Earthquake Insurance Survey of Agents in the Western U.S.

Attention, insurance agents!

CREW has recently launched a new survey, the "Earthquake Insurance Survey of Agents in the Western U.S." Read on to learn about the organization, its mission, and the goal of its new project.

About CREW

The Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (CREW) is a nonprofit organization that works with partner organizations and agencies to raise awareness, foster collaboration, and develop, sponsor, and support earthquake studies and risk mitigation across the western United States.

CREW engages in a variety of projects to advance these objectives, including hosting forums between seismic professionals and other experts, producing resources and tools for state earthquake programs, conducting research, and developing best-practice guidance and educational materials to help individuals, organizations, and communities prepare for earthquakes. By bringing together public institutions and private businesses, and developing links between scientists, critical infrastructure providers, businesses, and governmental agencies, CREW aims to mitigate the impact of seismic activity in the Cascadia region and other earthquake-prone states and territories of the west.

The survey project

The “Earthquake Insurance Survey of Agents in the Western U.S.” aims to understand the role of insurance agents in interacting with the public regarding earthquake risk, including:

• How often do agents typically have such interactions with their customers
• What form do these interactions generally take
• What information and resources do agents need (if any) in order to better understand earthquake hazards
• What level of interest do agents have in educating consumers about earthquake insurance and communicating earthquake preparedness information

The results will help emergency managers and earthquake preparedness professionals determine how best to design disaster preparedness educational campaigns and engage with agents and their customers.

The survey is open to insurance agents who sell homeowners/renters policies in states in the western U.S. with a high to very high earthquake hazard, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

The estimated time for taking this survey is five minutes, and it will remain open until May 8^th, 2023.

Funding for the survey project comes from a grant from FEMA's National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

To learn more about CREW and their work with the insurance industry, visit their Insure Against Earthquakes education and outreach hub