"We lost everything and we don't have insurance." 

It's an all too familiar refrain from wildfire victims in Creek County.  

Josh DeBoer with Fred Daniel & Sons Insurance in Tulsa says higher premiums due to slower firefighter response times in rural communities are certainly a factor: “When underwriters are trying to rate what the premium will be a big consideration is what will the response time be? The response time is generally longer and because of that the damage is going to be greater.”        

DeBoer says usually volunteer firefighters are paged and must leave their fulltime job before fighting fires, and that takes time. 

DeBoer tells KRMG homeowners insurance premiums are two to three times higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. 

He says unlike flood insurance, fire protection is covered under basic homeowners' insurance.