Damaging Storms Are A Wake-Up Call For Uninsured Homeowners, Insurance Commissioner Says

Sunday morning’s storms were an actual wake-up call across the metro.

But Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said it’s also another kind of wake-up call.

“Folks should be insured,” Mulready said about houses which receive damage during storms. “Their largest asset, their largest investment — for most people — is going to be their home. And they need to insure their home.”

News 9 received several reports from viewers of damage ranging from flooded rooms to broken trees.

Brittney Nunnelley said she discovered the back windows of her home busted by what she called baseball-sized hail.

“I mean, it was real bad wind, a lot of ice, a lot of water,” she said. “And a lot of anxiety.”

Shards of glass littered the same bathtub her son had been in just the night before.

“That’s a good reminder to keep your kids and your family away from the window when it’s raining like that,” she said.

Her car suffered similar damage. So did her neighbors up and down the street.

Fortunately for Nunnelley, she is insured. But Mulready said that is not the case across all of Oklahoma.

“It’s a tough market,” he said. “We get a lot of hail. We get a lot of wind. I think there may be an interim study or two coming up in the legislature this year to talk about some of that exposure and if there is some way the state can help. There are some states that have separate windpools to try and address some of these things. At any rate, I think there’s a number of things being looked at to help with [higher premiums.]”