WHY ARE SOME EARTHQUAKE

POLICYHOLDERS EXPERIENCING

A PREMIUM INCREASE?Summary by Béat Koszinowski, Certified Insurance Counselor and Community Insurance & Risk Management Specialist, Buckner, Spring 2020

HELPFUL LINKSData provide by University of Utah and Utah Emergency Management

• http://www.seis.utah.edu (aka quake.utah.edu)

• https://www.utah.gov/beready/documents/roots_earthquake_low.pdf

EARTHQUAKE ANXIETY?

Utah Emergency Management says calm down and take action. Recent history:

• Utah experienced more than 2,300 earthquakes in 2019, but most were so small no one felt them.

• Wednesday’s Magna quake resulted in some damage and no deaths or injuries. “We got through it

with a memorable wake-up call.”

• Aftershocks are expected to continue for “days or weeks.” This is “completely normal and does not mean

a stronger or larger earthquake is coming.”

• Most of the aftershocks from Wednesday’s quake haven’t been felt (although many felt a magnitude 3.1 at 8:12 am. on Monday morning and a magnitude 3.94 Sunday night). So Utahns “have survived

more earthquakes than you can possibly imagine.”

• The aftershocks will “subside and become less frequent” and “anxiety will begin to fade.” The Utah Division of Emergency Management tweeted that it had polled Utahns and 65% said they’d feel less anxious about earthquakes if they took action to prepare. “Simple actions” to prepare include:

– Having sturdy shoes by your bed; food and water storage; flashlight and extra batteries; meet your neighbors; strap your water heater to wall studs; secure heavy furniture to walls; remove heavy things that could fall on beds; and talk to your children about what to do in an earthquake.

The division also suggested looking into earthquake insurance and pointed people to its earthquake preparedness website at https://utah.gov/beready/family/earthquake.html. For quotes you should consult with your local, trusted insurance professional that specializes in this type of insurance. It is important to understand that not all earthquake insurance offers the same levels of protection and there are many important factors to consider.

“Don’t waste this opportunity to learn earthquake facts, take charge with earthquake preparedness and take time

to heal,” the agency urged.

6550 South Millrock Drive, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, Utah 84121 • 801.937.6700 • buckner.com

WHY ARE SOME EARTHQUAKE POLICYHOLDERS

EXPERIENCING A PREMIUM INCREASE?

If your premium has gone up, it may be due to one or more of the following factors:

• New science has shown an increase in earthquake risk in certain locations, as determined by new information on fault system locations.

• Updates to rating factors now include roof type for homeowners, because roof weight impacts the damageability of a house during an earthquake.

• Modifications to foundation-type definitions to recognize combination (or “other” type) foundations are more damageable but can be retrofitted and receive a hazard reduction discount.

• Refinement in year-of-construction categories.

– Categories are now:

• 2005 or later• 1990 – 2004• 1980 – 1989• 1960 – 1979• 1940 – 1959• 1939 or earlier

– This refinement recognizes improvements in construction beginning in 2005 that are reflective of updated construction techniques (due to code changes)—newer construction has a reduced earthquake risk.

• Construction cost: if the reconstruction cost of your house has increased—as indicated by the insured value on your residential policy—your earthquake insurance premium will also increase.

• Increased national and international catastrophic property damage events have overtaxed the insurance system and losses have exceeded what the premium predictions where for the past several years. This is a major factor in the earthquake and catastrophic premium computation.

• Recent seismic activity along the Utah sector.

• Tumbling Stock Market: Insurance companies are required to maintain “reserves “or cash on hand to pay for claims. Losses in the stock markets affect the ability to keep insurance rates low.

It is important to understand when you request quotes for earthquake insurance after a recent earthquake event, it is very common that:

• Insurance companies will usually place a moratorium on new quotes for 30 or more days.

• Underwriters will likely get swamped with quote requests and thus this larger demand will drive the price upwards.

The best time to think and plan for earthquake insurance is not immediately after a quake event. While there are many factors to consider, purchasing earthquake insurance only makes sense if it’s part of a long-term plan. It makes no sense to buy during a panic only to be dropped the following year.

UTAH REGIONAL /

URBAN SEISMIC

NETWORKJune 30, 2019

RECENT

SEISMICITY

NEAR

MAGNA, UTAHMarch 18 – 23, 2020

(11:00 am MDT)

2020 MAGNA EARTHQUAKE SEQUENCE FAQ

How many earthquakes have we had in the area?

The University of Utah Seismograph Stations (UUSS) has located 213 earthquakes that occurred in the Magna, Utah, area from March 18 through March 23, 11:00 am MDT. The largest of these earthquakes was the magnitude (M) 5.7 mainshock that occurred at 7:09 am MDT on

Wednesday, March 18. The remaining 212 earthquakes are aftershocks. The largest aftershocks were two M 4.6 events that occurred at 8:02 am and 1:12 PM on Wednesday, March 18. There have been 26 aftershocks of M 3 and larger. Many smaller earthquakes—hundreds and perhaps thousands—have yet to be located and will be posted in the coming days. We also continue to locate new earthquakes as they occur.

What is a foreshock, mainshock, or aftershock?

Mainshocks, foreshocks, and aftershocks are all earthquakes. The mainshock is the largest magnitude earthquake in an earthquake sequence. It may be the first event in the sequence or occur later. The earthquakes in the sequence that occur before the mainshock are called foreshocks, and the ones that occur after are called aftershocks. Sometimes an earthquake that is initially called the mainshock is reclassified as a foreshock because a larger earthquake follows it. An earthquake sequence is a group of events that occur close together in time in the same area.

We had a 5.7 earthquake, what are the percentages of having a larger earthquake soon?

Most likely, the 5.7 earthquake will end up being the biggest earthquake in this sequence and so it will be called the mainshock. There is a small chance, roughly one-in-twenty (5%), that a larger earthquake will occur in the next 5 – 6 days. In that case, the 5.7 earthquake would be re-designated as a foreshock, and the new, larger earthquake will be called the mainshock. A “larger” earthquake means any earthquake bigger than the one that just occurred, even if it is only 0.1 magnitude units bigger. The probability of an earthquake being a foreshock to an earthquake that is one or two magnitude units larger is much smaller than one-in-twenty.

Will this delay or trigger “the Big One?”

No, small earthquakes do not relieve enough stress in the earth to reduce the likelihood of a large earthquake. We are still at risk of a magnitude 7 – 7.5 earthquake (the “Big One”) occurring somewhere along the Wasatch fault. The risk is similar to what it was before the Magna sequence.

How will I be notified of the next earthquake?

Anyone can sign up for Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) and receive emails or text messages about earthquakes as the locations are published. You may set up your own geographic area and magnitude threshold. All UUSS earthquake locations are sent out via the ENS system. Sign up here or follow this link https://earthquake.usgs.gov/ens/help.

Will the ground open up or Fracture from the 5.7 earthquake?

It is unlikely for the fault rupture from the 5.7 earthquake to reach all the way to the surface and create what we call a scarp. It is possible that shaking from the 5.7 created liquefaction features at the surface near the epicenter.

Why can’t Utah get a M9.0 Earthquake?

The bigger an earthquake is, the more space on a fault it takes up. The faults in Utah simply are not big enough to accommodate an M9 earthquake.

How does the earthquake depth affect the shaking and how do you measure the depth?

The shallower the depth of an earthquake, the stronger the shaking will be near the epicenter; however, the strength of shaking will fall off more

rapidly away from the epicenter. It is the same idea as aiming a flashlight at a wall and walking toward the wall. The closer you get to the wall the more intense the light becomes, but it takes up a smaller area. Earthquake depth is measured from the arrival times of seismic waves, similar to how the epicenter is determined.

Are earthquakes more common now?

No. There is no evidence for change in the overall rate that earthquakes occur.

What can I do to be prepared?

An excellent source of information on earthquake preparedness is the publication “Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country” or follow this link https://quake.utah.edu/new-news/putting-down-roots-in-earthquake-country.

States with the largest risk for earthquake

There are 42 states at risk for earthquakes, out of which 16 have registered magnitude 6 or greater quakes on the Richter scale and are considered high-risk. Hazards are especially high on the west coast, intermountain west in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, and some regions in central Midwest and east coast—including a hot spot where Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Illinois meet.

AlaskaArkansas

CaliforniaHawaii

IdahoIllinoisKentuckyMissouri

Montana

NevadaOregonSouth CarolinaTennessee

UtahWashingtonWyoming

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