Borough
Municipality of Anchorage
Region
Southcentral
Neighborhoods & areas
Downtown, South Addition, Midtown, Spenard, Turnagain, Sand Lake, Hillside, Muldoon, Mountain View, Government Hill, Huffman, Rabbit Creek
Housing mix
1960s–80s ranch and split-level homes, condos and townhomes, fourplexes and larger Hillside homes on view lots
Notable events
- 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
- November 30, 2018 magnitude 7.1 earthquake
- January 2025 windstorm
Local claim risks
- Earthquake (with endorsement)
- Downslope windstorms
- Snow load & ice dams
- Frozen pipes
- Water losses
The Anchorage claim landscape
About two of every five Alaskans live in the Municipality of Anchorage, a consolidated city and borough that stretches from Girdwood to Eklutna. That concentration means Anchorage produces more property claims than anywhere else in the state, and a wide range of them.
Earthquakes define Anchorage's history. The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake, magnitude 9.2, triggered the Turnagain Heights landslide and destroyed blocks of downtown along Fourth Avenue. On November 30, 2018, a magnitude 7.1 quake centered just north of the city cracked foundations and drywall across the bowl, buckled roads and damaged thousands of homes. Owners who carried earthquake coverage then faced a new problem: high percentage deductibles and disagreements about which cracks the quake caused.
Wind on the Hillside, snow everywhere
Easterly downslope winds off the Chugach Mountains hit the Hillside, Huffman, Rabbit Creek and the east side hardest, lifting shingles, peeling metal roofing and dropping birch and spruce onto houses. The January 2025 windstorm brought gusts near 100 mph to parts of the area. Heavy-snow winters bring the other half of the Anchorage roof story: ice dams on older split-levels with poor attic ventilation, and collapsed carports, sheds and low-slope commercial roofs.
Housing and common disputes
Much of the city was built between the 1960s and 1980s. Split-levels and bi-levels in Sand Lake, Abbott Loop and Muldoon, condos and townhomes throughout Midtown, and fourplexes in Fairview and Mountain View all have their own claim patterns. We frequently see:
- Water losses where baseboard heat, insulation and subfloor were left out of the scope
- Earthquake drywall claims paid room by room rather than for continuous wall and ceiling planes
- Wind claims limited to individual shingles on roofs too brittle to spot-repair
- Condo losses where the HOA master policy and HO-6 overlap
Where we work in Anchorage
Downtown, South Addition, Government Hill, Midtown, Spenard, Turnagain, Sand Lake, Bayshore, the Hillside, Huffman, Rabbit Creek, Muldoon, Mountain View, Girdwood and everything between. Eagle River and Chugiak have their own page.
Services available in Anchorage
Every Alaska Insurance Appraiser service is available to property owners in Anchorage and nearby, including:
- Appraisal Panel Representation
- Homeowner Claim Appraisal
- Commercial, HOA & Condo Appraisal
- Roof, Hail & Ice Damage Appraisal
- Windstorm Damage Appraisal
- Snow Load & Ice Dam Claims
- Frozen Pipe & Water Damage Appraisal
- Fire, Smoke & Wildfire Appraisal
Questions from Anchorage property owners
Did my homeowner policy cover the 2018 earthquake?
Only if you had earthquake coverage, which is usually added by endorsement or a separate policy. Without it, earthquake damage is typically excluded.
Is the Hillside windstorm risk reflected in my policy?
Most Anchorage homeowner policies cover wind under the regular deductible, but some carry separate wind or percentage deductibles. Your declarations page will show it.