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Let me think back, earthquake coverage was written in 1989 when the Oakland, California Quake hit during the world series. Very few dwellings had earthquake coverage and I do not know the amount of dollars paid out in insurance claims. I do recall the approaches to Oakland Bay bridge falling down and crushing auto's and people on TV.

I worked the earthquake in LA in 94 for a short time, about 6 weeks. I left for a better gig on a winter storm in PA.  I do recall a lot of adjusters were in California, but all I met were people with  many  years adjusting, like myself that were on their first Quake. As I recall the Cal. EQ certification was on "fair claims practice" and took up the first day ,I was on day rate. When I started looking at damaged buildings, the certification did not help me one bit, and my thirty years property adjusting experience was in seeing damage I could not understand. What I really need was a degree in several engineering desciplines to write the reports, and I just muddled along like a catastrophe adjuster that did not know what he was talking about, but took some very good pictures of what I saw. Seems after this monster, retaining walls, sidewalks and driveways and all the stucco crack's were excluded or limited by the HO-3 and the Ded was 5 % of the limit.

I would advise you to wait 50 more years for the next quake to strike, or get a degree in soil movement and foundation problems in various parts of the US if you really want to be competant. But if it will be like the last two that I know about you will  be on about $500.00 day rate and all the ice water you can drink; therefore, wait and let your first day on site be paid for by your employer.

Kevin,

The California Earthquake Certification is offered through Vale National.  They have locations in Fresno, CA, Arlington, TX, and Harrisburg, PA.  The certification allows you to work on claims made on policies issued by the California Earthquake Authority, and is valid for three years.  These policies are written by most of the major HO market players in California.  I believe both the California Earthquake Authority and Vale National have websites you can visit in order to find out more.  Vale requires that you be sponsored in order to attend.  If you are associated with a CAT vendor, I would recommend that you contact them and tell them you want to take the earthquake certification course.  If they say, "Huh, what's that?", contact David Morse Associates, Worley, Crawford, Pilot or some other vendor who has an interest in earthquake CATs and see if they will sponsor you to attend the training. 

In terms of self training, you would do well to learn all you can about concrete construction.  Earthquake CATs present some unique challenges, as Ray Hall pointed out.  One of the challenges that may well drive a catadjuster crazy is that the files are not quick closers, once and done.  An earthquake is not really a single event.  The aftershocks can be nearly as devastating as the original event.  This may mean the file keeps reopening and you keep returning to the same loss to write supplemental damage.  It also means you are at ground zero when the ground decides to shake once more.  That can be unnerving for the adjuster as well as the insured. 

After the Northridge Earthquake, the State of California decided that all aftershocks within 6 months constituted part of the same earthquake.  This was easier than trying to determine which aftershock caused what damage, but meant the price tag kept going up.  Most, if not all, independents were on a day rate and many were here for more than 1.5 years. 

It can be a very lucrative type of CAT, but is not really for those who don't know what they are doing or those who want to get back to Texas after a month.  The legal climate of California will present challenges that one may not encounter in the heartland.  When I went independent in 1998, they were still reinspecting many of the earthquake losses from 1994 in an attempt to finish them up. 

Wait until next year when the adjusting firms have their seminars and conventions. I took the course with Pacesetters in Austin this past May. The nice thing was that I got my CE's and my recertification for NFIP, which you need every year.A rep fom state of Califronia came out and gave us a one day class. The policy is worse than a fire policy as far as coverage is concerned. Also, if the losses are more than the state's reserves the state has the right to pay a prorated amount . Replacment is acv. Broken stain glass window is replaced by plane single pane aluminum window. You have to have structural damage that exceeds your deductible before contents are included in your loss. No structure no coverage for contents. Ouch!!!!!!
Good luck
JJG