37% of Missouri insurers reported writing earthquake coverage, up from 32% a year earlier, according to the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance. Three carriers entered the segment after sitting out 2024. One insurer exited.
Earthquake protection does not sit inside standard homeowners or renters contracts. Policyholders must purchase it as a separate policy or attach it through an endorsement.
That structural hurdle still shapes buying behavior.
Availability improved across the New Madrid seismic zone, one of the highest-risk earthquake regions in the US. In 2025, 14% of insurers said they did not offer earthquake coverage in the area, down from 19% the prior year.
According to Beinsure, carrier participation in high-hazard zones often signals improved reinsurance appetite or revised risk modeling assumptions.
Carriers also adjusted product design. The regulator said 85% of earthquake policies now carry deductibles below 10% of insured property value.
Lower percentage deductibles reduce post-event out-of-pocket exposure, though premium levels remain sensitive to hazard concentration.
Even as supply expands, demand keeps sliding. In 2014, 18.3% of Missouri homeowners carried earthquake insurance.
By 2024, that figure fell to 10.4%. Fewer than 20% of residents in 101 of Missouri’s 115 counties hold earthquake coverage.
Premiums climbed over the past decade, with sharper increases in higher-risk counties. In the New Madrid area, earthquake premiums have risen 42% since 2015, according to the regulator’s coverage report. Rate pressure and declining penetration now move in opposite directions.
Missouri lawmakers are reviewing legislation aimed at barring double recovery in insurance litigation.
The bill’s sponsor said the measure would clarify overlapping payments and subrogation treatment in contested claims.
