Ironically, poorer sections of the county pay the highest rates while areas where home values and household incomes are much higher the rate is lower.Blame it on the proximity to earthquake faults and the sediment rich soil: the Santa Clara River Valley is home to two major faults, the Oakridge and San Cayetano, which run through the valley respectively south and north of Santa Paula and other cities. The faults, experts believe, are at high risk of producing an earthquake exceeding magnitude 7 on the Richter scale.Higher rates are also tied to the type of structure and the year it was constructed. Santa Paula’s downtown business district is undergoing major seismic retrofitting through a program brokered by the city that resulted in a multi-million dollar FEMA grant.The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) was created in 1996 after many private insurers abandoned quake insurance after the billions of dollars of losses following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The CEA is privately funded, state-managed agency created to ensure coverage for homeowners.But the insurance itself is not only expensive but carries with it a hefty 15 percent deductible. Before the Northridge Earthquake about 30 percent of homeowners in the state had quake insurance; that number has shrunk to just 16 percent.
State earthquake insurance most expensive in Santa Clara River Valley
August 10, 2001
Santa Paula High School
Quake insurance rates in the shaky Santa Clara River Valley are among the highest in the state, according to bills that have caused homeowners to cringe. . .and forego the insurance.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesQuake insurance rates in the shaky Santa Clara River Valley are among the highest in the state, according to bills that have caused homeowners to cringe. . .and forego the insurance.Homeowners along the Santa Clara River - including Santa Paula - and the Oxnard Plain are seeing top rates due to soil conditions that shake intensely during an earthquake.The statewide average for quake insurance is $2.79 per $1,000 of a home’s value, but in Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru the rates top out at $4.48.West Ventura and the Ojai Valley have the lowest rates, $1.78 per $1,000 of a home’s value; low-lying areas in Camarillo and the coastal communities of Silver Strand and Hollywood Beach also are in the $4.48 rate range. Homeowners in Moorpark, Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks average $2.47 per $1,000 of the home’s value.
