Recent Midland Earthquakes Have Home Owners Looking For More Insurance

With not one, but two earthquakes this past week near Midland, that is making homeowners in the area consider adding earthquake insurance to their policies.

According to CBS 7, earthquake insurance is not something many in the area think about, but it is on the minds of homeowners now.

Chris Wray is a local State Farm agent, and he is seeing more people inquire about adding coverage for earthquakes.

“I had four clients in Midland that we added the endorsement to their policy today. They called me yesterday and we got on it today,” said Wray.

The endorsement covers any movement such as earthquakes or sinkholes.

“You don’t think of plate tectonics having an effect here like in Southern California as we have more and more it does raise concerns for what could happen,” said Wray.

Ellen Rathje is an official with TexNet Seismic Monitoring Program says that the seismic activity over the past 10 years is a result of the oil and gas industry but says most of the earthquakes have been in rural areas, but once they get into the more densely populated areas, then it is more concerning.

“It’s when you get the moderate earthquakes that are closer to populated areas that we need to be concerned. Having said that, it’s not until we get above a magnitude 4-4.5 that we would expect even minor damage,” said Rathje.

So you can contact your insurance agent and ask them about adding earthquake insurance now while the cost is low, because with increased activity in the area, the price could go up soon.

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