Home insurers responded quickly to claims in Oklahoma's March 14 wildfires, according to the state's insurance commissioner, Glen Mulready.
Mulready, speaking at the NAIC conference on March 25, said that when he visited Stillwater, Oklahoma on March 15, representatives were already distributing checks to pay claims.
"The fires were Friday night, and in this neighborhood that was hit hardest in the community of Stillwater, there in the middle, sitting on a burnt lawn, was a tent, a canopy set up by a group of local Stillwater agents who had food and drinks for folks," Mulready said. "They had a laptop and were handing out checks. I'm not exaggerating when I say smoke was still coming from those burnt homes. It was still going up. It was less than 12 hours after they lost their homes."
By the time Mulready visited again a week later, most claimants had their checks, he added. "Everyone that I talked to that was insured, I asked, 'What insurance company do you have? How's that going? Do you have any money in hand?' There wasn't a single person that I spoke to that did not have a check in hand, literally days later, six days after the event."
Wildfires hit throughout the state on March 14, with four counties north and northeast of Oklahoma City – Lincoln, Payne, Creek and Logan – hardest hit. The state's governor declared a state of emergency in 12 counties. There have been about 2,500 fire claims and 1,100 wind claims made to insurers, according to Mulready. He estimated that 300 to 400 homes were total losses.
Oklahoma's governor, Kevin Stitt,
On March 27, Gov. Stitt also
