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Silicon Valley businessman, Brad Bratten, was looking for a simple protection
plan for his home and his family in the event of a sizeable earthquake.
Mr. Bratten's parents had recently lost their home of 35 years to fire,
so he understood first-hand what it meant to lose everything: things that
hold monetary value and can be replaced; and those that hold sentimental
value, but often times cannot be replaced.
Determined to find a way to protect his home and his young family of
5, Mr. Bratten spent countless hours researching insurance plan coverages.
Soon, he came to understand the loophole: most homeowners plans didn't
cover fire damage resulting from earthquakes. This is what earthquake
insurance was for. But the sky high premiums prevent most Californians
from investing in this type of protection.
Forget about the insurance coverage loophole. What about the people he
cared about? What if he was out of town on a business trip when an earthquake
struck? Would his wife know how to turn off the gas? Most likely, not.
And she would be more concerned with getting her 3 children and 2 dogs
to safety. There must be another answer.
Mr. Bratten's brother was in Northridge for the 1994 earthquake and could
attest to the chaos following the quake as well as the extensive fire
damage to the city. Mr. Bratten soon learned that since that Northridge
quake, Los Angeles county has been mandating the installation of natural
gas shutoff valves. A foolproof solution? No. An affordable step in the
prevention of personal loss? Yes.
Thanks to help from a friend, Jason Drotar, who also had the same concerns
as a father and property owner, Earthquake IQ was born. Since then, Mr.
Bratten and Mr. Drotar have been educating friends, neighbors, coworkers,
and community leaders about the importance of PREVENTION when it comes
to fire damage from an earthquake.
What is Your Earthquake IQ?
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Recent News
Automatic gas shutoff valve could help in the event of a major quake
Shannon Burkey, Los Gatos Weekly Times
Valve will shut off gas
Campbell Express, October 28, 2009
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