Oklahoma Insurance Department offering tips to residents impacted by wildfires

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — As many Oklahomans are sifting through what little the wildfires left of their homes, they have a whole new issue on their hands, insurance claims.

Officials with the Oklahoma Insurance Department said their biggest piece of advice is to be educated on your insurance policies and know what to expect.

"It's been a while since we've had a lot of fire damage like this," said Ashley Scott, Deputy Commissioner of External Affairs.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department is ready to offer help to any Oklahoman impacted by the wildfires.

Scott said the first step is to reach out to your insurance provider.

"The first thing they'll do likely is send out an adjuster to assess the home, making sure that you have all that documentation to know kind of what to expect as far as your deductible and what your policy covers, what it doesn't cover," said Scott.

Scott said knowing your insurance policy plays a critical role in starting the rebuilding process.

"A lot of policies have additional living expenses. So if your home was totally destroyed in the fires more recently, then you can get monetary assistance from your insurance company for your additional living expenses," said Scott.

With the chance of fires still burning around Oklahoma, Scott said this will broadly affect the insurance market in the state.

"There's going to be a lot of claims paid out. Claims paid out obviously sometimes has a change in your premium later on at renewal. There are those things that we are watching internally here at the department and trying to keep track of for sure," said Scott.

No matter what policy you have, Scott said it's important to keep any documentation and be wary of scams.

"Avoid fraudulent contractors when you're working on repairs as you go through this process. Making sure that they are licensed with our construction industry board check with the Better Business Bureau. Just do some really good back background work on who you're hiring," said Scott.

He also said that after you assess the damage, you can put that information on damage.ok.gov.