Oklahoma insurance commissioner seeks to improve states catastrophe risk protection

Oklahoma insurance commissioner John Doak has requested that research be undertaken into perils that specifically affect Oklahoma including earthquakes, tornadoes, wind storms, ice and freezing rain, according to this article on the NewsOK website. His reasoning is that a study into the catastrophe risks that specifically affect his state could find ways to increase the capacity of the insurance industry to do business in tornado alley.

Interestingly, earthquakes are a primary concern too, as Oklahoma has a number of faults running through it. Earthquake coverage is expensive and difficult to find in the state if it’s not sold as an attachment for a standard policy.

The article mentions catastrophe bonds as a potential angle that will be included in the study, this makes sense from a state level and could provide protection for the many insurance companies registered within the state, as other state insurance organisations do, or simply offer reinsurance protection to the state itself for rebuilding purposes.

Doak suggests that the state Insurance Department could undertake a study alone or in a multi-agency project.