Okla. considers changes to death benefits for spouses

Legislation that would amend death payouts for spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty is on the table in Oklahoma.

H.B. 4371, pre-filed for a Feb. 7 introduction, states that weekly income benefits payable to the surviving spouse of a municipal police officer, a municipal firefighter, a county sheriff or deputy sheriff, a state trooper, or an emergency medical technician “shall continue whether or not the surviving spouse remarries.”

Under current law in addition to the $100,000 lump sum and weekly benefits for surviving spouses, insurers would have to provide two years’ indemnity benefits in one lump sum to a surviving spouse upon remarriage.