Insurance Companies Required to Clarify Earthquake Coverage with Increase in OK Quakes

Oklahoma insurance companies providing property and casualty policies were recently given 45 days to send policy holders clarification on their earthquake coverage. With the increase of quakes in the area, policy holders are expressing concern over their protection. Sometimes the insurance policy language is hard to understand and consumers don’t really know what is covered when it comes to quakes.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey has declared that most of the quakes in the area are the result of wastewater injections into disposal wells. In the past, earthquake insurance excludes earth movement from the result of human activity such as mining, explosives or oil and gas exploration. Some insurance companies have modified their policies to cover damage from man-made activity but others still won’t cover it.

New requirements mandate that state insurance companies send notice to policy holders to clarify whether their policy covers damage from quakes resulting from methods such as hydraulic fracturing, wastewater injecting or underground substance storage.