The insurance companies set the rates so that on average they will not lose money on earthquake insurance. You cannot count on financial aid from government resources if you experience an earthquake loss. Single-family wood frame structures that were built recently performed reasonably well in recent serious U. S. earthquakes. However, damage to contents is likely to be greater than structural damage to your house. Acknowledgments I thank John M. Anderson, Vivian Anderson, Gisela Anderson, John Louie, and Gayle Wilson for critical review and helpful comments on the manuscript.
Seismologists can answer individual questions.