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Skamania County is not a fictional area full of Reel Big Fish fans, but is in fact a beautiful and quiet part of Washington State with a population of 12,083. And unless you are from the American northwest, you would be forgiven for not knowing much about Skamania. But no matter where you’re from, you have almost certainly heard of the county’s most famous peak: Mount St. Helens.
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens concluded nearly two months of rumbling with one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the history of the United States. The eruption of Mount St. Helens caused nearly $3.5 billion dollars in damage (in today’s dollars), killed over 50 people, and generated the largest landslide in recorded history.
While the damage from the eruption came in many forms, one of the most overwhelming and persistent was ash fall. Nearly 540 million tons of ash fell over 22,000 square miles after the May 18 eruption, damaging crops, blocking roads, and closing businesses and schools.
Standard business insurance, auto insurance, and homeowners insurance each typically cover some — but crucially not all — aspects of damage from a volcanic eruption. For example, damage from airborne shockwaves, dust, ash, and displacement, along with business interruption, would all have likely been covered for those impacted by the St. Helens eruption. Mudflows and floods would have likely been covered by flood policies underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program.
On the other hand, damage from land or seismic tremors and earthquakes would not be covered. The removal of ash is also not typically covered. However, in the case of the Mount St. Helens eruption, most insurers actually offered, and paid, an hourly rate to policyholders to clean up the massive ash fall. (Did the insurance industry spawn the beginnings of gig work? That’s a topic for another day.)
The federal government also approved $951 million in additional aid.
The tourism industry and local ecology in beautiful Skamania County have almost completely recovered since May 18, 1980. However, there are still some interesting considerations. Most notably, insurance claims and damages are now highly time-bound, and while claims for immediate structural and ash damage, or medical and emotional harm, were often covered, the damage that may have surfaced in later decades was not.
While it’s not possible to predict the next large volcanic eruption (and we just saw the largest volcanic activity in 30 years in Tonga) or the fallout that might accompany such an event — it is possible to review your insurance policy to see what coverage you have in place in the event of a natural disaster like a hurricane, flooding, or an earthquake. You might also want to consider whether catastrophe insurance would make sense for you.
And, of course, you can also take steps to prepare yourself for whatever comes your way by setting up your free Marble account. You’ll be able to organize your insurance so all your policy details are always at your fingertips, shop for new rates when the time comes, and earn rewards for insurance.
