If you own real estate in Japan, you may with to obtain optional earthquake insurance to provide some coverage against earthquake damage. Earthquake insurance payouts from the 2011 Tohoku disaster totalled 1.3 trillion Yen. Not only were homes lost or damaged from the shaking, but fires and the devastating tsunami caused significant damage.
If you are a property owner, the main type of insurance is fire insurance. However, ordinary fire insurance does not provide coverage against tsunamis or fires caused by an earthquake. For coverage against earthquakes, a property owner must obtain an additional earthquake insurance policy on top of their fire insurance.
Earthquake insurance premiums are generally the same regardless of the insurance company. Fees will vary, however, depending on the type of construction, size of the property, and where the property is located, as some areas have been assigned higher risk levels than others.