Oklahoma lawmakers investigate high homeowners’ insurance costs

Oklahoma lawmakers have initiated an interim study to understand why the state’s homeowner’s insurance rates are among the highest in the nation.

Updated: 10:06 PM CDT Oct 2, 2025

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Oklahoma lawmakers have launched an interim study to investigate why homeowners’ insurance rates in the state are among the highest in the nation, despite similar severe weather conditions in neighboring states. >> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channelState Rep. Andy Fugate, along with Rep. Preston Stinson and Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt, are leading the effort to understand why insurance rates continue to rise.”Folks that are trying to sell the product, frankly, are struggling to sell a product that has become increasingly too expensive for average Oklahomans to purchase,” Fugate said.Fugate spoke of the need to reduce the overall cost of homeownership, not just insurance rates, expressing concern for seniors on fixed incomes. He shared the story of one constituent who is facing tough decisions.”She’s making a decision in her own life — can I afford to stay in my own home? And that’s not where we need to be,” Fugate said.During the first part of the study, Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready addressed lawmakers’ questions, explaining that Oklahoma law currently lacks a mechanism for reviewing insurance rates to ensure they are appropriate.He said that companies cannot set their rates too low, as it could risk their financial stability. “It could put them at risk of going under, and those customers get a nice low premium, and then the company is out of business when they go to file a claim. That’s the last thing we want to have happen,” Mulready said.Fugate said he was concerned about the lack of oversight.”If insurance companies all look around and say, ‘We can go to Oklahoma and make tons of money because there’s no oversight.’ That’s not competitive, that’s abusive. And I don’t think any of us, including the commissioner, wants to be in that position,” he said.A study by Lending Tree this year revealed that Oklahomans pay the highest average homeowners insurance prices in the country, although many other states experienced larger rate increases in 2024. Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.”There’s 36 states ahead of us that had higher rate increases in 2024,” Mulready said.The average home insurance cost in Oklahoma is over $6,000 a year, according to the Lending Tree report.Top HeadlinesTeen girl who seemed to have vanished from OKC found alive after human trafficking bust in Georgia‘A new day in Oklahoma’: Gov. Kevin Stitt appoints Lindel Fields as new state superintendentHere’s what stays open, what closes during a government shutdownSuspect accused of impersonating officer shot dead by law enforcement near Yukon‘Did you guys see that?’: Possible shooting star caught on camera during KOCO 5’s morning forecast