NU Online News Service, Jan. 11, 1:07 p.m.EST

An earthquake off the coast of northern California is notexpected to produce significant numbers of insurance claims,according to a catastrophe modeler.

The U.S. Geological Survey said a 6.5 magnitude quake struckSaturday off the northern coast of California 27 miles west ofFerndale, Calif.

Boston-based AIR Worldwide modeling firm said "the fact that thequake occurred along a relatively sparsely populated stretch ofCalifornia will limit insured losses from this event." The firmnoted that "earthquake insurance penetration, particularly forresidential properties, remains low in California."

AIR mentioned that residential construction in the affected areais mainly wood frame homes. The company said there was one reportof a wood frame house in Eureka getting knocked off its foundation,but otherwise the majority of the damage appears to be limited to"non-structural elements and contents."

Official estimates put the total damage at more than $12million, but no serious injuries or structural damages werereported.

The quake was strongest between Petrolia and Eureka, Calif., andwas felt as far east as Reno, Nev., and as far north as Eugene,Ore., the USGS said. The maximum recorded shaking was in Eureka,which was sufficient to cause moderate damage, the servicesaid.

This is the largest quake to occur in this region since the 7.2quakes in 1992 and 2005, USGS said.

Insurance brokerage Guy Carpenter in its Catastrophe Informationreport said around 117,000 people were affected by the quakethroughout the region.