Oklahoma chief actuary Frank Stone said state insurers are well-capitalized to handle the damage left by the May convective storms, since they experienced a few mild years in terms of catastrophe losses.

Doak commented on the state's exposure to powerful weather in the call, saying, “As a non-coastal state experiencing all manners of natural catastrophes, our insurance rates are higher. Last year over 100,000 acres of land burned due to wildfire; we've been impacted by earthquakes and seen significant hail damage. Am I leaving anything out except for a locust outbreak?”

Doak has estimated insured losses of $2 billion from May's storms.

“Reuters put that out because the [reporter] asked to compare the recent tornadoes to Joplin, which totaled about $3 billion in insured losses. Emergency management said that [the May] tornado was on the ground for 44 minutes and damaged 17 miles of residential area, so it seemed logical that the numbers would be in that realm,” Doak replied in the press conference.

He continued, “In my mind, the comparison was the wrong question because the industry can withstand a major catastrophe loss from $5 million to $5 billion; and in U.S. history the industry has withstood about $26 billion in catastrophe losses. But there will be significant damage.”

In 1999, Moore experienced the world's third-costliest recorded twister, which killed 41 people and caused $1 billion in losses during the hour and 25 minutes it was on the ground.