People impacted by the May 16 tornado could see another hurdle at the end of the month, if two statewide orders—an executive order from Governor Mike Kehoe and an “insurance bulletin” from the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance—expire as planned.
Both orders are designed to protect insurance policy holders from getting dropped in the middle of negotiating insurance claims following a natural disaster. While the governor’s order was established before the May 16 tornado (but following other disasters), the order is still applicable. The governor renewed the order on December 31, 2025 until the end of this month, and the bulletin from the Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) says it will apply for as long as the governor’s order is active.
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Reached by email, the governor’s office stopped short of promising he’d extend the order, but seemed to suggest it was on his agenda: “EO 25-38 has not yet been extended, but we do not foresee this DCI Insurance Bulletin expiring before the one-year anniversary of the St. Louis tornado.”
The Department of Commerce and Insurance did not respond to our separate inquiry.
Why It Matters: Ali Rand, a city resident who’s emerged as a leader of the recovery effort in the Academy neighborhood just north of Delmar Boulevard, said an expiration of the order could portend a “nightmare” for people who’ve spent months working with insurers on claims. “If … that executive order is not extended or re-signed, insurance companies could drop residents mid-claim,” Rand says.
“You’d be looking at large portions of city ZIP codes that could become uninsurable,” she continues. “Because, I mean, other insurance companies may pick them up at a ridiculous price, but that’s gonna come with all sorts of bells and whistles, right? Like, if you have an insurance claim for hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, in some of these cases, and you’re dropped by your insurance company, it’s going to be a logistical nightmare.”
What’s Next: Kehoe has until Saturday to renew the executive order before it expires. Last week, people impacted by the tornado circulated an email reportedly sent to U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and Kehoe, urging the renewal of Executive Order 25-31 and the DCI memo called “Insurance Bulletin 25-11.” “Please consider extending the executive order through the one-year anniversary of the tornado,” the email urges.
