Earthquake Insurance – Protect Your Architectural Investment

Tips for Buying Earthquake Insurance

1. If you live in a quake-prone region and you can afford it, the best way to protect your investment in your home is to retrofit and buy earthquake insurance.

2. The decision whether or not to buy earthquake insurance is an individual, financial decision. Key factors to research and consider are:

a) the financial strength of the companies that will sell it to you,
b) the features and pricing of their policies,
c) the amount of equity you have in your home,
d) your proximity to a fault zone, and;
e) the age and style of construction of your home and foundation.

3. If you decide to buy earthquake insurance, shop for limits that are adequate to fully replace your property, engineering costs, required improvements to comply with building codes, temporary living expenses, outbuildings, etc.

4. Policies with 10% as opposed to the standard 15% deductible are now available but of course they’re more expensive. The price and high deductibles for EQ policies has led many people to avoid buying the product, but remember; If you live in a quake-prone region, going “bare” with no insurance means you have a 100% deductible…you’ll bear the entire risk yourself.

5. Don’t assume that FEMA, the SBA and/or private charities will bail you out with funds to rebuild after a major disaster. FEMA has very limited funds and strict eligibility criteria. SBA loans are modest and must be repaid. Private charities are being severely stretched by an ever-increasing demand for their services.

For more detailed information on California earthquake policies and claims.

Architects

Architects

An architect must thoroughly understand the building and operational codes to which his or her design must conform, so that he or she is not apt to omit any necessary requirements, or produce improper, conflicting, ambiguous, or confusing requirements. Architects must also understand the various methods available to the builder for building the client’s structure, so that he or she can negotiate with the client to produce a best possible compromise of the results desired within explicit cost and time boundaries.

The idea of what constitutes a result desired varies among architects, as the architectural design values which underlie modern architecture differ both between the schools of thought which influence architecture and between individual practising architects.[2]

The practice of architecture is a business, in which technical knowledge, management skills, and an understanding of good business practice are as important as creative design. In practice, an architect accepts a commission from a client (an individual, a board of directors, a government agency or a corporation). This commission may involve the preparation of feasibility reports, building audits, the design of a single building, or the design of several buildings, structures and the spaces between them. Increasingly, the architect participates in the development of requirements the client wishes to have met in the building. Throughout the project, from planning to occupancy, the architect usually acts as the coordinator of a team of specialists (the “design team”). Structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers, as well as other specialists, are generally retained by the client or the architect. The architect must ensure that the work of all these different disciplines is coordinated and fits together in the overall design.