Lava Insurance

[leilanidude]

At the risk of offending Miss Know It All...
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You did and she couldn't even last an hour!

[HiloJulie]

At the risk of offending Miss Know It All...
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You did and she couldn't even last an hour!

Dude, stop being so polite!

[leilanidude]

As to your original question, I grilled our insurance agent (Liberty Mutual) about lava insurance. He said that since lava causes your house to burn down, it's covered with a standard home insurance policy under fire.

Now, whether that would actually be the case, as I have a very dim view of insurance, I couldn't tell you. 

There are probably people on this forum who have lost their homes to fire caused by lava who could better answer the question.

While that is true, some of the folks who lost houses in Leilani had to prove that the house burned by fire and not simply being destroyed by lava. They had videoed their own home bursting into flames just before the lava actually ran over it.

I did not have lava coverage, did not have the house destroyed (it did have damage) and got paid.

[Obie]

I lost everything I owned that was in Hawaii. I had a standard Allstate Homeowners policy but I have had Allstate insurance for 50 years.They paid out under fire insurance with no questions asked. I wasn't here to take pictures.
I'm now living in lava zone 3 and doubt they would insure me in lava zone 1 or 2 again.

[HiloJulie]

Something to watch out for with respect to typical homeowners insurance policies is that some underwriters are playing with the wording of what specifically is or is not covered in basic or other add on policies using "moving earth" as excuse of denial.

The moving earth term is typically a standard, broad provision in property insurance policies that denies coverage for damages caused by natural or man-made earth movements, including earthquakes, landslides, sinkholes, and soil settling. It applies to shifting, rising, or contracting ground, and often excludes the foundation as well. There are some moving earth provisions that WILL cover any resulting fire cause by such moving earth perils, but more and more are moving to EXCLUDE fire coverage in those instances. And of course one can buy earthquake insurance if one feels compelled to do so, however, some underwriters are now trying to include lava flow as a moving earth peril, which as such, if it does not specifically include a resulting fire loss provision, it could leave you open to exposure, even if the lava flow only causes a fire.

If you are trying to insure a home in Zone 1 or 2, the best expense you might consider incurring is a good insurance lawyer to guide you through the ever changing ways an insurance company can say NO to your claim.

[BlackAkita]

While that is true, some of the folks who lost houses in Leilani had to prove that the house burned by fire and not simply being destroyed by lava. They had videoed their own home bursting into flames just before the lava actually ran over it.

I did not have lava coverage, did not have the house destroyed (it did have damage) and got paid.

Did you have Allstate as your insurance company, and do they still insure for fire from molten lava or embers, but not for lava encasing your property?

On another subject, how is everyone dealing with changes in HI insurance caused by the Maui wildfires? I have a State Farm policy in E. Honolulu, and my agent is warning me about rate hikes as well as cancellation. He stated that they will no longer insure for Actual Cash Value (ACV). Instead the policies will be for Actual Replacement Cost. That is frightening since they may demand that the roof of your home has to meet current building codes. The cost of a new tile roof can exceed $150,000!

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/01/15...wildfires/

[leilanidude]

I originally had Lloyd's of London and did not have Lava or hurricane coverage. I had limited damage mainly from the gasses - corroded roof and crazy electrical issues. Lloyd's hired an unlicensed in Hawaii, adjusting company out of Little Rock for the many LZ1 claims (Lloyd's was the main insurer for folks in Leilani) who proceeded to deny my claim for almost two years, claiming that I was requesting due to "lava flow" which they didn't cover. I am sure that the adjuster assigned to my case didn't know Hawaii was even a state and had no idea what lava was other than Hollywood movies. Eventually they paid out $200k, then someone else filed a class action lawsuit against them because it turns out that Lloyd's had never actually been licensed to sell homeowner policies in Hawaii. They lost that rather quickly and had to refund every bit of premium that all Hawaii folks had paid in over the years.