Since January 1976, the U.S. Geological Survey has recorded 44 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater within 50 kilometers, about 31 miles, of downtown Paducah, and the strongest was a magnitude 4.0. McCracken County has never been part of a federal earthquake disaster declaration, yet it sits in the corner of Kentucky where state rules allow the largest earthquake deductibles: as much as 20% of the coverage amount.
Both of those things are true at once. With the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill set for Thursday, October 15, this is a good week to look at what the public records actually say for Paducah, Reidland and the rest of McCracken County, and how earthquake coverage is usually built here.
What has the ground actually done near Paducah?
The USGS earthquake catalog is public, and anyone can run the same search. Inside that 31-mile circle since 1976:
- 44 earthquakes measured magnitude 2.5 or higher
- 11 measured 3.0 or higher
- 1 reached 4.0, near Bardwell in Carlisle County on June 6, 2003
The circle sits at the edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The USGS describes its branches running through northeastern Arkansas, southwestern Kentucky, southeastern Missouri and northwestern Tennessee, and it notes that the zone produced a sequence over the winter of 1811 and 1812 that included three very large earthquakes, estimated between magnitude 7 and 8.
The finding that doesn’t sell anything
Here’s the part an insurance agent isn’t supposed to lead with. In 50 years of instrument records, the largest earthquake within 31 miles of Paducah was that 4.0, and none reached magnitude 5. FEMA’s public records show 23 federal disaster declarations that have included McCracken County since 1973, and none of them was an earthquake. Run the same search statewide and Kentucky has never had a federal earthquake declaration at all. McCracken’s federal record is storms, floods, ice and snow.
That doesn’t settle the question either way. The 1811 and 1812 quakes happened long before any of this was measured, and five quiet decades say more about the last five decades than the next one. But anyone who says the ground under Paducah shakes all the time is overselling it.
How Kentucky sets earthquake deductibles by county
Kentucky Department of Insurance Bulletin 98-2 split the state into three regions for earthquake deductibles. McCracken is in the Far West Region with Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman and Marshall counties. In those eight counties, the lowest deductible an insurer offers can’t be more than 20%. In the Near West counties, which include Livingston, Lyon and Trigg, the ceiling is 15%, and everywhere else it’s 10%. Insurers can offer other options, priced to match.
A few more points from the Department’s consumer guide to earthquake insurance:
- Every insurer writing homeowners coverage in Kentucky has to offer an earthquake endorsement when a customer asks for one.
- Earthquake deductibles are usually a percentage of the coverage limit, not a flat $500 or $1,000, and there can be separate deductibles for the house, outbuildings and belongings.
- Many earthquake policies treat all shaking within a 72-hour window as one event with one set of deductibles. Policies vary on the window.
- After a noticeable earthquake, most insurers stop writing new earthquake coverage for 30 to 60 days.
What does a 20% deductible look like?
Here’s an example, not a quote. On a home with a $250,000 dwelling limit, a 20% earthquake deductible is $50,000. That comes off the dwelling claim before the endorsement pays anything, and contents and outbuildings may carry their own percentage deductible on top of it.
That’s the honest tradeoff. A deductible in that range is built for a severe event, not a cracked driveway. Some households look at the math and decide the endorsement fits their situation; others decide it doesn’t. Both are reasonable conversations to have across a desk.
Details that tend to surprise people
Brick matters. The Department’s guide lists brick homes among those more likely to be damaged in an earthquake, and it notes that some earthquake coverage doesn’t include masonry veneer, the brick or stone on the outside of a frame house. If your home has brick on the outside, that’s a fair question to ask.
Fire is handled differently. Fire after an earthquake, such as from a broken gas line, is typically a homeowners policy question rather than part of the earthquake endorsement.
So is water. Flooding after a quake isn’t part of earthquake coverage; that’s a flood policy question. Our flood insurance post covers why flood is bought on its own, and our look at Marshall County’s disaster declarations shows the same storm-heavy pattern next door.
How any of this applies to a particular house depends on the policy and its endorsements. Your policy is the thing that answers it.
One thing to do before October 15 that costs nothing
The ShakeOut drill is about practicing drop, cover and hold on. While you’re at it, walk each room with your phone and record what’s in it. The Department of Insurance suggests keeping a household inventory with a copy stored somewhere outside the house, and it’s useful for any claim, earthquake or not.
Whether a homeowners policy has an earthquake endorsement, and what its deductible is, is usually printed right on the declarations page. You can read how we approach home insurance in Western Kentucky. If you’re in Paducah, Reidland or anywhere in McCracken County, call us at (270) 925-1524 or send your current dec page, and we’ll look at the earthquake line with you.
This article is general information about how coverage typically works, not advice about your specific situation. Every policy reads a little differently, and yours is the only thing that says what you have. If you’d like a second set of eyes on it, send us your current dec page and we’ll walk through it with you.
