Annual car insurance premiums in the state of Oregon match the national average – $1,700. This is due to reasonably high personal injury liability requirements, coupled with mandatory personal injury protection coverage and a tort system which must always find one driver at fault. All of these factors combine to determine what the average citizen of Oregon pays per month for their car insurance coverage.
Oregon has a 25/50/25 liability minimum, coupled with a 25/50 UM/UIM requirement. What this means in plain English is that all car insurance policies sold for vehicles in Oregon must carry $25,000 worth of liability for individuals injured in an accident and $50,000 for the total amount of people injured in an accident. In addition, all persons must all carry $25,000 of coverage for property damaged in the accident. In many states, that type of coverage alone would be sufficient, but Oregon also mandates that drivers protect themselves against uninsured or underinsured drivers by the use of underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage or UM/UIM. These minimums are $25,000 and $50,000, respectively. While this is an added burden to consumers, increasing monthly premium costs, it prevents against total loss in a situation where another driver is either violating state law by having limited or no coverage, or is from a state which does not require liability coverage.
One of the main reasons why Oregon requires a broad amount of insurance coverage is because of the fact that the state operates under a fault or “tort” system. This means that one driver must always be found at fault and their insurance coverage will be responsible for paying all of the damages resulting from a collision. With higher levels of insurance coverage mandated, even if a driver is found at fault, they still may be able to recover some of their costs via their own insurance company. Along those same lines, Oregon requires insurance providers to also provide personal injury protection to any person they insure, in the amount of $15,000. This is insurance that will cover the policy holder regardless of fault. In a state which uses a fault system, drivers will often sue each other to claim damages above and beyond what insurance covers. The hope is that the higher coverage mandated by state law will offset the need for this somewhat.
Any car insurance quote issued for a car in Oregon will contain all of the types of coverage listed above as part of the base price. Car insurance quotes in this state will therefore seem quite high, but in the event of an accident, especially in a state which exclusively uses an at-fault system, coverage such as this can be extremely beneficial.
