Average Home Insurance Cost in Oklahoma UncoveredThe Sooner State takes the blue ribbon when it comes to gypsum mining, iodine production, horses per capita, man-made lakes, and home insurance prices. The average home insurance cost Oklahoma residents pay is $5,839—the highest across the U.S. (the nationwide average is $2,417).1
How close will your bill be to that figure? To keep your premiums from skyrocketing as rates rise, you need to understand exactly what your current policy covers and the choices you can make to reduce your homeowners' insurance cost.
Why Is Oklahoma Home Insurance So Expensive?
The average cost of homeowners insurance in Oklahoma is higher than you might expect, since overall it’s a particularly affordable place to live. In fact, it ranks 45th in the nation for median monthly housing costs, at just $977, and 47th for total cost of living, at $33,966 to cover housing, healthcare, taxes, food, and transportation for the year of 2023.2
But Oklahoma’s top- dog status for home insurance prices can be explained in two words: Tornado Alley. Since 1950, there’ve been an average of 53 tornadoes per year observed in the state.3 The high cost of housing and property damage due to tornadoes and other extreme weather—storms, hail, wildfires, floods, and more—means you’ll pay a pretty penny to insure your home.
What Is the Average Home Insurance Cost in Oklahoma?
Living in Oklahoma doesn’t mean you’ll be paying exactly $5,839 each year. Premium totals are based on the coverage amount for your dwelling (usually 100% of your personal property’s current market value) and your furniture and other belongings, as well as choices like your deductible and the type of home insurance policy you select.
Let’s take a look at a more specific scenario calculating a premium total:
- Wood-framed dwelling insured for
- $250,000 replacement cost
- $125,000 replacement cost for the home’s contents
- $100,000 personal liability coverage
- $1,000 medical costs coverage
- $1,000 deductible
Based on these details, here are 2023 rates from five of the highest rated home insurance companies serving the state4:
- USAA: $3,880 in Oklahoma City; $4,134 in McAlester5
- Allstate: $3,344 in Oklahoma City; $3,428 in McAlester
- State Farm: $6,554 in Oklahoma City; $4,735 in McAlester
- Farmers: $9,484 in Oklahoma City; $4,390 in McAlester
- Oklahoma Farm Bureau: $5,319 in Oklahoma City; $4,357 in McAlester
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Oklahoma Home Insurance Cost Variables
Averages are a useful starting point, but your home is a one-of-a-kind property. Your Oklahoma homeowners insurance rate will depend on:
- Insurance type – Does your policy pay the cost of replacement using the same or similar materials, or actual cash value (ACV) of the home or specific features? The former insurance coverage will cost you more, but the latter will only pay out a home’s or feature’s current depreciated value based on age and condition.
- Size – This includes lot size, square feet of the house, garage size, and number and size of additional structures.
- Location – When you’re buying a home in Oklahoma, you look at location mostly in terms of adjacency and neighborhood values and features. For insurance coverage purposes, location is key to the local replacement and repair costs, the potential for property crime in the area, local fire and emergency protection, and—most importantly for Oklahomans—the weather-related damage potential.
- General safety – With all other factors equal, the auto insurance cost for a sports car with 200 mile-per-hour capability will be higher than for a family sedan marketed for high performance in safety tests. Your home’s level of danger—in terms of potential damage to both property and life—will similarly influence your home insurance cost. This includes the type of fuel and age of HVAC systems, use of fireplaces or woodstoves, old wiring, and any other factors that can contribute to fires or other major damages.
- Nuisance safety – To an insurance company, an “attractive nuisance” is a fun or luxury feature that increases the chance of someone getting hurt. These include pools, ponds, trampolines, treehouses, and playground equipment. Similarly, a family pet that’s either on a banned breeds list or has a history of biting can increase your cost or even lead to a policy denial.
- Materials – There’s a difference in the cost of replacing a home with vinyl siding, composite countertops, and drywall vs one with tiger oak built-ins, plaster walls, and a fieldstone exterior. More expensive or rare materials often require specialized installation and labor in addition to their higher product cost.
- Durability – It’s not just the original purchase and installation price of materials, but their life expectancy that matters for insurance purposes. Roofs, in particular, can affect your premiums. Insurance companies consider the geometric shape, materials, age, and inspected condition to decide how long it’ll last before calculating a policy price that reflects anticipated liability.6
- Age – The age of a home itself, in addition to each of its components, will affect your insurance cost. In addition to older building styles and materials being more expensive, they also tend to be less weather-resistant than newer structures. Older properties equal more claims in general and a higher cost per claim for insurers.
- Basement – We’ve mentioned roofs, pools, and other features in the bullets above, but basements are one more component that leads to a higher insurance cost. A finished basement drives up your square footage but even unfinished basement spaces are calculated into your premium total.
- Past claims – Multiple claims for similar hazards and total past claim volume can influence future rates on the same property. This is something that many homebuyers don’t investigate, but should—even with a different insurer and insured party, the property’s claims history under a past owner can influence your future rates.
- Unique status – Painting your house purple is one thing, but if it has status in terms of historic registration, specialty zoning arrangements, or grandfathered structures and building features inconsistent with current regulations, you may end up paying more for insurance coverage.
How to Save on Home Insurance in Oklahoma
With so many variables going into your policy rate, the good news is that there are many ways to reduce average homeowners insurance Oklahoma costs.
Start with the Basics
When was the last time you reviewed your current Oklahoma homeowner’s insurance policy? It’s not the most fascinating reading, but it’s one of the important tasks you should add to your to-do list.
Read through your policy and claims history, and make notes of anything you don’t understand. Contact your insurance provider to:
- Ask questions if you need clarity on how your policy works and what it covers
- Update your coverage based on renovations, current belongings, or other changes
- Learn about any discounts you qualify for
- Tell them you’re shopping around and ask what they can do to keep your business
Reduce Your Risk
After reading through the list of cost variables above, what can you do to change current high-cost factors (or avoid adding them in the future)? You could:
- Prioritize renovations that impact rates: a basement sump pump, new wiring, etc.
- Choose a family dog that doesn’t ping as a dangerous breed
- Give away that backyard trampoline
- Modify replacement value coverage to lower-cost, current-materials replacement
Shop Around
The ideal moments to shop around for a policy are when you initially acquire one, when you relocate, after holding a policy for several years, or whenever your personal property or financial situation undergoes a change. Just like your individual situation and needs change over time, companies’ rates and policies fluctuate.
In addition to base rates, insurers have their own approaches to discount types and amounts. Once you narrow down to a handful of companies, work with each on a personalized quote to find the best deal for you.
Take Advantage of Discounts
Insurance companies use discounts to attract customers, acknowledge low-risk demographics, and incentivize low-risk behavior. You may be able to save based on:
- Bundling home and auto policies
- HOA or gated community
- A high credit score
- Adding fire mitigation, a security system, or smart home features
- Upgrading your roof
- Paying in full or going paperless
- Professional, employee, military, or senior status
Be a Valuable Customer
In addition to the discounts above, insurance companies also reward loyal customers, particularly those with a history of no or few claims. If you choose to stay with your current insurer after shopping around, ask how they express their appreciation for long-time customers.
Stay in Your Home without Paying Home Insurance
One sure-fire way to save on the high cost of a home insurance premium in Oklahoma is to take advantage of Truehold's sell and stay transaction. Instead of the responsibility of property insurance—and property taxes and essential repairs—you can offload that responsibility onto a landlord without having to move.
Ready to learn more? Call us today and a Truehold representative will reach out to review our process, answer your questions, and see if a Truehold sell and stay transaction is the right fit for you.
Sources:
- MarketWatch. Best Homeowners Insurance in Oklahoma (2023). https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/insurance-services/homeowners-insurance-oklahoma/
- Forbes Advisor. Examining The Cost Of Living By State In 2023. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/cost-of-living-by-state/
- Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Climate of Oklahoma. https://climate.ok.gov/index.php/site/page/climate_of_oklahoma
- Bankrate. Best homeowners insurance in Oklahoma for 2023. https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/oklahoma
- Oklahoma Insurance Department. Home Insurance Rate Comparison. https://www.oid.ok.gov/consumers/insurance-basics/home-insurance-rate-comparison/
- Progressive. How your roof affects your home insurance. https://www.progressive.com/answers/how-roof-type-impacts-insurance/
