MOTUS Earthquake Insurance

Through a program offered by FirstService Residential, our HOA offers homeowners an earthquake insurance option from MOTUS, which specializes in providing earthquake insurance in condominium communities like ours.

Our HOA does NOT carry a master earthquake insurance policy because of the high cost.

Without a master earthquake policy, should an earthquake occur and damage our HOA community, each homeowner would be responsible for their share of rebuilding the association. Our total insured value of our association – i.e., buildings, common area facilities, and other association assets – is over $100 million.

If 50% of our association were to be damaged after an earthquake, each homeowner’s share to rebuild is estimated at least $185,000. Note that this cost does not include interior damages (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms, custom upgrades, etc.) in which each homeowner would be responsible to pay for repairs to their unit’s interiors.

Unless you have earthquake coverage as part of your HO-6 condominium insurance, your HO-6 insurance does not cover repair or rebuilding costs due to an earthquake.

Even with earthquake loss assessment coverage, an HO-6 insurance policy will cap covering a special assessment at $100,000. (We strongly recommend that you verify your HO-6 policy with your insurance carrier to ensure you have adequate coverage overall.)

A homeowner earthquake insurance policy from MOTUS features:

Higher Limit: Motus offers up to $750,000 (or more upon request) of combined loss assessment and unit interior coverage. California Earthquake Authority's (CEA) Loss Assessment coverage is capped at $100,000.
Lower Cost: Motus is a fraction of the cost of CEA (on a premium per dollar of coverage basis).
Coverage of Common Areas: Motus covers your share of damage to common areas, which CEA excludes.