Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Earthquake/disaster insurance

[astromezzo (astromezzo]

Hi Ed -

I'm not sure about our full insurance policy and disaster.  We're not  
in an earthquake-prone region, so I know we haven't purchased a  
supplemental earthquake policy.  (Though I lived 5 miles from the  
epicenter of the 1989 quake when it hit - so yes, please do keep your  
food and water!)  I can tell you what we do do is set aside some money  
to cover a deductible or two on our insurance policy.  Something to  
think about for any insurance.  You could budget money every year for  
this and store up unused amounts in a larger fund for emergencies, or  
you could put unused funds into general savings.  Or you could set a  
target amount for the fund and just budget to replenish the fund as  
needed.

Thinking about the bigger picture - this may be a valid thing to  
factor into replacement reserve calculations if you don't have  
earthquake insurance??  And I'm not sure I know the tax implications  
of establishing a fund that grows over the years that isn't a  
replacement reserve fund.  It may be different depending on whether  
you're filing as a homeowner's association or a straight-up  
corporation.  If you're a non-profit i'm sure it's different yet again.

Rosemary
Rocky Hill Cohousing
Florence, MA


On Aug 9, 2008, at 12:07 PM, cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org wrote:
> HI,
> My first time to ask a question. I'm Ed Flowers, living at Yulupa  
> Cohousing in Santa Rosa, CA.
>
> A couple of our members have asked about earthquake insurance. Does  
> any community have this insurance? Or insurance that covers a  
> disaster (other than a fire)? Or has any community set aside some  
> money to cover costs in case of a disaster (a kind of self-insurance)?
>
> This is separate from the question of having enough food and water  
> on hand in case of an earthquake.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Ed Flowers
> Yulupa Cohousing