An earthquake can damage parked trucks, trap them in a yard or garage and close the routes a fleet depends on. Here's how physical damage coverage usually approaches it and what to plan before the ground moves.
Quick answer
Damage to a parked truck from an earthquake is generally a comprehensive (other-than-collision) question, so the answer turns on which causes of loss the policy covers for that unit. A truck carried for liability only typically has no coverage for its own damage. How any quake claim is handled rests on the form and that truck's chosen coverages.
Earthquakes don't keep a season, which makes them easy to leave off the planning calendar. For a fleet the exposure is concrete: trucks parked under carports, in parking structures or beside block walls; yards on filled ground; gates and fuel systems that depend on power; and the freeways and bridges that connect a yard to its customers.
We don't quote earthquake probabilities or damage estimates here. The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (opens in a new tab) and the California Geological Survey (opens in a new tab) publish fault maps, hazard maps and zones showing where liquefaction and landslides are more likely, and they're the right places to look up your own yard's address.
What we can help with is the policy side: knowing which trucks are covered for what before anyone needs to ask.
Official sources
Each unit on a business auto policy usually carries its own physical damage choice, and earthquake damage to a parked truck generally falls on the other-than-collision side. How broad that side is depends on what the unit carries. Full comprehensive is usually written to cover causes other than collision, subject to its exclusions. Some fleets pick a narrower specified-causes-of-loss option for older units, and that option typically covers only the perils it names. Read the list for each unit rather than assuming.
A few situations are less clear. If a truck in motion when the shaking starts strikes another vehicle, the damage may be handled as a collision. A truck crushed when a parking structure fails, or buried by a fallen wall, is generally an other-than-collision loss. Each case turns on the form and the coverages chosen, with the adjuster applying the wording to the facts.
The yard itself, the shop building, fuel tanks and the tools on the shelves generally aren't auto coverage. Earthquake protection for buildings and contents is a property question, usually written on its own, and tools and equipment typically need their own policy.
Where trucks spend the night shapes what an earthquake can do to them. A few patterns are worth checking.
Closed routes are the other cost. Bridges and overpasses are typically inspected after a strong quake, and some may close while that happens. Drivers should know a second route to the yard and to key customers, and dispatch should expect delays. Plumbing, electrical and restoration crews can be busiest in the days that follow, often on detours they've never driven.
These five metros combine major mapped faults with dense freeways, bridges and parking structures. We describe the geography here; USGS and CGS have the maps.
South Bay / Silicon Valley. The Santa Clara Valley lies between the San Andreas Fault in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Calaveras and Hayward faults along its eastern side. Service fleets supporting campuses and data centers can end up parked in multi-level garages at customer sites. See South Bay and Silicon Valley fleet insurance.
East Bay. The Hayward Fault runs along the base of the East Bay hills through cities from Richmond to Fremont, and the industrial flats near the Bay sit on softer ground. Yards near the port and the bayfront should check the CGS maps. Our page on East Bay commercial truck insurance covers the area.
San Francisco and the Peninsula. The San Andreas Fault runs down the Peninsula's spine just west of I-280, and parts of the bayfront along US-101 sit on fill. Tight parking pushes many work trucks into garages and under buildings overnight. See San Francisco and Peninsula fleet insurance.
Los Angeles County. Many mapped faults cross the county, and its freeway interchanges, overpasses and parking structures are packed close together. A fleet spread across the basin should know which yards and routes would be cut off if a key interchange closed. See truck fleet insurance in Los Angeles County.
Inland Empire. The San Andreas Fault runs along the base of the San Bernardino Mountains and through the Cajon Pass, and the San Jacinto Fault passes through the San Bernardino area. I-15 and I-10, the region's main links to the coast and the desert, cross that ground. Our Inland Empire commercial auto page covers local fleets.
Official sources
Earthquakes typically strike without warning, so this is a check to do once a year rather than at the start of a season.
Read more on physical damage coverage for work trucks. Floods and earthquakes are generally both other-than-collision losses for a parked truck, so our guide to flood and atmospheric river risks is a useful parallel, and a quake that knocks down yard fencing raises the questions in our vehicle and tool theft hot spots post. When you're ready, ask for a fleet quote and list where each truck parks.
Generally only if earthquake is among the perils it names. California fleets that put older trucks on a specified-causes option should read that list, because unlike full comprehensive it typically leaves out any peril it doesn't spell out.
After strong shaking knocks out power, a yard gate that only opens electrically can trap every truck inside just when crews are needed. Learn the manual release and keep the tool where supervisors can find it.
Service fleets working Bay Area campuses can end up in a customer's parking structure, where tall vans get pushed to the top deck or the street. Ask drivers where they actually park on long jobs.
An earthquake that damages the shop, fuel tanks or tool racks is generally a property loss, not an auto claim. The auto policy typically answers for the trucks alone, and only those carrying the right physical damage.
Official resources
Requirements change without notice. Confirm what applies to your fleet with the agency before relying on it.
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Read the guideTiming depends on the carriers and your loss history.
Have ready: vehicle list with VINs, driver list, current declarations page, loss runs.
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