Oklahoma lawmakers will examine why homeowners insurance costs keep rising across the state, where premiums rank among the highest in the US.
State Reps. Stacy Jo Adams, a Duncan Republican, and Chris Sneed, a Fort Gibson Republican, will lead an interim study on the factors pushing up homeowners insurance costs.
The review will draw input from insurance professionals, contractors, builders, real estate professionals, adjusters, consumer advocates and homeowners.
The study will focus on why Oklahoma repeatedly appears near the top of state rankings for homeowners insurance premiums.
Lawmakers expect to review property values, construction materials, labor expenses, severe weather losses, claim costs, litigation expenses, reinsurance, building codes, fraud and regulatory requirements.
State Reps. Stacy Jo Adams
Adams works as an insurance agent as well as a state representative. She said the issue reaches her in both roles, through customers and constituents who question repeated premium increases.
She said she hears frustration across the desk and across her district when homeowners open renewal notices and see another increase. Many residents, she said, want to know why protection for homes they worked hard to build has become so expensive. Adams said she wants answers too.
Lawmakers will look beyond the most common explanations, including higher property values, more expensive construction and severe weather. The goal is to see which other cost drivers have pushed Oklahoma premiums higher.
Adams said the study will start without a predetermined conclusion. Some factors sit outside Oklahoma’s control. Others might offer room for reform. She said lawmakers plan to follow the data, separate fact from assumption and identify workable steps for Oklahoma families.
The interim study period began Monday, Aug. 3, and ends Friday, Oct. 30. Interim studies give lawmakers time to review policy issues in more detail outside the regular legislative session.
