Repair or replace after a Green Country storm

Why Tulsa roofs keep coming up for review

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 190 hail events of 1 inch or larger in Tulsa County from 2016 through 2025, along with 278 thunderstorm wind events, 59 of them at 65 knots or stronger (NCEI). Measured by damage, wind dominates: the database's property damage estimates for those ten years total about $161 million from thunderstorm wind against about $4.3 million from hail, and almost all of the wind figure comes from a single storm.

That storm struck on June 17, 2023, when gusts topped 100 mph at times and left at least $160 million in estimated damage across Tulsa County, with some residents without power for more than a week. A gust of 100 mph was measured near East 31st Street and South Peoria Avenue. FEMA's declaration for that storm period, DR-4721, covered Creek, Rogers, Tulsa and Wagoner counties.

Hail still sets plenty of repair-or-replace decisions in motion. On May 21, 2024, hail slightly larger than baseballs damaged vehicles, homes and businesses in Broken Arrow. The full county records are on our Tulsa and Broken Arrow and Owasso pages.

The decision in three questions

No honest page can price your roof from a distance, so this one does not try. What it can do is show which facts push a job toward repair and which push it toward replacement.

1. How far does the damage go? A few creased or missing shingles along one ridge is a different job from hail bruising on every slope. Ask the roofer to show you, slope by slope, where the damage is and where it is not.
2. How does your policy pay for the roof? The Oklahoma Insurance Department's consumer FAQ says a homeowners policy typically covers the roof on an actual cash value basis, applying depreciation for the roof's age and condition. On a replacement cost basis, the insurer pays the depreciated amount first, then the rest once the repairs are made or at least contracted.
3. What is your deductible? The department notes that it is now fairly standard to have a separate wind/hail deductible, so check that figure on your declarations page, not the all-perils deductible.

The National Roofing Directory's guides to roof repair cost and roof replacement cost explain what goes into each kind of bill, and our repair-or-replace guide works through the decision in order.

What Oklahoma law asks of the roofer

Oklahoma does not leave the contract terms to chance. Under the Roofing Contractor Registration Act:

• Every roofing contractor must hold a Construction Industries Board registration, renewed each year, and residential registrants must carry at least $500,000 in general liability insurance.
• A registrant must use a valid written contract for roofing work (§ 1151.7), and the contract has to state that everyone working under it is covered by workers' compensation insurance (§ 1151.22).
• When a residential job will be paid from an insurance claim, you can cancel within 72 hours after your insurer tells you in writing that the claim was denied, and the contractor must return your payments within 10 days (§ 1151.21).
• The registration number must appear on contracts, bids and advertising, and on both sides of company vehicles with the letters "OK" in front of it (§ 1151.17).

The Oklahoma Insurance Department's after-the-disaster advice adds two rules of thumb: never sign a contract with blank spaces, and do not pay the full amount up front or sign over your insurance settlement payment. You can confirm any roofer's standing through the CIB's registered roofing contractor search or the directory's Oklahoma roofing licensing page.

Roofers across Tulsa and Green Country

Here are roofing companies listed on the National Roofing Directory in Tulsa and the surrounding Green Country towns, and you can browse more Oklahoma roofing contractors statewide.

Frequently asked questions

Will my insurer pay for a full roof replacement?

It depends on the damage and on how your policy values the roof. According to the Oklahoma Insurance Department, an actual cash value policy deducts depreciation, while a replacement cost policy pays the depreciated amount first and the difference after the roof is replaced.

What if my claim is denied after I sign with a roofer?

For a residential contract that was to be paid from an insurance claim, Oklahoma law lets you cancel within 72 hours of receiving the insurer's written denial. The contractor has to refund your payments within 10 days, though it can keep the reasonable value of any emergency work you approved in writing (§ 1151.21).

How do I check a Tulsa roofer's registration?

Use the Construction Industries Board's roofing registry search, then match the registration number it shows to the one printed on the contract and on the truck.