Utahns: Find out which natural disasters your county faces

Homeowners insurance is growing more expensive or hard to find because of natural disasters. The Salt Lake Tribune breaks down which counties have the highest risk for some of the havoc. 

"As wildfires, floods and other natural disasters wreak havoc across the country, insurers are raising premiums or pulling out of some markets altogether because of the risk" writes Megan Banta for The Salt Lake Tribune.   | Dec. 28, 2023

 Wonder why your Homeowners insurance had increased substantially for the past couple of years? 

"Premiums increased an average of 21% from May 2022 to May 2023 across the country and more in Florida and some western states including Utah, according to a report from Policygenius." HO insurance is not only becoming more expensive but also, harder to get. Friends of mine have had their insurance cancelled after a very minor claim. 

According to Banta's research: "Summit County and five other counties in Utah have a “relatively high” risk of wildfire, according to the National Risk Index, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The other 5 counties are: Washington, Iron, Tooele, Salt Lake, and Utah. 

Banta's investigation also identified Utah counties at highest risk for avalanche, earthquake, and landslide. 

Of course, certain areas within a county likely have little or no risk of landslides and avalanches. So consider location when purchasing or renting property. One can still see the massive boulders that crushed a house and killed two people in Rockville. Just this year a house in LaVerkin started to crack and slide into the canyon where it was perched. Within the past decade Santa Clara lost some homes to the same risk of being built on the edge of a cliff for the view. Other counties provide numerous examples of housing being built where it never should have been located.  

The wildfire problem grows each year with our changing, hotter climate and as people build homes at the urban-wildland interface.

Unfortunately, HO insurance doesn't cover loss due to earthquake, flood and earth movement. 

Check out the other posts in this blog on related topics. 

Read the full article at: 

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2023/12/28/heres-where-utahns-face-highest/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_864285712.28.23%20Top%20Stories 

If you are not a Salt Lake Tribune subscriber and live in Utah... maybe it is time. 

Earthquake risk and Insurance in Utah

 Just a gentle reminder before you start spending and using your credit cards for the holidays. Utah is overdue for an earthquake. Homeowners insurance specifically excludes damage from earthquakes so you need to protect your biggest financial investment by buying earthquake insurance. See the Utah Division of Insurance info page on earthquake coverage: 
https://insurance.utah.gov/auto-home/home/earthquake.php

Earthquake Safety

Besides the obvious safety concerns, earthquakes pose major financial risks if you don't have earthquake insurance on your house. Homeowners insurance specifically excludes damage from earthquakes. Check out "earthquake" on this blog for specific insurance info and read: "Putting down roots in earthquake country" available at:
http://ussc.utah.gov/putting_down_roots.html

Prepare for an earthquake

Besides being Equal Pay Day (focusing on gender pay inequality) and tax day, in Utah we practiced "duck, cover, and hold on" as part of the "Utah Shake Out" to prepare for the inevitable quake. Now that you've identified safe places within each room in your house and in your workplace, it's time to prepare (or check and update) a disaster supply kit, secure your water heater, move heavy items to lower shelves, attach your bookcases to the wall, and prepare your financial kit with the help of this website:
http://beready.utah.gov/beready/earthquakePreparedness.html Although the list of what needs to be done can be intimidating, set a goal of accomplishing one task each week. Write it on your calendar and enlist the help and cooperation of family and encourage your friends to prepare as well. Check out the blog post on the "Grab & Go" kit, too. Print the one page 72-hour kit checklist and get to work: http://beready.utah.gov/beready/family/documents/72-hourchecklist.pdf