How do I decide whether or not to get earthquake insurance?

Even in California, relatively few property owners are covered by earthquake insurance.

But even those who have earthquake insurance may face an uncertain future.

Estimates are that no more than 20 to 25 percent of businesses and homes carry earthquake insurance in California.

So they offer earthquake insurance to homeowners to keep them as customers.

The average cost for the earthquake insurance in California is $279 a year for a $100,000 house.

A similar, and stereotypical, example would be earthquake insurance in California.

For many homeowners the cost of earthquake insurance is simply too high.

Despite California's association with earthquakes, only about 25 percent of homeowners spend the extra money for earthquake insurance.

In 1990, the latest year for which data was available, fewer than 8 percent of Japanese homes had earthquake insurance.