Millions Due Quake Fund Rebates : Legislation: With cancellation of the program, homeowners should recover part of their premiums.

Barring a serious earthquake before Jan. 1, the 5 million homeowners who paid into the California residential earthquake recovery program can expect rebates next spring of up to about $30, or half of their premiums, state insurance officials said Friday.

The fatally underfunded program was canceled by the Legislature last summer after its flaws became apparent. It was never properly capitalized and could have been a financial disaster for the state had there been a major urban temblor.

As it is, the fund has paid out $55.6 million in claims to victims of the Landers-Big Bear, Petrolia and Desert Hot Springs quakes. It is projecting a surplus of about $100 million by year-end.

Although the program is set to expire on Dec. 31, Californians whose homeowner’s insurance policies come up for renewal between now and then are still required by law to pay a surcharge for the earthquake recovery fund. The surcharges range from $12 to $60, based on the quake danger where the home is located.

It may look like a stiff price for a month of coverage, but a spokesman for the program points out that all homeowners are considered covered unless they refuse to pay the premium. In other words, those whose bills don’t arrive until December have still been protected by the fund for the entire year.

The state expects to collect nearly $22 million more in premiums by Dec. 31. That estimate takes into account the likelihood that many homeowners won’t pay. It may be a legal obligation, but there is no enforcement mechanism and no penalty for refusing.

That’s why the fund will have collected only about $205 million in its year of existence, instead of the $313 million that was projected when the program was drafted. About 1.5 million people either didn’t pay or haven’t received bills.

The maximum claim payout in the event of a quake is $14,000. The program was mainly intended to cover minor damage or the deductible amount under private earthquake insurance on larger claims.

The program’s overhead as of Oct. 31 was $35.8 million. That will rise by $10 million to $15 million--a rough estimate--before the program expires.

The biggest remaining expense--again, barring another quake--will be the program close-out fee that the state is now negotiating with Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, the firm that processes the premiums.

Through Oct. 31, Computer Sciences had collected fees of $9.2 million; another $8 million went to insurance adjusters who examined damaged homes, and the Department of Insurance’s administrative costs took about $17 million.

Earthquake Fund The flawed California Residential Earthquake Recovery program is being phased out. The chart accounts for the $161.5 million in premiums collected through Oct. 31. Figures in millions Surplus*: $ 70.1 million Claims: $ 55.6 Administration Costs**: 17.1 Computer Processing Fees: 9.2 Fees to Claims Adjustors: 8.0 Miscellaneous: 1.5 *to be rebated to homeowners **Program administered by state Deptment of Insurance Source: California Department of Insurance