Insurance; Insurance Consumers Protection Act; cause of action; bad faith; damages; jury; effective date.
HB 2144 creates a new legal cause of action for Oklahoma insurance policyholders and third parties who suffer unreasonable delays or denials of benefits by insurers, defining "bad faith" as violating an insurer’s duty of good faith and fair dealing. It prohibits insurers from including clauses reserving discretion to interpret policies or deny claims, eliminates the need to exhaust administrative remedies before suing, and guarantees jury trials for bad faith claims. The bill applies to all insurance policies issued in Oklahoma (including health, disability, and employee benefits), directly affecting insured individuals, businesses, and third parties who rely on insurance contracts. Key provisions clarify that insurers must pay valid claims promptly, and claimants can seek damages for unreasonable refusals or delays without first appealing to the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 3, 2025
Last action Apr 7, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Floor (House)
→
Floor (Senate)
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was transitioned from the House to the Senate floor for further review, resulting in minor formatting updates and a technical change to the statute's citation number. The core policy language regarding insurance bad faith remains identical to the House version, with no substantive changes to definitions, eligibility, or enforcement mechanisms.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the text is identical except for the codification section number.
TECHNICAL
The section number for the new law was changed from Section 1 to Section 2 in the Senate version to accommodate the addition of a new definitions section.
A new Section 2 was added containing definitions for terms like 'bad faith' and 'first-party claimant'.
The bill header and page footers were updated to reflect the Senate floor version, including the date April 24, 2025.
The original House version's header and page footers were removed.
Floor votes · House Mar 13, 2025
How they voted
85–0
Passed · 15 other
Total votes 100
Mar 13, 2025
D
Democratic19
78% Yea
R
Republican81
86% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
27
Key actions
5
Committee
7
Apr 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass as amended Rules committee; CR filed
upper
Apr 22, 2025
Committee
Referred to Rules
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Engrossed, signed, to Senate
lower
Mar 13, 2025
Committee
Referred for engrossment
lower
Mar 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 84 Nays: 0
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass Civil Judiciary
lower
Feb 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Civil Judiciary
lower
Feb 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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