California Earthquake Authority

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) empowers Californians to be earthquake resilient through education, risk reduction, and insurance. It offers residential earthquake insurance and facilitates seismic retrofit grant programs. CEA is one of the world's largest providers of residential earthquake insurance and has been encouraging California homeowners, mobilehome owners, condo-unit owners and renters to reduce their risk since 1996. It sells earthquake insurance policies exclusively through participating residential insurance companies. Created in 1996 by the California Legislature as a not-for-profit, publicly managed, privately funded entity, CEA today provides two-thirds of the residential earthquake insurance policies sold in California.

On January 17, 1994, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake known as the Northridge earthquake rocked California's San Fernando Valley. According to the Seismic Safety Commission, the earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in residential damages alone—and only half of that was covered by insurance. After the dust settled, the Northridge earthquake shook the foundation of the residential insurance industry. In 1995, the California Legislature created a basic policy that any insurer could sell to comply with the mandatory offer law. In 1996, the California Legislature went one step further and created the California Earthquake Authority (CEA)—a not-for-profit, publicly managed, privately funded entity. Residential property insurers could offer their own earthquake insurance or become a CEA participating insurance company. Over the years, the CEA policy has added more options, including a retrofit discount for eligible homeowners. Today, CEA provides two-thirds of the residential earthquake insurance policies sold in California.

One of the world's largest providers of residential earthquake insurance, offering policies exclusively through participating residential insurance companies.

• Residential earthquake insurance

  CEA offers residential earthquake insurance and facilitates seismic retrofit grant programs.

1. 1California Earthquake Authority – Earthquake Insurance, Preparedness & Risk Reductionearthquakeauthority.com
2. 2California Earthquake Authority's Story - Building Earthquake Resilienceearthquakeauthority.com
3. 3CEA Financial Strength, Investment Policies, Financial Statementsearthquakeauthority.com
4. 4Contracting at CEA | RFQ | RFP | RFIearthquakeauthority.com