Officials in the state have been urging residents to consider the “hard to insure” program for their homes.
The head of the homeowners insurance department in Oklahoma has released a statement that is currently urging residents to consider taking part in the “hard to insure” program to obtain coverage for their homes.
This recommendation comes on the heels of over $1 billion in claims payments from May’s severe tornado damage.
John Doak, the commissioner for Oklahoma, issued a statement at the end of the week that reminded residents of the state of the availability of the Oklahoma Market Assistance Program. This is designed to help people in the state to find homeowners insurance for properties that are difficult to cover.
This can help to make sure that homeowners insurance is providing coverage should disaster strike.
According to Doak, in his statement, there are many different reasons that can make home insurance difficult to find for a property. He pointed out that “It could be the location of your home, the number of claims you’ve submitted or even the presence of a wood-burning stove in the home. Mobile homes can also be difficult to insure. That was a big problem we saw after last year’s wildfires. Bottom line, if the traditional insurance market won’t cover you, OK-MAP may be able to help.”
Anyone in Oklahoma who has previously been declined homeowners insurance coverage by two insurers are eligible to apply to this program in order to receive assistance. Once an application has been filed, it is assigned to a home insurance company at random. A single application could be sent to a maximum of three different carriers.
If none of the carriers accept the risk of providing homeowners insurance coverage, the application is then sent to the OK-MAP Executive Committee for review. Should none of the committee’s carriers accept the application, it may be assigned to an insurer or it may be deemed uninsurable as a result of its risk.
By last week, the department announced that the business, auto, and homeowners insurance claims payouts in Oklahoma had reached beyond the $1 billion mark due to the May tornadoes.