Just an update folks. Unfortunately, the insurance industry is sticking their collective heads up their fourth point of contact on this topic. Instead of promoting risk mitigation and education they've in essence decided to take their ball out of play and go home. Ironically, if I'd informed them that my home was stick built, I would've had the earthquake coverage...(heavy sigh).

At any rate, FYI, here's my plan to mitigate the risk: Reinforce the sill plate with 90 degree steel plates that are bolted to my rebar reinforced, poured foundation and screwed to the sill plate.

Gotta run. More to follow later.

C.G.

Hey Chris,
I don't mean to be ignorant, but why would you need earthquake insurance?  Are you in TN?  Gosh, I would have thought that it would be easy to get it considering our CA customers get earthquake insurance on their SIP homes and look what they have to deal with! Also, since you are using SIPs, you know that you've got a product that can resist an earthquake a lot better than a stick framed home.  Why then the need for insurance?  Whatever the reason, hope you are able to get what you're looking for.  It seems that Allstate insures CA residents of SIP homes...odd that they wouldn't in your area.

Back again folks. I hope that this information is helpful and perhaps just might generate an exchange of ideas on this critical issue of earthquake risk mitigation.

Another measure that we're initiating is in regards to our laminated ridge beam. It's nailed at both gables and at the weight bearing stud walls, nonetheless, we'll be reinforcing each of the gable connections with at least 2, 90 degree steel plates that will be lagged screwed to the king studs in our 6 1/2" walls.

We used the TJI "Silent Floor" I beam floor joist system and I've to reinforce the ends with plywood stabilizers. The walk out portion of the basement wall is treated dimensional lumber and that wall will receive added reinforcement via plywood sheeting to minimize racking. The other measure include strapping the water heater to the wall and we've already used a flexible gas line for the stove connection.

Any constructive ideas on any of this would be appreciated.

C.G.

Maybe you should start with a new insurance company?? I can understand CA or even the whole west coast for earthquake issues. And then SIPs or something like it would be required, but I have to agree that any where else the insurance agent or company has no clue. But if not, maybe you should install seat belts on your couches! That way you could be prepared for earthquakes and the Superbowl.

Those are fair questions guys. Regarding the likihood for a major earthquake in NW Tennessee, I'd like you folks to go to www.google.com and type in "New Madrid Fault". The last major quake was in 1811-12 but it was so powerful that the Mississippi River flowed BACKWARDS for THREE DAYS and it actually rang church bells in Boston, MA!!!

I know that I'm being super suspicious of Mother Nature and the fickle finger of fate but $150-$200 spent annually on $500,000 quake insurance is cheap compared to a significant loss of my investment. I figure if I spend $300 today on my preventitive measures it just might save me 100 times that much in the future.

BTW, I used to live in the shadows of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier in WA state...(LOL!!).

So if I understand correctly, there hasn't been an earthquake in your area for 200 years, but you need a rider at $200 a year to feel safe? And that your agent won't take your money because he thinks you are building a mobile home quality home?

How about you send me $200 a month and I will build your house for free if you lose it in an earthquake? You definately need a new insurance agent. Your earthquake waiver is probably due to those in CA paying for it. Look at http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/SEISMICITY/Nuttli.1973/Discussion.html suggesting that future damage in your area will probably not be strucutural in nature. Thus you may end up with the back yard in your living room, but your living room will still be standing.

Hey I have got a stable swamp I would like to sell you in Texas. LOL. Actually I am trying to develop a piece of property that could be attached to a large constant level lake. The property is mostly worthless but will be worth 100k per lot once developed. We don't have earthquakes that I know of. And we are far enough inland to avoid the severe damage of hurricanes. I guess that is why there are building golf courses every where you look.

Initate the paperwork today smart guy! Hmm...$200 per year for let's say 30 years is $6,000 and in 2037 the cost to replace my home will be totally freaking outrageous!! LOL!! Seriously, don't quit your day job. Comedy or insurance isn't your bag!

All kidding aside. Earthquake insurance will replace/repair your damaged septic tank, your propane tank that wasn't properly secured and had a rigid connection AND might've sparked an explosion as well! And the resulting fire and shrapnel will be covered as well. It'll put your intact SIPS home back on your foundation that wasn't reinforced. Additionally, those with complex roofing designs, i.e. not a ranch, EI will repair your dormers and the like. Some insurance agents may tell you that your comprehensive homeowners will cover associated damage from an earthquake, therefore, you don't need EI...nonetheless...remember those poor souls on the Gulf Coast that were covered for hurricanes but NOT for the associated storm surge?! It doesn't take a major quake to do considerable damage my friend.

OK. Here's the latest chapter in my home owner's insurance saga folks. Allstate would've properly covered me with homeowner's insurance if my home was stick built for approx. $410 per year; however, with a "manufactored home" their HI quote was $900! For significantly reduced coverages!! So, were looking around again.

Here's my question folks. To those that currently own a SIPS home, what has been your recent experiences, regarding covering your investment via homeowner's insurance? Are the agents charging you an arm and a leg for a safer house?

I don't think there was a necessity to disclose "SIPs" construction for my home although I tell everyone about them as I can make more (I used to be in advertising and wish I had come up with the we'll make more line).

Your problem is kinda of quirky. It is kinda like going to the bank and asking them what kind of lock is on the door to the vault or asking what kind of bombs are detected when trying to get through security at the airport. I doubt many policies for hurricane insurance get sold from the west coast so bringing attention to the issue creates a need for an underwriter to "look at" the situation. Many new production homes are panelized with sticks that arrive and are placed on foundation. They aren't mobile or modular but no one talks about the panels after they are set. Be careful what words you use.

I'd like to believe that the insurance underwriters are proactive, intelligent and educated, especially in the latest building technologies that mitigate their risks. One has to only look at the data received, concerning Premier Building Systems's R-Control Panels, after the 1995 Kobe, Japan 7.2 earthquake to see the immense ROI (return on investment) one would see by building a SIPS structure.

Frankly, I'm disappointed that the SIPS industry and the insurance industry aren't in hand-in-hand and on the same frequency. It's disappointing that I have to omit/withhold/decieve the fact that I've a SIPS structure, in order to receive a reasonable "stick-frame" quote. Sorry for the blanket flame on the SIPS industry as a whole but, so far, I haven't seen, with the exception of EZ Build Systems, the professional SIPS leaders a.k.a. those professional SIPS industry players with hundreds of posts, step up and provide viable options concerning this matter.

I really don't mean to preach but this is the most important investment of my life and I'd like to believe that the SIPS representitives are doing something to promote this fantastic technology to the key players, i.e. educating lenders, insurance agents, underwriters, etc,etc... You can sell this impressive green technology to some of the "young turk" builders and potential homeowners but without the old dogs on board this will persist as a point of frustration.

BTW, other than this particular issue, we're very happy with our SIPS product in beautiful NW Tennessee.

Yea, the quality of information was astounding.

Why don't you try contacting TEIC(The Tennessee Earthquake Information Center). They may be able to help you.

But, in 1977 they changed the name to: CERI(Center for Earthquake Research and Information).

Center for Earthquake Research and Information
Memphis State University
Memphis Tennessee 38152
(901) 678-2007

I also agree with disclosing the type of construction materials used. From what we've seen from Katrina, they'll use any excuse to try and weasel out of paying.

The point I was making is that when insurance underwriters are involved in the equation, it may get ugly as a result of their inexperience and lack of knowledge. If the disclosure wasn't required, then why would you want to offer it. Your time has value. It it is not an issue, then it is not an issue. SIPs are an upgrade in structure. Look at the math on load capacities and you will see why they are called structural. And if you get a permit for an engineered structure the insurance company is not going to have anything on you. Or if you have a concern, send them a copy of your engineering and let them figure out the structural properties of the system. If you have a real fear of earthquake, look at using ICFs. They have prescriptive tables in the code. Your insurance company won't be able to argue with the international building code.

Thanks for the CERI website JC. Some of the info is dated but the majority of it is applicable to earthquake prepardedness, i.e. the survival kit list for home and auto is something that is also nice to have for any catastrophe.

BTW, pretty much have given up on the quake insurance quest, for the time being anyway. Beam me up Scotty. No intelligent life down here amoungst the insurance agent/underwriter crowd! LOL!
I'm just going to go forward with my retrofit plan and deal with it. I'll keep searching nonetheless because a small tremor (3.0) in the Knoxville area (SE TN) in the fall of 2005, disrupted our well water (300' down) here in NW TN for THREE DAYS. So, if a 6.0 or larger occurs, the well and septic systems will probably be compromised. The water table is the wildcard with the well and the concrete holding tank leaking is another. Can't predict or prevent everything but the key is awareness and mitigation.

Thanks again JC.

Yea Chris, I can see what you are talking about:

I'm with you. If you can find a policy that's not too expensive, it sounds like a good idea. You know how insurance is: It sounds like wasted $$$ until something happens.

I've got a SIP home in Missouri. I spoke to at least 7 different insurance companies before picking one. I have earthquake insurance as well. Not a single one ever questioned how my home was built, or the SIPs. I didn't hide it from any of them... some asked, some called it "frame construction", but in any case none refused to quote or even cared about the SIPs. I think you must be going out of your way to cause the insurance companies to question the SIPs. There are SEVERAL companies that offer homeowners and earthquake insurance online. None that I know of even have an option to select SIP construction.

OK Joe. I did an online search for my area (I'm in the yellow area of TN but adjacent to an orange area of JC's USGS map) and only All State and Met Life offered EI. The online questionaire didn't provide an option for SIPS construction, so, I informed the agent that I had a SIPS home. It was All State's underwriters that were unwilling to provide EI for a "manufactured" home. BTW, Met Life didn't returned my two messages.

So, utilizing JC's handy dandy USGS map, are you located in the yellow, orange or pink areas of MO? If so, I'd appreciate your's agent's contact information...and the contact information of the other six insurance companies as well.

C.G.

I'm in the yellow area of Missouri (south of St. Louis). Allstate is who I got insurance from. I talked to the agent over the phone, and a few days later a guy came to my house and took pictures. Allstate has a 10% deductible on earthquake since I have both brick and natural stone ficade. I've yet to get a copy of the application so I don't even know what type of construction the agent put down. I don't remember the conversation, but if he asked me about the type of construction I would have said SIP's. I didn't try and hide that fact, but nobody seemed to care. I have no idea about TN, but every company I talked to offered earthquake insurance. The lowest rates that I found were from a company named Electric Insurance. I didn't go with them since I had never heard of them before. After that were Allstate, Country, State Farm, Esurance, and a couple of others that slip my mind right now. The difference between the highest and lowest was over three times the price of the lowest.