Insurance; homeowner's policy; terminations; premium; renewal; underwriting; at-fault motor vehicle claims; effective date.
HB2929 amends Oklahoma’s homeowners and other personal residential insurance laws to limit when insurers may cancel, refuse to renew, terminate, or raise premiums based on claims history. The bill bars insurers from taking adverse action solely because an insured filed a first claim, and it prohibits adverse action or underwriting denials based on claims that occurred more than five years before the policy effective date or renewal. It also restricts insurers from using weather-related claims history unless there were three or more weather-related claims within the preceding three years, with an exception for losses tied to repairs the insured failed to make after written notice.
The bill also requires insurers to provide at least 30 days’ written renewal notice that includes any changes in premium, deductible, limits, or coverage. If an insured cancels coverage, the insurer must receive written notice and reimburse unearned premium beyond the cancellation date. In addition, insurers may only consider an applicant’s at-fault motor vehicle claims history from the preceding three years when rating a homeowner’s or other personal residential policy. The act is set to take effect November 1, 2026.
HB2929 would amend 36 O.S. 2021, Section 3639.1, expanding consumer protections for homeowners and other personal residential insurance policyholders, including flood insurance. It limits insurer discretion in underwriting, renewal, cancellation, and premium-setting based on older claims and certain weather-related claims, while preserving existing exceptions for nonpayment, fraud, reckless conduct, increased risk, code violations, regulatory violations, and certain criminal convictions. The bill would also impose new notice and refund requirements tied to renewals and insured-initiated cancellations, affecting insurers’ policy administration practices and how they evaluate applicants and existing policyholders.
The available discussion and voting history suggest broad support for the bill. It passed the House Insurance Committee unanimously, passed the Commerce and Economic Development Oversight Committee with only one dissenting vote, and then passed the House 93-0. The committee comment indicates the Oklahoma Insurance Department requested the changes, which suggests the measure was viewed as a technical or policy update to existing insurance rules rather than a highly divisive proposal.
The main policy tension in HB2929 is between consumer protection and insurer underwriting flexibility. Supporters appear to favor limiting premium increases, cancellations, and nonrenewals based on older or isolated claims, especially weather-related losses, to protect homeowners from being penalized for claims that may not reflect current risk. Potential concerns for insurers are that the bill constrains their ability to price risk and respond to claims patterns, though the bill preserves several exceptions for fraud, nonpayment, increased hazard, and other risk-based grounds. The lone committee dissent suggests some disagreement remained, but the record provided does not identify a specific opposing argument.