The organization noted that its founding follows a Catastrophe Summit held outside San Francisco by California, New York, Illinois and Florida insurance regulators, who have proposed a three-layered federal catastrophe fund for homeowners insurance involving insurers, state catastrophe funds and a federal backstop.

"Our financial recovery mechanisms, which rely primarily on the private insurance market, federal assistance in the form of low-interest loans and a small handful of state catastrophe funds, need to be re-tooled so that they are capable of meeting the immeasurable costs of a true catastrophe," Admiral Loy said.

Mr. Witt and Admiral Loy were in San Francisco and Los Angeles, two California cities prone to disastrous earthquake, to make the announcement.

"ProtectingCalifornia.org and its national counterpart ProtectingAmerica.org will be working to help improve preparedness, mitigate potential damage and forge solutions that will help save lives and make sure that adequate financial resources are available to better recover from the destruction of earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural catastrophes," Mr. Witt said.

According to the group, experts have warned that a large earthquake on the Puente Hills fault under Los Angeles could kill 18,000 people and cause $250 billion in property damage, which would be significantly larger than the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

Additionally, they noted estimates that if the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake occurred today, it would cause economic damages of $400 billion.

Specifically, the groups said they would like to better prepare for a catastrophic incident by raising awareness of the risk involved, establishing a financial backstop with special "catastrophe funds" at the state and federal level, increasing consumer education, reviewing prior catastrophe relief efforts, and mitigating the risk through stronger building codes.