ABSTRACT
The highest percentage of insured respondents who correctly identified their insurance status from the national company was for Santa Clara County; the lowest rates were for San Bernardino County. Real estate salespersons, mortgage lenders, and insurance agents were not influential in the decisions of either those who purchased or those who did not purchase insurance. The most important factors in the decision to purchase insurance are related to the respondent's perception of the extent of damage to their home and a belief that no other satisfactory options were available to recover from such damage. Over 50 percent of the respondents in each county had not purchased earthquake insurance. Howard Kunreuther attempted an ordinary least squares regression model to predict insurance purchase from information on income, history of damage, evaluation of the problem as serious or minor, and acquaintance with someone else with earthquake insurance.
