Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond joins State Farm lawsuit

In a long-running court fight over whether State Farm unfairly rejected storm damage claims, Attorney General Gentner Drummond has joined homeowners in Oklahoma suing the insurance giant.

By intervening in the lawsuit, Drummond would give homeowners a powerful ally to investigate suspicions that State Farm Fire and Casualty Company formed an illegal enterprise to avoid paying out legitimate insurance claims related to hail damage.

According to court documents filed by homeowners and Drummond’s office in Oklahoma County District Court, State Farm allegedly developed an internal program known as the “Hail Focus Initiative.” This program is accused of limiting who can approve roof replacements, creating a new definition of “hail damage” and instructing adjusters that damage from hail should be attributed to wear and tear, installation error, cosmetic damage or manufacturing defects.

“Such a scheme shocks the conscience,” the attorney general’s office wrote in a Dec. 4 motion to join the case. “Oklahomans are paying rising homeowners insurance premiums yet receiving less protection in return, as State Farm simultaneously pursues additional rate increases while allegedly escalating its claim denials and underpayment practices.”

Judge Amy Palumbo now gets to decide whether Drummond can intervene in the case.

Nearly 200 lawsuits filed against State Farm

The lawsuit filed in April 2025 is the latest of around 200 similar cases filed against State Farm on behalf of homeowners. In each of those cases, the plaintiffs are represented by the Oklahoma City law firm Whitten Burrage. Attorneys for the firm have criticized State Farm’s “good neighbor” image by claiming it makes bad-faith promises.

For example, according to the firm, State Farm uses a “very narrow and limited definition of what constitutes hail damage that is not contained in the insured’s policy.” To back up this claim, they point to an October 2023 storm that caused substantial wind and hail damage to the roof and exterior of Bill and Lacy Hursh’s Tulsa-area home.

When an adjuster arrived five months later to inspect the damage, he “failed to recognize the vast majority of damage to the insured property” and used similar language to deny other claims, the lawsuit claims.

State Farm has denied the allegations. The company has filed a flurry of motions over the past seven months to quash attempts to depose its executives and employees. In a statement to The Oklahoman, State Farm said every insurance claim is unique and handled individually.

“At State Farm we’re committed to giving our customers all the benefits their insurance policies provide. The fact that someone files a lawsuit does not mean the allegations made are true,” the company said.

The Oklahoman also reached out to attorneys and other parties to the case for comment, but no one responded by publication time Friday.

Oklahoma has among the highest homeowners insurance rates

While insurance rates have spiked around the U.S., the cost to insure Oklahoma homes consistently ranks among the highest in reviews by organizations including the U.S. Census Bureau, National Association of Realtors and Nerdwallet.

Recent scientific research shows that some of the rising costs could be explained by a changing climate. A 2025 report by Harvard Business School showed that damaging weather events, which are the major driver of insurance claims, are becoming more frequent.

Drummond, who is also a Republican candidate for Oklahoma governor, isn’t convinced that blame can be laid at the feet of Mother Nature. Instead, he’s begun investigating what he believes is an industry and regulatory problem.

“Inflation and weather do not explain, let alone justify, the widening gap between what Oklahomans pay and what they receive,” the AG’s filing said.

More: How can Oklahoma bring down extreme homeowners insurance rates?

If Drummond is allowed to officially join in the lawsuit, he would pursue allegations that State Farm violated the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, Oklahoma’s anti-racketeering law and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. His petition also includes allegations of a civil conspiracy and that State Farm unjustly enriched itself “at the expense of the Oklahoma economy and the Oklahoma homeowners insurance market.”

“Protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive insurance practices is a core sovereign responsibility, and intervention is necessary to ensure that insurers operating in this state do not engage in unlawful conduct that leaves Oklahomans paying more for coverage they do not truly receive,” Drummond said in a news release.

The attorney general has also criticized the Oklahoma Insurance Department and its elected leadership for the 50.8% increase in home insurance rates since 2019, which outpaces the national average by more than 10 percentage points.

“It appears Oklahoma’s market for homeowners’ insurance is anything but competitive, and in the absence of fair competition, our consumers are paying, and will continue to pay, the price for the state’s lack of enforcement of the laws intended to prevent such harm,” Drummond wrote in correspondence to Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready.

Mulready has been defiant against the allegations, telling a local TV news station that by federal standards, Oklahoma’s homeowner insurance market is “highly competitive.” Nevertheless, he told Drummond that he welcomed the invitation to collaborate and review the insurance market.

In comments made to The Oklahoman, Mulready said his department has been investigating the handling of roof claims for for a couple of years, and it’s expected to be completed in early 2026.

“Market conduct investigations can take some time to complete because we follow rigorous national guidelines to ensure we have fully and thoroughly investigated an insurer’s claim practices,” Mulready said. “I recognized more than a year ago that the importance of these roofing claims and the impact they have on consumers is too important to not take these extra steps to ensure Oklahomans are protected.”

(This story was updated to add new information.)