Earthquake insurance in California is a separate policy or endorsement designed to cover the shaking damage a home policy excludes. A CEA homeowners policy covers the house and attached structures up to the same dwelling limit as your homeowners policy, plus belongings, extra living costs, building code upgrades and emergency repairs. A deductible of 5% to 25% of the dwelling limit applies before most of it pays. It leaves out detached structures, pools, landscaping, most fences and outside walls, and exterior masonry veneer. Fire after a quake stays on your regular policy by law. You buy a CEA policy from the participating insurer that writes your home policy, or a standalone policy from one of the few private earthquake insurers.
What your home policy still covers after a quake
Insurance Code section 10088 says a policy that doesn’t cover earthquake won’t be read to cover loss where earthquake is a proximate cause, unless an endorsement or added provision specifically covers it. Section 10088.5 then keeps the insurer’s duty under a fire policy to cover a fire caused by or following an earthquake. The Department of Insurance says homeowners and renters policies must cover that fire whether or not you bought earthquake insurance.
The CEA’s sample homeowners policy excludes fire, explosion, flood and tsunami, though it carves out water a quake releases from your water heater, refrigerator or supply pipes. Section 10088 also lets an insurer specifically cover explosion, theft or glass breakage caused by an earthquake, and the Department says some home policies may. Report any quake damage to your homeowners insurer as well.
The parts of a CEA homeowners policy
- Dwelling (Coverages A and B). The house, structures that share a wall, roof line or continuous foundation with it, utility equipment that affects habitability, the walkway or driveway needed to get in and out, and retaining walls or masonry fences integral to the home’s stability. The CEA limit must match the dwelling limit on your homeowners policy.
- Personal property (Coverage C). Belongings, at a $5,000 or $25,000 limit, with $500 included for some breakable items.
- Loss of use (Coverage D). Extra living costs when earthquake damage or a civil authority keeps you out of the home, at limits from $1,500 to $100,000, with no deductible.
- Building code upgrades. $10,000 included, with $20,000 or $30,000 available, for upgrades needed to get a permit under the codes in effect on the date of the quake. It pays only if you repair or rebuild.
- Emergency repairs. Steps to stop further damage or clear broken glass. The first $1,500 has no deductible; costs above that are paid after the deductible, up to 5% of the limit.
- Land. Up to $10,000, inside the dwelling limit, to stabilize land needed to support the house when that is necessary for the home to be livable.
CEA sells two versions. Standard Homeowners puts everything under one deductible. Homeowners Choice lets you buy dwelling coverage alone, or add belongings with a separate deductible that is waived once house damage exceeds the dwelling deductible. CEA also writes policies for condo owners and renters covering belongings and living costs; condo coverage can include up to $100,000 for your share of certain HOA assessments for earthquake repairs or the master policy’s earthquake deductible. Here is how loss assessment coverage works.
How the percentage deductible works
CEA dwelling deductibles are 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% or 25% of the dwelling limit, not of the damage. The 5% and 10% options aren’t available when the dwelling limit is over $1,000,000, or for frame homes built before 1980 that aren’t on a slab foundation and don’t have a verified retrofit. The Department of Insurance notes that state law only requires insurers to offer a 15% deductible.
Only certain costs count toward the deductible: covered repairs to the dwelling and its extensions, emergency repairs over $1,500, land stabilization, and building code upgrade costs. Damage to belongings doesn’t count, and under the Standard policy nothing is paid for belongings until dwelling damage clears the deductible. Insurance Code section 10083 requires the earthquake offer to warn that if your covered loss is less than the deductible, you may not receive any payment.
What a CEA policy doesn’t cover
- Land, including land under the house, beyond the $10,000 land coverage.
- Detached structures such as detached garages and outbuildings.
- Pools, spas and hot tubs, including the tile that links them to a deck or the house.
- Landscaping, trees and lawns, plus irrigation and sprinkler systems.
- Fences and outside walls, except retaining walls and masonry fences integral to the home’s stability, and walkways, driveways, decks and patios beyond the path needed to get in and out.
- Exterior masonry veneer, such as brick or stone facing. Stucco and exterior chimney facings don’t count as veneer.
- Decorative features like murals and chandeliers, plus awnings, patio covers and satellite dishes.
Earth movement is excluded unless the earthquake caused it and the damage shows up within one year. The policy is not guaranteed or extended replacement cost, so it pays up to its stated limits and sublimits.
Where to buy it and who writes it
Insurance Code section 10081 says no residential property policy may be issued or delivered in California unless the named insured is offered earthquake coverage. The coverage can be in the policy, an endorsement or a separate policy, and section 10084 lets the insurer arrange it through an affiliate or through an agent or broker with another insurer. The Department of Insurance says the written offer comes every other year with the limits, deductible and estimated premium, and you have 30 days from the mailing date to accept.
CEA policies are sold only through the participating insurers the CEA lists on its website, not by the CEA directly, and your home policy and CEA policy must come from the same company. If that home policy isn’t in force at the time of a loss, the CEA policy is void. You can add it any time before a quake, not just at renewal. The other route is a standalone earthquake policy from a private insurer, which you can buy without getting your home policy from the same company; that’s where I shop as a broker. More on earthquake insurance in California and in Los Angeles.
Common questions
Does my homeowners policy cover any earthquake damage?
Not the shaking. California law requires homeowners and renters policies to cover fire caused by or following an earthquake, and some home policies also specifically cover explosion, theft or glass breakage from a quake.
Who writes earthquake insurance in California?
The CEA provides most of it, sold through the participating insurers it lists on its website. A few private companies also write standalone earthquake policies.
Can I buy a CEA policy directly from the CEA?
No. You buy it from a CEA participating insurer, and it has to be the same company that writes your homeowners, condo, mobilehome or renters policy.
Is the deductible a percentage of the damage?
No. On a CEA homeowners policy it is 5% to 25% of the dwelling limit, chosen when you buy. Covered damage has to exceed that amount before most coverages pay, though loss of use and the first $1,500 of emergency repairs have no deductible.
Does earthquake insurance cover my pool or fence?
Not under a CEA homeowners policy. Pools, spas and landscaping are excluded, and fences and outside walls are excluded except retaining walls and masonry fences integral to the home’s stability.
Sources
- California Insurance Code § 10081 (California Public Law, secondary host of the statute text): required offer of earthquake coverage
- California Insurance Code § 10083 (leginfo): earthquake offer notice and deductible warning
- California Insurance Code § 10084 (California Public Law, secondary host of the statute text): ways an insurer can make the offer
- California Insurance Code § 10088 (FindLaw, secondary host of the statute text): earthquake as proximate cause
- California Insurance Code § 10088.5 (leginfo): fire following earthquake
- California Department of Insurance: Earthquake insurance guide
- California Department of Insurance: Earthquake Insurance brochure (Form 425, October 2024, PDF)
- California Earthquake Authority: Homeowners coverages and deductibles
- California Earthquake Authority: Homeowners earthquake insurance
- California Earthquake Authority: Basic Earthquake Policy—Homeowners, BEQ-3B sample (01-2025 edition, PDF)
- California Earthquake Authority: How to buy earthquake insurance
- California Earthquake Authority: Participating residential insurers
- California Earthquake Authority: Other earthquake insurance providers
General information about California earthquake insurance as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; the California Insurance Code and the terms of your actual policy control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.