Earthquake Insurance for Foreign Property Owners (2026): DASK, CEA, Japan & New Zealand Compared

Published on: June 15, 2026

Quick answer: Earthquake cover is a different product from flood cover, separate perils, separate pools, separate geography. Turkey's DASK is compulsory and required for title-deed transfers, but covers only the structure up to a capped amount. California's CEA is opt-in and excluded from standard policies, with a high 5–25% deductible. Japan's quake cover is a rider you can only add to a fire policy. Italy has high seismic risk but no homeowner mandate. New Zealand's NHC Toka Tū Ake is automatic via a levy, up to a cap. Every system leaves a known gap, find yours and fill it privately.

Flooding and earthquakes get lumped together as "catastrophe risk," but for an insurance buyer they could not be more different. They are separate perils, sold through separate products, governed by separate rules, and concentrated in separate geographies. If you are buying in a seismic zone, Istanbul, California, Tokyo, central Italy, New Zealand, the flood playbook does not help you. You need to understand the earthquake system specifically.

And the systems diverge wildly. In one country, quake cover is compulsory and you cannot complete a purchase without it. In another, it is excluded from standard insurance and most owners never buy it. Here is how earthquake insurance actually works across the major seismic markets in 2026, and what each one means for a foreign owner.

Turkey, DASK: compulsory, cheap, and not enough on its own

If you are buying in Turkey, earthquake insurance is not optional. DASK (Zorunlu Deprem Sigortası, compulsory earthquake insurance) is a state-backed scheme that is legally required for residential dwellings within municipal boundaries, and a valid DASK policy is needed for title-deed (tapu) transfers and to set up utilities. Only the state institution (Doğal Afet Sigortaları Kurumu) writes the compulsory cover, so the price is fixed by tariff, not by the insurer, premiums depend on the building type (reinforced concrete vs other), the seismic risk zone, and the floor area.

The catch is in the limits. DASK covers only the building's structure, not contents and not indirect losses, and only up to an annually capped amount. That cap crossed 2 million TL in January 2026 (from around 1.7 million TL previously) and, new for 2026, is now adjusted monthly to track construction-cost inflation, reaching roughly 2.3 million TL by mid-year. There is also a 2% deductible (tenzili muafiyet) on every claim. For many modern homes, the capped structural figure is below the real rebuild cost, so the standard advice is to pair DASK with a private home policy (konut sigortası) that adds earthquake cover for contents and for the value above the DASK ceiling. Treat DASK as the mandatory floor, not the whole solution.

United States (California), the CEA: excluded by default, opt-in by design

California flips Turkey's logic. Earthquake cover is excluded from standard homeowners' insurance, and the state does not require you to carry it. The main route is the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), a publicly managed, privately funded, not-for-profit provider that underwrites most residential quake policies in the state and that you attach to your existing homeowners' policy.

Because earthquakes are high-severity, low-frequency events, CEA cover comes with high deductibles, typically in the 5–25% range of the insured value, which means you carry a substantial first slice of any loss yourself. The result is a large protection gap: a majority of California homeowners go without quake cover at all and would face the loss personally. For a foreign buyer, the takeaways are that you must actively choose earthquake cover, that the deductible structure makes it economical mainly against catastrophic (not cosmetic) damage, and that "I have homeowners' insurance" does not mean you are covered for a quake.

Japan, a rider you cannot buy alone

Japan is one of the most earthquake-exposed property markets on earth, and its system reflects that with a tightly designed government-backed scheme. The key structural rule: earthquake insurance (jishin hoken) cannot be purchased on its own. It is sold only as an add-on to a fire insurance policy, and the catastrophe risk is shared with the government through a national reinsurance scheme.

The cover is deliberately partial. Earthquake cover is generally capped at 30–50% of the sum insured under the fire policy, and payouts are tiered by damage severity (total, major, minor, or partial loss) rather than reimbursing the full repair bill. Premiums vary by prefecture and building structure. So a foreign owner in Japan should expect quake cover to cushion a catastrophic loss rather than fully indemnify it, and should set up the fire policy first since the earthquake rider depends on it.

Italy, high seismic risk, no homeowner mandate

Large parts of Italy sit in active seismic zones, yet, unlike Turkey, there is no compulsory earthquake insurance for private homeowners. Italy's recent mandatory catastrophe regime applies to businesses, not individuals (we cover that in detail in our flood and natural-catastrophe guide). For an individual foreign owner, that means earthquake cover is a private rider you must buy yourself, typically added to a home (polizza casa) policy.

Historically Italy encouraged seismic retrofitting through the Sismabonus tax incentive; that support has been folded into the country's reduced 2026 renovation deductions, so the fiscal carrot is smaller than it once was. The practical position for a foreign buyer of an Italian home in a seismic area is straightforward: you are not automatically covered, and you should price an earthquake rider deliberately, or check whether a company-held structure now falls under the business mandate.

New Zealand, NHC Toka Tū Ake: automatic, capped, topped up privately

New Zealand runs the most automatic system of the group, and it has a new name. As of 1 July 2024, the Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023 replaced the old Earthquake Commission Act, and the body formerly known as the EQC is now the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC Toka Tū Ake).

The cover is built into your ordinary insurance: if your home policy includes fire cover (almost all do), you pay the Natural Hazards Insurance levy as part of your premium and automatically get NHCover for earthquakes, tsunami, landslides, volcanic, and geothermal damage, plus defined land cover for storm and flood. There is a building cap, raised to NZ$300,000 plus GST (from $150,000) in October 2022, and any loss above that cap is met by your private insurer. For a foreign owner, the structure is reassuring: hold a normal NZ home policy with fire cover and the first layer of quake protection is automatic, but make sure your private top-up cover reflects the full rebuild value above the cap.

Earthquake systems compared (2026)

The takeaway for seismic-zone buyers

Two questions decide everything. First, is it automatic or active? Turkey (mandatory) and New Zealand (levy-bundled) carry you in by default; California, Japan, and Italy require you to buy cover deliberately. Second, what's the gap? Every one of these systems leaves something uncovered, Turkey's modest cap, California's huge deductible, Japan's percentage cap, New Zealand's over-cap layer. Earthquake insurance is rarely full indemnity; it is a structured backstop with a known shortfall. Identify your shortfall before the ground moves, and fill it with private cover where it matters.

Frequently asked questions

Is earthquake insurance mandatory in Turkey?
Yes, DASK is compulsory for residential dwellings and required for title-deed and utility transactions. It covers the structure only, up to a cap that crossed 2 million TL in January 2026 and is now adjusted monthly.

Does standard homeowners' insurance cover earthquakes in California?
No. It's excluded; you buy it separately, usually via the CEA, typically with a 5–25% deductible.

How does earthquake insurance work in Japan?
It's an add-on to fire insurance (not standalone), government-reinsured, capped at 30–50% of the fire sum insured, with payouts tiered by damage severity.

Is DASK enough on its own?
Usually not, it covers only the structure up to a capped amount and excludes contents and indirect losses, so owners add a private home policy with earthquake cover.

Floods run on a different system

Earthquakes are one peril; floods and storms run on entirely different pools. Read the companion guide, Flood & Natural-Catastrophe Insurance for Foreign Owners. JanusHermes maps risk and ownership realities across 50+ markets, including Turkey, explore listings and country intelligence on JanusHermes.

This guide is general information, not insurance advice. Caps, deductibles, and tariffs change, DASK figures in particular are now adjusted monthly. Confirm current cover with a licensed local broker before you rely on it.

A note on the numbers: where no source is named, the market figures in this article (prices, yields, costs) are indicative estimates compiled from publicly available market data and industry reporting at the time of writing. Markets move and rules change, so treat them as a starting point and verify current figures with official sources before acting on them.