Another insurance company has joined the long list of providers that have made certain policies no longer obtainable.
What's happening?
Wildfire coverage in Oklahoma may become more expensive when Farmers Insurance cancels 1,300 plans in November, KXII reported. The homeowners are located in the eastern part of the state, where tornadoes are also a threat.
But the state insurance commissioner said other companies can fill the void.
"We have a lot of competition out there," Glen Mulready told the station. "We currently have 113 insurance companies that have active homeowners policies in place in Oklahoma."
According to the National Weather Service, the Sooner State had 112 tornadoes by October 10 this year, including two EF-4s. The top 20 homeowners insurance companies paid $105 in claims for every $100 they took in, Mulready said, noting finding a policy would be an affordability issue rather than an availability one like it is in other states.
Why is this important?
Insurance companies are canceling policies and halting business across the country, especially in hurricane- and wildfire-prone areas such as Louisiana, Texas, and California. But even seemingly safe states such as Iowa, Ohio, and Washington are losing coverage.
This is because of increasingly intense severe weather events, which are driven by the rapid warming of the planet. Our use of dirty energy sources is filling the atmosphere with heat-trapping pollution that exacerbates these natural disasters and also makes some happen more often.
In Oklahoma, the last part of the five-month wildfire season is the most dangerous. That's because March is the windiest month of the year, enabling burning embers and small fires to grow and spread quickly through wide, open spaces.
What's being done about wildfires and canceled policies?
It's important to remember that a blaze can ignite at any time, especially in hot, dry, or drought conditions. Prescribed fires and controlled burns by land management officials can help reduce the risk of wildfires, and residents can protect themselves and their properties by removing flammable vegetation from around homes and other structures and spreading out potential fuel sources such as hay bales.
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These steps can also help homeowners obtain or retain insurance. In the arid West and beyond, defensible space is key. Proper preparation has saved homes in otherwise decimated areas during even the worst wildfires, such as the one that tore through Lahaina, Hawai'i, last year.
Some states have marketplaces or regulations that can make up for insurers that bail. But these options are last resorts and mostly don't provide full coverage.
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