The answer to this question depends largely on where you live. If you live in California lets say, the answer to that is probably yes. If you ever lived in an area that has been affected by earthquakes then the answer is also most likely yes.

Your basic homeowner's insurance policy will not cover any damages to your home or personal belongings that are damaged by an earthquake. If you do live in an area that you feel is prone to earthquakes then you will need to purchase a separate earthquake insurance policy.

Your deductible for the separate earthquake insurance policy will vary depending on where you live as well as the age of the building that you are protecting. If you live in a newer home built in a high earthquake prone area your deductible should be lower because your house was probably built better to withstand the earthquakes. The same applies to older homes that have been retrofitted or homes made of wood rather than brick.

Your deductible is usually a percentage in earthquake polices as opposed to the flat dollar amount that is usually shown in your basic homeowner's policy. For example if your home is worth $1,000,000 and you have a 2% deductible then you will have to pay $20,000 towards rebuilding your home before the insurance will pay for the rest. Now, if the earthquake has essentially leveled your home then of course having this earthquake insurance will definitely make sense in this case.

Unfortunately 2% is a low-end deductible; it can go as high as 20% depending on what area of the country you live in. In some states such as California, Utah, and Nevada where earthquakes are frequent the deductibles are usually a minimum of 10% to 15%. In Washington State the residents usually pay an average of $1.00 to $4.00 for every $1000.00 worth of coverage of a wood home and $4.00 to $14.00 for every $1000.00 worth of coverage if they have a brick home. So a lot depends on how many earthquakes are averaged per year and how close you are to the center of them normally.

Before buying earthquake insurance you have to figure out your math and balance your budget. You also have to know how much you have in savings and if you are going to have cash on hand to rebuild your home in case of an earthquake. Even with the deductible of earthquake insurance if you live in areas that are greatly affected by earthquakes then there is no question that you will pay less for your deductible then you will to rebuild your home from scratch.