Percentage of Missouri homes with quake insurance at historic low

The percentage of homes with earthquake insurance in Missouri’s highest-risk areas is at a historic low amid rising costs for coverage.

Only 12.7% of homes in the New Madrid fault area were insured as of last year, according to a survey of insurers released by Missouri’s Department of Commerce and Insurance this week.

In 2000, more than 60% of homes in the area were insured for earthquakes.

The New Madrid fault stretches from northeastern Arkansas to southeastern Missouri. Earthquakes from the fault line can occur in cities including St. Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas, according to Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources.

The Missouri Geological Survey has said mild earthquakes in southeastern Missouri are not unusual and that at least four quakes measuring 4.5-magnitude or greater have occurred in New Madrid Seismic Zone since 1974.

Hundreds of weaker quakes between magnitude 2.0 and 3.9 have been recorded there since 2000.