Commissioner Poizner's advice

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has been meeting with people who lost their homes in the recent San Diego County fires. If you were fortunate enough not to have to attend that meeting, count your blessings and heed the commissioner’s warnings.

Poizner stressed that while it was his job to make sure insurance companies met their legal obligations to policyholders, it was also the responsibility of homeowners to make sure insurance companies have all the information they need to provide adequate and speedy service.

One way homeowners can do that is to meet with their insurance agent once a year to update their homeowner’s policy. The problem of underinsurance, which so often surfaces after a disaster, occurs because people forget to let their insurers know about improvements they’ve made to their home or major new purchases that would need to be replaced after a fire, earthquake or theft.

Keeping track of those items for insurance purposes requires an extensive home inventory. That inventory should include photographs of your home’s contents and an estimate of each item’s value. The inventory should also list serial numbers for electronic goods and appliances. By taking a detailed inventory you may, in turn, be able to better determine whether or not you need more insurance, thereby addressing the underinsurance issue.

Given our state’s history of natural disasters, complacency is foolish. If your home survived this latest round of hellfire, take it as an opportunity to prepare for next time. A home inventory guide can be found on the insurance department’s Website at http://www.insurance.ca.gov/.

Don Way
CEO

FEMA: Decreasing temperatures, increasing flood risks for Western residents

Winter brings more than just cold temperatures. It also brings an increased flood risk, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is warning residents to prepare now—well ahead of rising waters. This year, predictions for La Niña call for an even wetter-than-average 2007-2008 winter season in parts of the Northwestern United States, including California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Montana. The time to prepare for this year’s rainy season and possible flooding is now.

“Recovering after a flood can be overwhelming. With flood insurance, you have the financial support to get back on your feet as quickly as possible,” said David Maurstad, assistant administrator of mitigation and federal insurance administrator for FEMA. “Too often, people mistakenly think flood damage is covered by a homeowner’s policy. Flood coverage must be purchased separately, and there is typically a 30-day waiting period before a new flood insurance policy becomes effective.”

Many residents may face an even greater risk of flooding this year due to summer wildfires. After a wildfire, the charred ground where vegetation has burned away cannot easily absorb rainwater, increasing the risk of flooding for a number of years. Properties directly affected by fires and those located below burn areas are most at risk, including properties located outside of high-risk flood areas.

FEMA has a checklist of tips for homeowners available at www.FloodSmart.gov or by dialing 800-427-2419.

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Survey: Hayward fault "ready to pop"

Time is not on our side, when it comes to suffering damage from an earthquake along Northern California’s Hayward Fault, according to a new map by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS released a new map showing the shaking produced by the 1868 Hayward earthquake, the 12th most deadly earthquake in U.S. history. A repeat of the 1868 earthquake on the Hayward Fault would produce strong shaking throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with shaking ranging from strong to very strong in the cities of Hayward, San Leandro, and Fremont, the agency said.

According to Jack Boatwright, the USGS seismologist who prepared the new map, “the Oct. 21, 1868, earthquake struck Hayward the hardest of any town in the Bay Area. The earthquake rupture clove the town in two, and it threw many frame houses from their foundations. Few places have paid such a steep price for the privilege of naming a fault and an earthquake.”

Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007, marked the 139th anniversary of the 1868 Hayward earthquake. Scientific studies indicate that the average interval between the past five large earthquakes on the Hayward fault has been 140 years. It would not be surprising if another large Hayward Fault earthquake happened tomorrow, USGS said.

“Damaging earthquakes have occurred on the Hayward Fault almost like clockwork,” said Jim Lienkaemper, a USGS geologist who has studied the prehistory of earthquakes along the Hayward Fault.

“The Hayward Fault is the single most dangerous fault in the entire Bay Area,” said Tom Brocher, a USGS seismologist and member of the 1868 Hayward Earthquake Alliance, “because it is ready to pop and because nearly 2 million people live directly on top of it.”

Proactive efforts to reduce the loss of life and property following a large Hayward Fault earthquake have been tackled head on by East Bay cities such as Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward and Oakland. The city of Hayward replaced its old City Hall that lay directly over the Hayward Fault, with a newly build earthquake resistant City Hall now located off the fault zone. Oakland recently passed a city ordinance that provides a property tax rebate to encourage homeowners to retrofit their residences. These efforts are necessary to reduce the number of homeless—now estimated at more than 100,000—which would result from a large Hayward Fault earthquake, USGS said.

The new USGS 1868 ShakeMap can be viewed on the Earthquake Program Website at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1868/shakemap/.

Information about the 1868 Hayward earthquake is also available online on the Hayward Fault Earthquake Webpage at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1868/.