Earthquake Insurance

"It's very, very important," Milam said. "I council my policy holders to get earthquake insurance all the time, with us being near the New Madrid fault. If we have a magnitude 6 or greater earthquake, there could be some real losses here."

"Rates are higher the closer you get to the New Madrid Seismic Zone. In The Jackson Sun's circulation area, Crockett County is the closest since it borders Dyer County. Part of the New Madrid fault line reaches southeast from the Tiptonville area to Dyersburg in Dyer County."

"We advise people to get earthquake coverage, but about 50 percent don't," Hughes said. "It costs about $1.40 per $1,000 of coverage for a brick home and about $1 per $1,000 for a frame house. And there's a 5-percent deductible."
 
"So, for a $100,000 house, annual coverage costs $100 for a frame home and $140 for a brick home."

"Hughes said it is obvious that all the old buildings in the towns of Bells and Alamo would quickly crumble if a major earthquake strikes on the New Madrid fault. He said he knows of at least one building that collapsed due to daily vibrations caused by trains passing through town."

"I've only felt one tremor in my life; so it's something none of us experience, and we don't think about it," Black said. "It's hard to believe a big earthquake could really happen. But they tell us it can; so you should probably have earthquake insurance if you live in this part of the country."

SOURCE - Jackson Sun