# Do/Can Hawaiians buy volcano insurance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-can-hawaiians-buy-volcano-insurance/813747 "2018-05-07T12:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-can-hawaiians-buy-volcano-insurance/813747/21 "2018-05-08T05:53:41Z")
> [@Delicious](#): > > Does anyone privately own the volcano area and, if so, do they have any liability for their land spewing lava on everyone? I suppose the federal government owns the volcano since it sits in a national park, [Hawaii Volcanoes National Park](https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm). > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Despite the many advantages of owning an active volcano, they are usually outweighed by the headaches associated with identifying and employing willing sacrificial virgins to keep the periodic eruptions under control. Even the most diligent owners are sometimes duped by suicidal nonvirgins, resulting in suboptimal magmatic effluence episodes. Given privacy laws, there is no good case laws defining due diligence in these scenarios, and it is unclear if the tort is thus feased by the owner or the (now deceased) “virgin”. As a result of the legal complexities, local judiciaries defer to the “act of God(dess)” defenses, leaving property owners without recourse. This is the root cause of the problem today. They can’t find any virgins in Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-can-hawaiians-buy-volcano-insurance/813747/22 "2018-05-08T14:41:27Z")
Actually, since January 1st, it’s legal to own a [volcano](https://www.storz-bickel.com/us/en/volcano/) in California. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-can-hawaiians-buy-volcano-insurance/813747/23 "2018-05-08T15:59:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I doubt anyone anywhere could get a policy covering an act of God. All the time. Earthquake, flood, storm insurance is relatively common. All “act of god” means is that is wasnt done by the hand of man. > **[Act of God](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_God)** > > In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God or damnum fatale ("loss arising from inevitable accident") is a natural hazard outside human control, such as an earthquake or tsunami, which frees someone from the liability of what happens as a result. An act of God may amount to an exception to liability in contracts (as under the Hague–Visby Rules), or it may be an "insured peril" in an insurance policy. In Scots law, the equivalent term is damnum fatale, while most Co It is legall... "_In legal usage throughout the English-speaking world, an act of God[1] is a natural hazard outside human control, such as an earthquake or tsunami, for which no person can be held responsible. "_ ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-can-hawaiians-buy-volcano-insurance/813747/24 "2018-05-08T17:54:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > All the time. Earthquake, flood, storm insurance is relatively common. All “act of god” means is that is wasnt done by the hand of man. > [Act of God - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_God) > > "_In legal usage throughout the English-speaking world, an act of God[1] is a natural hazard outside human control, such as an earthquake or tsunami, for which no person can be held responsible. "_ Correct, I have flood insurance and it’s not terribly expensive, more of a nuisance fee that get tacked onto my mortgage payment. If the creek rises due to a rain pass flood stage I’m covered. I did have a flood the other year that was caused by the city shutting off a drain improperly and flood insurance and homeowners didn’t cover it, sued the city and was rewarded damages. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-can-hawaiians-buy-volcano-insurance/813747/25 "2018-05-17T16:18:24Z")
[\*\*Worried Hawaii homeowners want to know: Am I covered if a volcano burns down my house? \*\*](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/05/15/hawaii-volcano-homeowners-insurance-cover-leilani-estates/610520002/) USA Today 5/17 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-can-hawaiians-buy-volcano-insurance/813747.md?page=1)