3564 Earthquakes and Insurance

Try Downloading Google Earth and use the earthquake option in the 'Layers' panel for visual impression of the whole area

[QUOTE=arty]We are buying a house near Amandola near the Sibilini National Park - wonderful views.

I know parts of Marche are subject to landslip/earthquake - how do we find out if Amandola is part of the area considered susceptible?

Also does anyone know who offers insurance on seconds homes in this area that covers such eventuality?

Many thanks

Robert[/QUOTE]
yes, Robert the area you refer to is susceptible to earthquakes as is almost the entire italian peninsula.However the last heavy one was in 1998.As far as i'm aware it's still not possible to insure against it here but i've heard the LLoyds and others in the uk will insure against earthquake damage.Welive in the same area and are not insured for this.

I have owned my house in Lazio for some years now and as none of my neighbours have insurance neither have I, house has stood since late 1600s.

Have to say its a wild stance to take, but I dont know of any insurance company who would insure you for protection against earth quake.

Imagine if everything else was flattened and you were the only one with insurance you would be the only house rebuilt left all on your own ...

As you can tell thats a females view point.... being male you will probably think along the lines of monetary protection.

Louisa.
;)

Hi Louisa
Hi Sebastiano
Thanks for your replies....... I think it may be more of an English thing than a male thing ... yes I am worried about monetary protection I guess .....
I bet after a little while living there I will adopt even more of a local view ... :)

Since I posted I have managed to find that Scholfields.ltd.co do offer insurance for second homes in the area, about £380 for £150,000 of rebuilding costs. At this time we may insure and later when we've chilled go locale !

Robert

exactly..... easy easy as we say. A saying often heard in Italian especially when one gets excited and all around you are laid back...it is an English thing ..as you rightly point out.

and if you read all the info around owning and living in italy you will worry yourself to an early grave, just go with the flow.

And ignore stuff like this below...ask your neighbour and worry about it later.

[url]http://www.keyitaly.com/article/insurance/[/url]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]
if you look at their web site youll see that they DO offer insurance for landslides and earthquakes the link is posteassicura casa.

I think the question of earthquakes is a tricky one.If you are a worrier then maybe you need to look at the less risky areas of Italy like Liguria or Puglia?I noticed that very few buyers in Abruzzo seem to be aware of the risk there despite the fact that Caramanico Terme and Ortona have both been devistated by earthquakes albiet many,many, years ago.Some scientists believe that due to global warming earthquakes are going to become more frequent.

Another concern for many parts of Italy are landslides which seem to have increased from 500 a year in 1900 to 2,500 a year in 1989.A previous threat posted by [I]Will [/I]suggest that bad farming practises may be to blame in many areas.

If you really have your heart set on Italy then you will want to live there regardless as every country has its own risks.However it may be sensible to do a bit of research into your area before comitting to buy.

Good Luck

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

Becky is correct in saying that the Post Office's insurance covers earthquakes and landslides. You can download a copy of their policy in Acrobat format here;

[url]http://www.poste.it/bancoposta/posteassicura/fia_posteassicura.pdf[/url]

The relevant part is on page 7...
6) terremoti, valanghe, slavine, inondazioni, alluvioni
ed allagamenti in genere;
which translates as....
6) earthquakes, mudslides, avalanches, and floods.

Copeland Insurance also offer a European policy covering earthquakes, subsidence etc.

Copeland Insurance
230-234 Portland Road
London
SE25 4SL
Tel: 020-8656-8435
Fax: 020-8655-1271

You can read a copy by opening the attachment here....

Thanks, manopello and Marc for the PosteItaliane insurance link, and the Copeland stuff.

Note that in the case of earthquake, landslip etc risks the PosteItaliane impose a franchigia (excess) of 2,600 Euros - which means you have to pay the first 2,600 of any claim. In addition they will not pay out more that 50% of the sum insured. Copeland impose an excess of £1,000 on claims in this area, and they do not include cover for things like swimming pools which slide down the hill unless the house suffers in the same incident.

Pays to read the small print! PosteItaliane also have a tacit renewal clause - you have to make the effort to cancel the insurance at least a month before it runs out.

Toro Assicurazione have also just started to offer earthquake insurance, but I haven't received any info yet from them regarding policy details.

We had a small tremor a couple of weeks back - a slightly worrying experience. The walls shook for a few seconds, but our stone walls are very thick, so no damage. I'd be more worried in an apartment block...

If you live in a new place, it may have been built according to anti-seismic principles.

good luck. Surely your geometra will tell you about risks with land - ours did and we are well underpinned now just down the road from Amandola.