not price on your home,” explained Cantrell.

According to a Twitter survey conducted by News 2, 20% of voters say they do have earthquake insurance, 61.3% say they do not, and 18.7% say they are not sure. According to Cantrell, that are actually pretty close numbers to the real numbers he sees every day.

In order to make sure South Carolina homeowners have all the information they need on coverage options, State Representative Gil Gatch introduced a bill in February 2021 that would require all insurance agencies to educate their clients on the details of earthquake insurance so they are able to make an informed decision.

“It requires insurance companies to inform homeowners about the risks of earthquakes here in the state and also to afford them the opportunity to get that extra coverage if they so choose,” said Rep. Gatch.

That bill was referred to the Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry in late February.