Oregon Car Insurance (QUOTES, COST & COVERAGE)

What Does Oregon Car Insurance Cover?

Auto insurance covers three types of liabilities, or losses. They are:

1. Property – damage to or theft of vehicles.
2. Liability – the policyholders liability, or legal obligation for the property or bodily injury of others when the driver is at fault.
3. Injury – the medical treatment, long term care, loss of wages, or even funeral expenses of anyone who is injured in an accident.

Oregon requires that drivers have liability insurance. California car insurance policies generally are renewed on a biannual or annual basis.

Oregon car insurance has many coverages – so it’s important to research the options, see what OR requires and what coverages are optional, and how each can protect you in the vent of an accident or other loss. OR auto insurance policies contains at least one or more of the following specific types of coverage and each option is priced separately (this is not an exhaustive list):

Bodily Injury Liability: This type of car insurance coverage protects the policy holder as well as any other drivers listed on the policy by covering medical costs for injuries caused to other motorists. Oftentimes, people will increase the minimum coverage to protect their other assets in the event that an injured motorist sues for additional damages because your automobile insurance will pay up to the limits on the policy – you are out of pocket for expenses that exceed those limits.

Medical Payments or Personal Injury Protection: Should injury to the policy holder or any other occupants of the insured vehicle occur in an accident, this portion of the auto insurance policy will cover the medical bills, lost wages and funeral costs. This option is also known as PIP (Personal Injury Protection).

Property Damage Liability: Property damage liability is the most common type of coverage option and one which is required by law. It covers damage caused by the policy holder (or anyone permitted to drive the insured vehicle) to another vehicle or other type of property such as signs, fences, telephone poles, buildings, etc.

Collision: This type of coverage offers protection for the policy holders vehicle if damage occurs as a result of an collision with another vehicle, object, or even if your vehicle ends up flipping over. Damages caused by potholes are also covered under collision coverage. Even if the policy holder is at fault, collision insurance will cover the repair for damages minus the deductible amount. If the policyholder is not at fault, the insurance company will attempt to recover the costs paid to its policyholder through the other motorists insurance company and if successful, will also reimburse its policyholders’ paid deductible amount too.

Comprehensive: Comprehensive insurance covers the cost of theft of the vehicle or damages/repairs caused by anything other than another vehicle or object. Damages such as those caused by fires, natural disasters, bombs, vandalism, or collisions with animals such as deer. This option also covers shattered or cracked windshields. Both collision and comprehensive coverage are usually optional however if a car is leased, many times the lender will require this type of coverage in addition to liability.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: If an accident occurs with an uninsured driver or if the other driver does not have sufficient coverage to pay for the full extent of damages, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage will cover the outstanding expenses. This option also protects the policyholder if involved in a hit and run accident or if hit while a pedestrian.

Gap Insurance: This protects you if your car is totaled and you owe more on the loan or lease than the insurance company pays out. It is usually taken on cars that are 3 years old or less.

Rental Reimbursement: This coverage pays for a rental car if your auto is in the repair shop following a covered comprehensive or collision claim.

Roadside Assistance (Towing & Labor): Much like AAA, this coverage offers a jump start, gas delivery, a flat tire change, even the services of a qualified locksmith of you break down.

What Oregon Car Insurance Doesn’t Cover

Also know as exclusions, which remove risk from the insurer, car insurance typically does not cover:

• Personal belongings inside your auto. Do if someone breaks into your car and steals your laptop – the window would be covered but the computer would not.
• People who live in the same home as you but are not listed on the policy. A basic car insurance policy generally covers you and other people who don’t live with you and who have permission to occasionally use your vehicles. Members of your household must be listed on your policy to have coverage.
• The balance of your car loan is your vehicle is totaled. See gap insurance above.

What Are Oregon‘s Financial Responsibility Requirements?

According to the CA Department of Motor Vehicles:

Financial responsibility (commonly known as OR auto insurance) is required on all vehicles operated or parked on Oregon roadways. You must carry evidence of financial responsibility in your vehicle at all times and it must be provided as specified below when:

• Requested by law enforcement.
• Renewing vehicle registration.
• The vehicle is involved in a traffic collision.

Insurance companies in Oregon are required by law (Oregon Vehicle Code (CVC) §16058) to electronically report private-use vehicle insurance information to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Electronic reporting of insurance information and programming changes that took effect in 2006, allow DMV to monitor insurance coverage and take appropriate actions through vehicle suspension as required by law. OR law enforcement and court personnel have electronic access to insurance status on DMV records.

What Are the Minimum Liability Insurance Requirements for Private Passenger Vehicles?

Oregon Insurance Code §11580.1b says:

• $15,000 for injury/death to one person.
• $30,000 for injury/death to more than one person.
• $5,000 for damage to property.

Liability insurance compensates a person other than the policy holder for personal injury or property damage. Comprehensive or collision insurance does not meet vehicle financial responsibility requirements.

How Much Does Oregon Car Insurance Cost?

How much does Oregon car insurance cost? The average price of auto insurance varied widely based on certain factors. The premiums vary depending on the company and their underwriting rules, and it depends on the coverages and deductible selected. Following are some of the main factors that go into the price of a policy:

• Geographical location – The more dangerous your OR location is the higher premiums you will pay as there is a higher probability for claims. If you live in a highly populated urban area (like Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco), accidents and insurance claims happen more often and rate are higher.
• Age – Typically drivers under 25 pay more because statistically shown to be inexperienced behind the wheel, easily distracted and to crash more often. They are on of the riskiest category of drivers to insure.
• Gender – Data shows males are more likely to crash, hence men’s premiums are higher.
• Marital status – Married people have been found to be less of a risk to insurers than singles, including divorced or widowed drivers.
• Years of driving experience – Inexperienced drivers pose more risk. That is why under 25 have some of the highest rates.
• Driving record – Drivers with a clean driving record qualify for better rates and can be eligible for a safe driver discount.
• Claims history – More claims = more premium. Insurers actually count frequency (how many claims in a time frame) more than severity (how large the claim was).
• Credit history – The better credit you have, the lower your rates. Most insurers look at credit and weight it heavily.
• Previous insurance coverage – Continual auto insurance history (or at least for the last 6 months) can help get you a better rate.
• Vehicle type – Purchase price, theft rate, cost of repairs, accident rate and safety tests weigh heavily in car insurance cost.
• Vehicle use – A vehicle used to commute work poses more of a risk than the car you only take out of the garage on the weekends.
• Miles driven annually – The less you drive, the less risk you have of being in an accident.
• Coverages – The more coverage you choose with higher limits, the more it will cost you since the insurer is taking on additional risk.
• Deductibles – The deductible is your out of pocket cost before your policy kick in. Lower deductible = higher premium, and higher deductible = lower premium.

And Oregon car insurance premiums after a DUI/DWI will always cost more.

OR Auto Insurance Quotes

Request a Oregon Car Insurance quote in Albany, Ashland, Baker City, Beaverton, Bend, Canby, Central Point, Coos Bay, Cornelius, Corvallis, Cottage Grove, Dallas, Damascus, Eugene, Forest Grove, Gladstone, Grants Pass, Gresham, Happy Valley, Hermiston, Hillsboro, Keizer, Klamath Falls, La Grande, Lake Oswego, Lebanon, McMinnville, Medford, Milwaukie, Monmouth, Newberg, Newport, North Bend, Ontario, Oregon City, Pendleton, Portland, Redmond, Roseburg, Salem, Sandy, Sherwood, Springfield, St. Helens, The Dalles, Tigard, Troutdale, Tualatin, West Linn, Wilsonville, Woodburn and all other cities in OR.

Insurance Regulations In Oregon

Let's take a look at insurance in Oregon. There are definitely some state regulations that govern insurance in the state of Oregon. You should become familiar with what these regulations are, even if they do not necessarily apply to you.

You will be much better informed about insurance if you know what types of insurance businesses are required by law and what types they normally get regardless of law. You also may want to know the regulations governing personal insurance such as automobile insurance and life insurance. Let's take a closer look at OR insurance regulations.

Oregon Business Insurance

The first type of insurance that we will start with is business insurance. Specifically, we will be discussing general liability insurance. Commercial liability, sometimes called general liability, is a type of insurance that protects your business in case someone slips and falls on your floor or experiences roofing materials falling on their car that does damage. There are many other situations in which general liability insurance may kick in.

There are also some types of insurance that are mandated by law including Worker's Compensation insurance for any company that has one or more people working for them full-time or part-time.

Oregon does not have any laws stipulating that companies must carry disability insurance like in many states, but if there are vehicles being used for commercial purposes, then they must carry commercial auto insurance.

OR Personal Insurance

There are definitely some regulations that govern the auto insurance that normal motorists are required to carry on their vehicle. These are pretty standard across the states and match what is required in most. In Oregon, you are required to carry 25 000 USD per person for bodily injury and 50 000 USD per accident for the same. Property damage is a little higher than you will find in other states at 20 000 USD per accident and there is also an additional requirement that requires a personal injury protection amount of 15 000 USD per person.

Finally, there are regulations governing life insurance in Oregon as well. Unlike most states, there is no free look period for life insurance. However, there is the normal grace period Of 30 days when it comes to late payments. Lastly, insurance companies are required to make payment within 30 days of receiving notification of the death described in the policy. If they do not make payment within 30 days then the person that is the beneficiary of the policy may receive interest as well.