I understand why people keep bring up earthquake insurance, but it's not that many of us haven't considered it. It can be expensive to the extent that you are better off reinforcing your home rather than spending any money on said insurance. "The expensive deductible related to earthquake insurance are sometimes as high as 15% of the value of the home, which has many homeowners giving the insurance a second thought."[1]
Most insurance companies bailed out of the business of earthquake insurance after Northridge because when it happens, the claims are enormous. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was an indirect factor that lead to the Panic of 1907 due to the high volume of insurance claims.
I think the general consensus is that you'd be better using your money to get a construction loan to brace and bolt your home to resist earthquakes. I was quoted $175/month for earthquake insurance. That translates into a $25-30k loan. You can do a lot of structural improvement for that.
When I looked into it, adding on earthquake insurance would cost more than my regular homeowners insurance, and like you said would still have a huge deductible without even covering most of my belongings
Furthermore, if a big quake happens, insurance companies are going to go broke paying out claims. Homeowners are going to be at the back of the line meaning most of them aren't going to see a dime.
Most insurance companies bailed out of the business of earthquake insurance after Northridge because when it happens, the claims are enormous. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was an indirect factor that lead to the Panic of 1907 due to the high volume of insurance claims.
[1]https://www.marketwatch.com/story/25-years-after-bay-area-qu...