OK Insurance Commissioner Rides With News On 6 Storm Trackers

During severe weather, many insurance agents are watching the news to see where the damage is. That’s how they estimate how many claims they’ll need to file, and how quickly.

Tuesday, State Insurance Commissioner John Doak rode along with our Von Castor and Ron Morton. He said the experience will give him a better idea of how our station puts information on the air and help him educate other insurance agents.

"If you're just an insurance agent in a small town in Oklahoma, you're looking at the news, you're wondering how many policy holders you might have impacted, and if they are impacted, how quickly can your company get the claims folks there to help begin the rebuilding process," Doak said.

Normally, he said, insurance agents are on the back end of storm damage - they assess things after the storms have already passed.

But Tuesday night’s ride-along will show him the entire process - on the ground, to on-air.

Tuesday afternoon they headed toward western Oklahoma, where storms first developed, then circled back to the Tulsa area.

Doak said, "I'm an insurance guy. I'm listening to our weather folks but I think this is a great experience for us, to be able to communicate this to Oklahomans, and also for me, as an insurance commissioner, kind of see how this all works from behind the scenes."

Doak said if you do see any damage to your property, take lots of photos and make sure you can find your insurance policy.