Oregon Insurance: All Your Needs in One Place

If you own a house in Oregon, a suitable homeowners insurance policy can help to protect your investment and your finances when disaster strikes. In Oregon, home insurance can cover the following:

• Property loss and damage: Your policy’s included dwelling insurance covers the structure of your home, while its contents insurance covers your personal property.  
• Expenses associated with displacement: Loss of use insurance, which is included in every home insurance policy, covers your extra living costs if a covered event severely damages your home, and you must seek alternate accommodations.
• Costs related to liability lawsuits: Homeowners liability insurance is also a part of every home insurance policy. It provides coverage if you or a member of your household is responsible for another person experiencing an injury, property damage, financial loss, or other harm.

A local independent insurance agent can further explain the details of each coverage category.

Vehicle owners in Oregon need to carry car insurance. Your policy must meet or exceed the state’s minimum coverage requirements, which means it must provide the following:

• Auto liability insurance: This covers other people’s property damage if you cause a collision. Your policy must include, at a minimum:
  • Bodily injury liability of $25,000 per person / $50,000 per occurrence
  • Property damage liability of $20,000 per occurrence
• Personal injury protection insurance (PIP): This covers medical treatment and related expenses if you or your passengers are injured in a collision, regardless of fault. Your policy must include at least $15,000 of PIP coverage per person.
• Uninsured motorist insurance (UM): This covers medical expenses that go beyond what your PIP can cover if you are injured in a collision caused by an uninsured driver. Your policy must include UM bodily injury coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per occurrence.

In addition to the coverage required by law, you can include several options in your car insurance policy. Some of the coverage options you are likely to see offered by insurance companies in Oregon include collision insurance, comprehensive insurance, gap insurance, and towing and roadside assistance.

A local independent insurance agent can help you determine which types of optional coverage are right for you.

Business insurance can help companies in Oregon remain profitable in times of trouble. This coverage can prove beneficial to businesses of all sizes. As a business owner in this state, you can purchase either a business owners policy (BOP) or a traditional business insurance policy package.

• Business owners policy (BOP): These policies are designed for small, low-risk businesses with less than 100 employees and under $1 million in annual revenues. While BOPs are the least expensive option, these policies have relatively low coverage limits and only provide general liability, commercial property, and business interruption insurance.
• Business insurance policy package: These packages are the appropriate choice for medium- and large-sized companies and small businesses with high risks. Business owners can choose from dozens of commercial insurance policies as they build a policy package customized to their company’s specific coverage needs.

If you own a company in Oregon, talk to a local independent insurance agent for help identifying your company’s overage needs and finding the best policies at the most competitive prices.

Workers’ compensation insurance is designed to cover medical and other associated costs if a worker is injured on the job or is diagnosed with occupational illnesses. It pays for things like medical treatment, medications, slings and crutches, disability pay, and vocational rehabilitation.

With few exceptions, all employers in Oregon are required to carry worker’s compensation insurance. Policies may be purchased from any commercial insurance provider licensed to write policies in Oregon or through the state-administered fund. With approval, qualified businesses may opt to self-insure.

Nobody wants to think about dying, but it is something everyone should consider, particularly if you have dependents who rely on your income or value as a care provider. Life insurance can protect those you leave behind by giving them financial security if you should pass away.

You may only need a small policy to cover final expenses, or you may want to purchase a large policy that can ensure your spouse and children are provided for well into the future.

Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about your various options when it comes to life insurance.

Some landlords and rental agencies in Oregon require their tenants to carry renters insurance. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. In most cases, renters insurance is optional.

Whether or not it is required, purchasing a renters insurance policy is a good idea. This worthwhile coverage can shield you from financial losses related to property damage, theft, displacement, and personal liability lawsuits.

The average renters insurance policy in Oregon costs just $163 a year. At under $15 a month, this coverage is quite a bargain, given all the protections it can offer. Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about renters insurance.

If you are a resident of Oregon with a lot to lose, you may want to have higher liability coverage limits than your currently held policies can offer. Umbrella insurance is a secondary insurance policy that is designed to significantly boost these limits by offering coverage if your primary coverage limits are exhausted.

Individuals can use umbrella insurance to boost the liability coverage offered by policies like homeowners, car, boat, RV, motorcycle, and ATV insurance. Business owners can use a commercial umbrella insurance policy to boost the coverage offered by their general liability coverage.

Personal umbrella insurance policies typically cost around $250 a year for every million dollars in coverage purchased. Commercial umbrella insurance can cost Oregon business owners about $500 a year for every million dollars in coverage purchased.

If you want to learn more about umbrella insurance, you can arrange an obligation-free consultation with a local independent insurance agent.

Nearly 300,000 properties in Oregon have a significant risk of sustaining flood damage over the next thirty years. However, flood damage is excluded from the coverage offered by nearly all homeowners, renters, and business insurance policies.

If you are among the property owners at risk in this state, it is a good idea to supplement your property coverage with flood insurance. Affordable policies are available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a program administered by FEMA.

If your property is located in a flood zone and you are still paying on a mortgage or home equity loan, your lender will require you to carry coverage against floods. Otherwise, flood insurance is optional. When deciding whether or not to purchase a policy, consider that the average compensation per flood claim in Oregon is $23,000.

Earthquake damage is excluded from the coverage offered by most homeowners, renters, and business insurance policies. However, some residents of Oregon are at risk of sustaining property damage due to seismic activity.

On average, Oregon experiences 71 earthquakes a year. In 1991, a quake of magnitude 7.1 occurred in Curry County. Other counties with a significant risk of earthquake activity in this state are Klamath County and Lake County.

Fortunately, earthquake insurance can provide you with coverage against this hazard. If you own a house or business in western Oregon, talk with an independent insurance agent near you to learn more about supplementing your property coverage with earthquake insurance.

When shopping for any type of insurance, you are likely to have many questions. Independent agents are available to provide the answers.

These agents can help you determine how much coverage you need, define the various insurance terms and options you are likely to encounter, and explain in easy-to-understand language what your policy will and will not cover. Additionally, independent agents can shop around to find the best and most affordable policies to meet your coverage needs.

If you are looking for the best Oregon insurance companies to meet your coverage needs, look no further than a local independent agent.   With more than 225 independent agencies located throughout Oregon, it should be easy to find an experienced independent insurance agent near you.