Couple Faces a Brick Wall in Finding Earthquake Insurance for Their Eagle Rock Home

Your article regarding the pullback of homeowners insurers in California (“A Crisis on Hold,” Sept. 3) barely touches the surface of the crisis that some homeowners are facing now or within the next couple of years.

As owners of a pre-1945 house insured by 20th Century Insurance Co., we are facing a brick wall in trying to insure our home. In less than two years, 20th Century will not renew our policy. This is despite the fact that our “old home” has withstood earthquakes since 1925 without any damage. None of the “competing” insurance companies will write us a policy at this time. We have contacted State Farm (with whom we have another policy), the Automobile Club, Safeco, Allstate and Farmers Insurance, and all either are not writing new policies or claim that the house is not insurable because of its age.

What are we going to do when 20th Century cancels our policy? Any house of any age in California is at risk from an earthquake, as evidenced by the fact that many of the damaged Northridge homes were built since 1945.

The bill in front of Gov. Pete Wilson empowering him to prevent insurers from terminating or refusing to renew policies would be one giant step in helping owners. Another would be passage of a federal disaster insurance program that would spread the risk of all natural disasters among everyone around the country. Isn’t that what insurance is all about?

DAREN and SHARON

PERLSTEIN

Eagle Rock

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So Republic Insurance Group is pulling out of California, you say (“Republic to End Homeowners Policies in State,” Aug. 30)? Couldn’t make enough profit, couldn’t pay enough bloated bonuses to “executives” (i.e., private bureaucrats) to make it worthwhile to serve the people of this state? Unhappy about the unsuccessful court challenge to Proposition 103 and the prospect of finally having to pay the people instead of a bunch of lawyers hired to fight the people’s wishes?

What a pleasure it will be to vote ‘yes’ on Proposition 186 after the insurance industry’s campaign of lies and distortions fails. After we get you out of our health insurance and collect what you owe us from Proposition 103, we’ll insure ourselves and get you parasites out of our lives for good by self-insuring our property, too. You can’t quit us--you’re fired!

STEPHEN G. HAYES

La Canada Flintridge