Bay Area residents aren’t prepared for the next earthquake. This startup wants to change that
“Kate Stillwell doesn’t want to alarm people, but if the Big One comes, San Francisco residents are woefully under prepared.
Only 13 percent of California residents have earthquake insurance, according to the California Department of Insurance, even as the U.S. Geological Survey estimates there’s a 72 percent chance a major earthquake will hit the Bay Area in the next 20 years. Unlike Florida, which mandates that homeowners purchase hurricane insurance, earthquake insurance in California is optional.
‘Most people take the chance that if and when the Big One comes, they’re going to be in the 90 percent of people who don’t see much damage,’ said Stillwell, the founder and CEO of Earthquake insurance company Jumpstart.”