On July 7, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sued Allstate in Cleveland County District Court. The state’s petition alleges Allstate used an internal program it calls the “Disaster Payment Minimization Scheme” to reduce wind and hail claim payments, limited what its field adjusters could approve, and leaned on third-party inspectors and reviewers.
That was Oklahoma’s second carrier suit in two weeks. On June 24, the AG sued State Farm Fire and Casualty over what the state calls “the Hail Focus Initiative.” Both companies push back hard. None of it has been proven in court.
Here is the part that will outlast the headlines. Storm roofers in Oklahoma and beyond are quietly rewriting the contracts they hand homeowners. As construction attorney Trent Cotney of Adams & Reese told Roofing Contractor: “The day of having a contingency-based contract that is solely based on getting paid by insurance is numbered.”
This post covers what the two suits allege, what that means for the documentation you send, and how roofers are restructuring contracts so a slow or short claim doesn’t sink their cash flow.
What Oklahoma alleges against Allstate
According to the attorney general’s July 7 release, the lawsuit alleges that Allstate:
- Implemented an internal program the state refers to as the “Disaster Payment Minimization Scheme,” designed to reduce claim payments and increase profits
- Restricted field adjusters’ authority
- Relied on third-party inspectors and reviewers in the claims process
- Applied undisclosed internal standards that limited storm damage coverage and led to denied or underpaid wind and hail claims
The state brings claims under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act and the Oklahoma Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, plus civil conspiracy and unjust enrichment. It seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, disgorgement, and restitution.
Allstate disagrees. In a statement reported by Fox 25, the company said, “This lawsuit has no merit,” and that it “is committed to supporting customers with timely and fair claim payments based on their policy.”
The State Farm suit, briefly
The June 24 petition against State Farm alleges the company marketed replacement-cost coverage for storm damage while using undisclosed internal standards and what the state calls “outcome-oriented engineering reviews” to reduce roof replacement approvals. It pleads the same four causes of action as the Allstate case. State Farm disputes the allegations, per Roofing Contractor.
If you want the background on State Farm’s hail claims history, we covered the court documents unsealed in a separate case in State Farm’s Unsealed Hail Documents: What the $1.4 Billion Means for Your Next Roof Scope. We won’t rehash it here.
The exam that still hasn’t landed
There’s a third piece. Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready pledged to publish findings from a market conduct examination of insurers’ roof-claim handling in the first quarter of 2026. On July 27, Drummond demanded the report, findings, and workpapers by July 31.
The Oklahoma Insurance Department’s answer, in an August 18 statement: the examination is ongoing, the independent examiner has not submitted a final report, and “I cannot release a final report that does not yet exist.” As of this writing, we could not find a published report.
So Oklahoma roofers are working in a market where the AG and the insurance commissioner are publicly at odds, two major carriers are in litigation, and the regulator’s findings are still pending. Uncertainty like that tends to show up in one place first: how long it takes to get paid.
Write for the reviewer who never saw the roof
Whatever the courts decide, one detail in the Allstate allegations should sound familiar. The state says the carrier limited field adjusters’ authority and relied on third-party inspectors and reviewers. Whether or not that’s what happened at Allstate, it’s a fair description of how a lot of claims move today. The person deciding on your supplement may be a desk reviewer or an outside firm working from your file alone.
That person can’t climb your ladder. They see what you send. So build every package as if the reader has never been to the property, because they probably haven’t.
- Dated storm data. Tie the claimed damage to a specific event with a date of loss, and include the hail or wind report that supports it.
- Test squares. Chalked, labeled by slope, with hit counts and a scale reference in the photo.
- Measurements. A measurement report that matches your line items, so squares, ridge, valley, and eave footage reconcile without guesswork.
- Manufacturer specs. Installation instructions for the shingle line on the roof, highlighted where they require the component you’re asking for.
- Code citations. The adopted code section for code-driven items, tied to the local jurisdiction.
- Clear F9 notes. One or two plain sentences per added line explaining why it’s needed. A reviewer working through a stack of files should understand each line without calling you.
Our photo requirements checklist walks through the shots carriers look for. The goal isn’t volume. It’s a file where every added line has its own evidence sitting right next to it.
Why the all-insurance contingency contract is a cash-flow bet
A classic storm contingency agreement says, roughly: “If the carrier approves the claim, we’ll do the roof for the insurance proceeds.” It’s simple, it closes deals, and it quietly makes the carrier your paying customer.
The problem is timing and amount. Say a roofer in Tulsa signs a contingency agreement on a roof the carrier initially scopes at $18,000 replacement cost. The first check is actual cash value, maybe $12,000 after depreciation and the deductible. The roofer builds the job, then waits on recoverable depreciation and on a supplement for the items the first estimate missed. If either payment is slow, or smaller than expected, the roofer has already paid for materials and labor.
Now multiply that by 30 jobs in a busy month. When carriers are in litigation and regulators are circling, you don’t want your payroll depending on how fast a claims desk you’ve never met gets to your file.
Cotney told Roofing Contractor he sees a change “toward more of a retail strategy, even when it relates to insurance.” In practice that means a hybrid contract: insurance proceeds are expected to fund the job, but the homeowner remains the party responsible for payment.
What a hybrid storm contract should address
This is a checklist of topics to bring to your attorney, not contract language. Laws vary by state, and a construction attorney licensed where you work should draft or review the final agreement.
- Who owes you. State plainly that the homeowner is the customer and is responsible for the contract price, and that insurance proceeds are one way the homeowner may fund it.
- How payment flows. Deposit, progress payments, final payment, and how insurance checks (often two-party) get endorsed and applied.
- What happens if insurance proceeds fall short. Spell out the options: the homeowner pays the difference, the scope is adjusted, or the parties agree to a revised price in writing.
- What happens if proceeds arrive late. Payment due dates that don’t hinge entirely on the carrier’s timeline, and what happens if a balance goes past due.
- Change orders for supplement items. When a supplement adds items (drip edge, ice barrier, code upgrades), use a written change order so the homeowner signs off on added scope and price.
- Deductible responsibility. Say that the homeowner pays the deductible. In Oklahoma, 59 O.S. § 1151.30 bars roofers from advertising or promising to pay all or part of an insured’s deductible as an inducement and requires a written notice with the initial estimate. In Texas, Business and Commerce Code 27.02 makes it illegal to waive, rebate, or absorb a deductible and requires a notice on contracts involving insurance settlements. Other states have similar rules.
- Your role on the claim. Make clear that you provide roofing services and documentation, not claim representation. Coverage decisions belong to the carrier.
- Cancellation rights. Many states give homeowners a right to cancel storm or insurance-related contracts within a set window. Your attorney will know the notice your state requires.
That seventh point matters more than it looks. Some storm contracts have drifted into language that sounds like the roofer will handle the claim for the homeowner. In many states that’s public adjusting, and a roofer doing the work usually can’t do it. Our guides on whether roofers can negotiate insurance claims and the roofer vs. public adjuster line by state cover where that line sits. Also, don’t promise homeowners what the carrier will cover or pay. You don’t control that, and neither do we.
Shorten the gap between build and final payment
Even a well-drafted hybrid contract doesn’t make the carrier faster. The homeowner may owe you, but most homeowners still pay from the claim. So the practical lever is the stretch between the day you finish the roof and the day the last dollar lands.
A few things shrink that window:
- Supplement early. Items caught before tear-off, or documented during it, move faster than items discovered after the dumpster is gone. See why supplementing before work starts matters.
- Send a complete file the first time. Every round of “please provide” adds days. A reviewer-ready package cuts those rounds.
- Get the supplement written fast. A supplement that sits in your office for two weeks is two weeks of receivables you chose to wait on.
- Track depreciation release. Submit completion documents, final invoice, and photos promptly so the recoverable depreciation request isn’t waiting on you.
At EOD, supplements come back to the roofer within 24 hours, and our historical average time to resolution is about 18.9 days. Every claim is different, and the carrier sets its own pace, but you control how fast your side of the file moves.
Quick answers
What did Oklahoma sue Allstate for?
The attorney general alleges Allstate used an internal program the state calls the “Disaster Payment Minimization Scheme,” restricted field adjusters’ authority, relied on third-party inspectors and reviewers, and underpaid or denied valid wind and hail claims. Allstate says the suit has no merit. The allegations are unproven.
Has the Oklahoma Insurance Department released its roof-claim exam?
Not as of this writing. The department said on August 18 that the exam is ongoing and the independent examiner had not submitted a final report.
What is a hybrid roofing contract?
It’s a storm contract where insurance proceeds are expected to fund the job, but the homeowner stays responsible for payment. It usually addresses shortfalls, late proceeds, change orders for supplement items, and the deductible.
Can a roofer cover the homeowner’s deductible?
Not in several states. Oklahoma bars roofers from advertising or promising to pay a deductible as an inducement, and Texas prohibits waiving, rebating, or absorbing it. Check your state’s law with an attorney.
Should roofers negotiate with the carrier on the homeowner’s behalf?
No. Roofers can document damage and submit estimates and supplements. Negotiating coverage for the homeowner is public adjusting in many states, which requires a license and usually can’t be done by the roofer doing the work.
The takeaway
The Oklahoma lawsuits will take years to play out, and the exam may or may not change anything. You don’t need to wait for either. Tighten the file so a reviewer who never saw the roof can approve it, get a construction attorney to look at your storm contract before next season, and stop letting a slow claim set your payroll calendar.
A contract that names the right customer, and a supplement that moves the day the roof is done, will do more for your cash flow than any verdict.
Sources: Roofing Contractor, “Insurance Battles Push Roofers to Rethink Storm Contracts” (Sept. 9, 2026); Oklahoma Attorney General, “Drummond files new lawsuit against State Farm” (June 24, 2026); Oklahoma Attorney General, “Drummond files lawsuit against Allstate Insurance Company” (July 7, 2026); Oklahoma Attorney General, “Drummond demands release of overdue insurance examination report” (July 27, 2026); Oklahoma Insurance Department, Commissioner Mulready press release on the roof-claim market conduct examination (Aug. 18, 2026); Fox 25 (KOKH), “Oklahoma AG Drummond sues Allstate over alleged underpaid wind and hail claims” (July 2026); Oklahoma Statutes 59 O.S. § 1151.30; Texas Department of Insurance, “Roofing and insurance: Know the law.” The lawsuit allegations are unproven. This post is general information for roofers, not legal advice; have a construction attorney licensed in your state review your contracts, and the policy in front of you controls.
Want your side of the claim to stop being the slow part? EOD’s roofing supplement services return reviewer-ready supplements within 24 hours, written by former field adjusters, for 10% of the increase, no increase, no fee, no minimums. Send us a claim.
