Southland

Seismic Update: The market for earthquake insurance in California, still unsettled more than two years after the Northridge temblor, will be the subject of a hearing Tuesday in Sacramento by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush, who will testify at the 1:30 p.m. session at the Capitol, will update lawmakers on the progress of his proposed California Earthquake Authority. The Legislature last year gave Quackenbush the go-ahead to try to develop the quasi-public agency, which would be partly capitalized by contributions from insurance companies and partly by state-backed bonds. By offering stripped-down earthquake policies, the authority would relieve insurers of the burden of having to sell the risky coverage themselves.