It's also not clear if any of these numbers are %ages of the total property value, land + house, or just house rebuilding costs (which are often over $400/sqft in California after a disaster).
My worry with CEA is in "the big one", will they have enough money? They have $17 billion in assets, which is theoretically enough. However, the Northridge quake caused over $10 billion in damage, and the 1906 earthquake was over $8 billion in todays dollars. (Although I question that number too. 500 city blocks were destroyed in 1906. Would it only take $8 billion to rebuild 500 SF city blocks?)
If we see a major San Andreas quake that devastates LA, the CEA could run out of money.
I do agree it will be a shit show when the big one hits. Don’t rely on earthquake insurance to fix your problems. Unless you have $$$$, your house is not going to be in the front of the line for rebuilding. Spend a thousand dollars now on braces and bolts.
I imagine everyone in the building trades will be fully employed in the rebuilding effort even if CEA runs out of money. The state would probably bail the CEA out, but either way people are going to be waiting for a long time for someone to come give them a new house.
