Bill would have required insurance companies to notify customers that their policy does not include earthquake coverage.
OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Mike Shelton said he is disappointed that a House committee voted down a consumer protection measure that would ensure Oklahomans are notified of the need to buy earthquake coverage.
“This was a simple bill that only required insurers to notify customers that their property insurance policy does not cover earthquake damage,” said Shelton, D-Oklahoma City. “Under current law, insurance companies must obtain an explicit opt-out from customers declining uninsured motorist coverage, and that system has worked fine for years. I don’t see why we would oppose greater transparency for the customer when it comes to earthquake coverage.”
House Bill 2863, by Shelton, would have required that customers obtaining or renewing property insurance policies be “notified as to whether the property insurance policy provides coverage for loss caused by the peril of earthquake.”
“After the recent earthquakes, many homeowners experienced significant damage and learned the hard way that it was not covered by a homeowner’s policy,” Shelton said. “My legislation would simply require insurance agents to explicitly notify customers that they do not have earthquake coverage and give them the opportunity to buy it.”
Shelton revised the bill this week to address the concerns of insurance groups, but noted that lobbyists for the insurance industry still “turned out in force” to oppose it today.
House Bill 2863 failed to pass out of the House Insurance Committee.
“Now that earthquakes have been added to the list of natural disasters facing Oklahoma homeowners, it makes sense to be proactive and encourage property owners to obtain earthquake insurance coverage,” Shelton said. “A house is the biggest single investment most families will ever make, and they should not face the loss of their home due to a lack of information.”
What better way to use your lunch hour on the second anniversary of the Citizens United decision (in which the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people and money is speech) than to rally with others who decry that travesty of justice and call for it to be overturned with a constitutional amendment.
