What does Oklahoma law say about wind and hail insurance?
Wind and hail insurance isn’t required by law in most parts of the United States, including Oklahoma. But if you are working with a mortgage lender to buy a house, they will likely require that you have active coverage at all times to protect their interest in your home.
Does wind and hail insurance always require a deductible?
Wind and hail insurance policies often require their own deductible, and this coverage is called out as a separate piece of homeowners insurance. The deductibles for these policies are generally higher than those for the base homeowners policy, as wind and hail perils are the most common reason for claims on home insurance policies in the United States.
Are deductible regulations different in Oklahoma?
Until a new state law was written in 2023, it was legal for roofing vendors to pay for an Oklahoma homeowner’s deductible as an incentive to win a job. The addition of this law means that practice is now illegal, and that contractors are required to inform potential customers that they are responsible for paying the deductible out-of-pocket. Otherwise, deductibles work the same way in Oklahoma as they do in other states.
How does Oklahoma’s weather affect insurance prices?
Oklahoma’s position in the historical ‘Tornado Alley’ and the expanded ‘Hail Alley’ means that the state receives a steady stream of storm activity during much of the year. The increased risk to structures from tornadoes, wind storms, hail storms, and other threats means higher insurance costs for Oklahomans. Insurance companies have raised insurance costs across the Midwestern and Southern states that see higher risk in recent years.
What are the most common home insurance claims in Oklahoma?
In Oklahoma the most common causes of claims on homeowners insurance policies are wind and hail damage. Causing up to 40% of the home insurance claims made annually in Oklahoma, damage from high winds and the hail that comes with some thunderstorms are frequent threats to homeowners. These weather perils are good reasons to pay extra attention to weather forecasts and the details of the insurance policy that covers your home.
Wind insurance vs. homeowners insurance
In some higher-risk areas, homeowners policies exclude wind and hail damage. In these cases, the homeowner is responsible for purchasing additional coverage for wind and hail to provide complete coverage for their home. A common recommendation is to buy wind insurance sufficient to cover the replacement cost of your home.
Does wind/hail insurance have a deductible?
Wind and hail coverage provided by a homeowners policy will always require a deductible be paid after a claim is made. After the customer pays the ‘first-dollar’ costs of the deductible, the insurance carrier will release the funds they owe to cover the remaining work.
Wind and hail deductibles are sometimes ‘flat-rate’ amounts, but are more frequently a ‘percentage deductible’ that is calculated based on a percentage of the value of the insured structure.
If your home wind and hail coverage included a percentage deductible set at 3% and the value of your home was $300,000, you could owe $9,000 out-of-pocket before the insurance company paid a dollar.
How can I lower the premium on wind/hail insurance?
Some states offer accommodations that can help homeowners find solutions for high wind and hail insurance costs. Homebuilding and maintenance incentive plans such as the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Initiative provide opportunities for lower premiums and deductibles based on the use of superior construction materials and techniques.
This type of efficient building practices have been shown to reduce the number of homeowners claims made for roof-related damage, and can help to lower insurance prices across the market in the states where they are offered.
Oklahoma also offers assistance in the form of rebates for costs associated with building ‘safe rooms’ in a home for use as shelter during extreme weather events. The SoonerSafe program issues these rebates annually and in accordance with a specific set of guidelines. You may not build the safe room yourself and be eligible for this program.
What are my other options for wind coverage in Oklahoma?
A wind and hail policy from Sola Insurance provides a more versatile way for homeowners to get help covering the rising costs of wind and hail deductibles and roof depreciation. With a policy from Sola, the homeowner can purchase coverage that fits their windstorm insurance costs down to the dollar, eliminating the stress of a large out-of-pocket payment coming due immediately after a damage claim is made on their home policy.
What are the benefits of Sola Wind/Hail?
A Sola policy can help Oklahoma homeowners cover several types of expenses that occur following a weather event such as a tornado or a severe hailstorm. By matching the cost of the policyholder’s home insurance deductible, Sola coverage can provide an exact match for the out-of-pocket portion of the home repair bill.
In other circumstances, a Sola payout could be used to cover the ‘gap’ in coverage that may occur when a home’s roof is no longer included as Replacement Cost Value (RCV), but is changed to Actual Cash Value (ACV). This shift usually occurs around seven years after the purchase of a new home insurance policy.
When only ACV coverage is offered, the amount that the insurance provider is willing to pay will be the depreciated value of the roof based on lifespan and wear factors. That leaves the majority of the cost of a roof replacement in the hands of the homeowner. When an approved claim is made on a Sola policy, the payout is issued quickly, usually in under five business days. The Sola member could use that payout to cover a full roof replacement, even for a heavily depreciated or underinsured home.
One other example of savvy Sola use is a situation where a homeowner is facing rising premium costs on their primary policy. By accepting an increased homeowners policy deductible, they can be allowed a lower monthly premium. The homeowner accepts an increased amount of risk, but a lower cost. If they have no cause to file a claim, it’s a win. If they should find a need for a claim on the homeowners policy, the deductible will still be due, but the Sola policy’s payout can be used to cover it completely, with no additional deductible cost.
You do need to keep your home insured against wind and hail damage in Oklahoma. Sola Insurance provides a smart option that can reduce the stress surrounding wind insurance coverage and the real-world costs that follow.
Sources:
“Premium discount or rate reduction for resistance to tornado or other wind events” Justia U.S. Law, Nov. 01, 2017, https://law.justia.com/codes/oklahoma/title-36/section-36-962/
Land, Kirsten. “Changes to Insurance Deductible Rules” Land Enterprises Blog, May 20, 2025, https://landroofingokc.com/2025/05/changes-insurance-deductible-rules/
“What is the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Program?” Oklahoma Insurance Department, https://www.oid.ok.gov/okready/
Gray is the Senior Content Specialist at Sola Insurance, working with the Sales and Marketing teams to provide helpful, valuable content for homeowners and agents. Gray has worked previously in finance, logistics, and advertising.
