Car insurance in Oregon

Posted on September 26, 2014

Here’s some recent information regarding facts, statistics, laws and current rates pertaining to car insurance in the state of Oregon. Use this summary to help choose the auto insurance package that works best for you, and keep your premiums as low as possible.

Oregon Minimum Liability Coverage

The minimum coverage required for each vehicle owned in the state of Oregon is known as 25/50/20. This means each driver must buy enough car insurance to cover $25,000 in personal injury protection, $50,000 in per-accident insurance to cover other individuals injured in the accident, and no less than $20,000 insurance to cover property damage. Most Oregon drivers purchase the minimum required coverage, although financial analysts at the Insurance Information Institute highly recommend at least 100/300 coverage for each vehicle owned in the United States.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in Oregon

Drivers who get caught driving without car insurance in the state of Oregon may have their driver’s licenses suspended or revoked. Even if you escape the cash fine of $260, you will pay for your mistake with reinstatement fees and raised premiums, not to mention the inconvenience of not being allowed to drive.

Auto Insurance Rates in Oregon

The average annual auto insurance premium in the state of Oregon was $1,267 in 2016, with the national average at $1,347. Oregon’s rates for car insurance are just a bit below average as compared to other states.

Low Cost Car Insurance Programs in Oregon

Vehicle owners in Oregon who wish to cut their car insurance costs can pay their premium yearly instead of monthly. Or increase their out-of-pocket deductibles. Some Oregon car owners only drive vehicles with permanently installed safety features. Others improve their credit scores. Choosing more than one of these options can lower your annual premiums by hundreds of dollars a year.

Still, the biggest savings on annual auto insurance rates are the discount programs made available by most providers. Smart drivers score the Good Driver discount, the Accident Free discount and the Good Student discount. Seniors 55 and older earn discounts by completing a course in defensive driving. Other programs offered by most Oregon insurance carriers include vehicle safety discounts, multiple policy discounts and multiple auto discounts.

Obtaining Auto Insurance Quotes in Oregon

The largest car insurance carriers serving drivers in state of Oregon are State Farm, Farmers Insurance, Safeco, Progressive, American Family, Allstate and Geico. However, it is essential that each insurance shopper review complaint ratings before deciding on a carrier. For example, Progressive has the fewest complaints of the carriers mentioned above. Allstate has the highest complaint rate, followed closely by Safeco, Farmers Insurance and Geico.

According to J.D. Powers & Associates, customer satisfaction ratings indicate that the best companies for car insurance in the state of Oregon are Amica Mutual, Erie Insurance and Auto Owners Insurance. Still, many Oregon residents opt for smaller, regionally based carriers like Mercer Insurance and Western National. No matter what your preference, simply call a lot of local agents and compare quotes. Whichever carrier you speak to, ask about the discounts.

Oregon Car Insurance

Looking for Oregon car insurance? Here are the answers to many questions you might have about insuring your personal vehicle in the state of Oregon.

Here’s where Oregon car owners can learn about Oregon poverty stats, Oregon unemployment rates, median incomes in Oregon, statistics pertaining to Oregon drivers, and the details of specific Oregon zip codes. This page features a list of average car insurance quotes from eight different zip codes in the state of Oregon, ranging from the least expensive to the highest priced in terms of auto insurance premiums. The difference in auto insurance quotes between Oregon zip codes is an important factor in reducing your personal Oregon car insurance premium rates.

Read on to find out how drivers in the state of Oregon can lower their premium rates on auto insurance. See which types and amounts of car insurance coverage Oregon drivers need. Also shown below is a list of the 10 largest car insurance companies in Oregon, followed by a list of the 10 largest car insurance companies in America. You can even read a fun selection of outdated Oregon traffic laws.

Any driver who is thinking about buying a cheap Oregon car insurance policy, or anyone who just wants to know more about the state of Oregon, will find this information very useful.

Oregon Car Insurance Statistics

According to a census estimate from 2016, the state of Oregon has a population of almost 4.1 million people. In land area, Oregon is the 9^th largest state in the nation, although it ranks only 27^th in population count. The average population density for the whole state of Oregon is less than 40 people per square mile.

The median age of people who live in the state of Oregon is about 39.1 years. Oregon’s poverty rate is around 15.4 percent, which is a bit higher than the national average poverty rate of 13.5 percent. More than one in six Oregon residents currently lives at or below the poverty line. However, Oregon’s unemployment rate is around 3.7 percent, which is quite a drop below the average unemployment rate for the whole United States of 4.4 percent.

The Insurance Research Council recently ran a study of drivers in the state of Oregon. The study concluded that approximately 9 percent (roughly 1 in 11) vehicles on roads in Oregon is uninsured. This is not too bad a rate of uninsured vehicles, as compared to the national average.

According to a study posted on carinsurance.com in 2017, the statewide “average” annual premium rate for a car insurance policy purchased in the state of Oregon was roughly $1,264 this year. This figure is lower than the national average car insurance rate for the same time period, which was about $1,355.

The 10 Largest Oregon Car Insurance Companies

There are so many Oregon car insurance companies to choose from. It may seem hard to choose a carrier at first. For starters, here is a list of the ten largest car insurance companies in Oregon, based on total revenue, which reveals the company’s market share within the state of Oregon.

Rank	Company	Premiums ($)	Market Share (%)
1	State Farm Group	$461,552	21.17
2	Farmers Insurance Group	$284,849	13.07
3	Progressive Insurance Group	$245,656	11.27
4	Liberty Mutual Insurance	$217,935	10
5	Allstate Insurance Group	$173,148	7.94
6	Berkshire Hathaway Insurance	$145,805	6.69
7	USAA Group	$98,654	4.53
8	Country Financial PC Group	$77,552	3.56
9	American Family Insurance	$77,216	3.54
10	Nationwide Group	$53,462	2.45

Apparently, State Farm is the most popular Oregon car insurance company, holding more than 1 in 5 Oregon car insurance policies. Still, there are many major Oregon car insurance companies to review, in addition to quite a few smaller, regional carriers. There is literally no such thing as The One Best Oregon Car Insurance Company.

The ten largest car insurance companies in America, according to a study from insure.com, are Allstate Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Geico, Progressive Insurance, Nationwide Group, AAA, Liberty Mutual Insurance, 21^st Century Insurance, GMAC, and AIG, in that order. These car insurance companies were similarly ranked by the total annual dollar amount in written premiums.

Cutting Costs on Oregon Car Insurance

In terms of average auto insurance rates, Oregon ranks about average among states. Yet, Oregon drivers can still find ways to minimize the cost of car insurance.

Oregon drivers should first read consumer reviews pertaining to each of several Oregon car insurance companies. All auto insurance companies are pretty much competitive with each other. Each one has a slightly different area of focus. What’s more, all car insurance companies receive their fair share of negative reviews.

Next, compile a list of all the Oregon car insurance companies you like. Then visit each company website and compare online quotes for several different Oregon zip codes near you. For example, you could enter your home zip code, your work zip code, and/or your University zip code. While you are reviewing each insurance company’s website, be sure to grab all the available discounts on your personal Oregon car insurance policy. If you think you qualify for a discount that isn’t mentioned on your online quote, call the insurance company and ask an agent. It’s important to be very proactive in asking for discounts. Be sure to consider billing discounts, occupational discounts, vehicle discounts, good student discounts, and others.

Comparing quotes by zip code and finding those discounts are excellent ways to reduce rates on Oregon car insurance.

What Types Of Car Insurance Do Oregon Drivers Need?

According to Oregon state law, car insurance policies sold in Oregon require minimum liability limits of $25,000 in bodily injury protection for each person injured, $50,000 coverage in per accident protection, and $20,000 insurance to cover the cost of property damage. Also required in the state of Oregon are the same liability limits in uninsured / underinsured motorist protection (UMI), and $15,000 in coverage for personal injury protection (PIP).

In most cases, the state-mandated minimum liability limits on auto insurance policies are too low to cover the cost of actual auto accidents. That’s why American insurance experts suggest that Oregon drivers (in fact, all drivers) purchase more than the minimum amount of car insurance coverage required by the state. Experts recommend coverage amounts of $100,000 for personal injury protection, $300,000 against bodily injury to others, and at least $50,000 insurance to cover the cost of property damage.

For extra special vehicle protection, drivers in Oregon can also buy comprehensive and collision coverage. These types of insurance will cover the cost of potentially expensive vehicular hazards such as collisions, animal strikes, falling objects, unfavorable weather conditions, wildfires, floods, vandalism, and car theft, among other things.

Odd and Outdated Oregon Traffic Laws

The state of Oregon, a driver must yield to pedestrians who are standing on the sidewalk.
It is illegal in Oregon to test your physical endurance while driving on a highway (whatever that means).
It is also illegal in the state of Oregon to place a container of human excrement on the side of a highway. (Perhaps you better toss that onto the middle of the road instead.)
It is illegal in Oregon to place a baby on the running board of a car. (Imagine the poor child who brought this law into effect.)
It is illegal in the state of Oregon to leave a car door open longer than necessary.
Drivers in the state of Oregon may not pump their own gas.
In Portland, it is illegal to park trucks on the street.
It is also illegal in Portland to ride your sled by attaching it to a passing car (if you live long enough to get arrested for it.)
Again in Portland, it is unlawful to drive through a congested thoroughfare more than twice a night.
In Marion, it is illegal to walk backwards on a city street while eating a donut. (Say what?)

Best And Worst Zip Codes For Oregon Car Insurance

Annual premium rates for Oregon car insurance policies can range from as low as $800 to as high as more than $2,000, depending on your particular Oregon zip code. Auto insurance premium rates are determined partly by the driver’s driving record, but also by the driver’s zip code demographics. Factors that change between zip codes include population density, unemployment rates, median resident age, median income levels, poverty statistics, crime data, and the percentage of uninsured drivers on the road, for example.

Here is a list of the four most expensive zip codes to buy Oregon car insurance. Annual premium rates in these neighborhoods can range from about $1,260 to around $2,030.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97266 (Portland)	5,820	9.90%	25.50%

The population of this Portland zip code is approximately 35,000. The poverty rate in this neighborhood by far exceeds the 15.4 percent state average. Also, unemployment is nearly three times the state average of 3.7 percent.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97236 (Portland)	22	7.10%	42.30%

This Portland neighborhood is home to fewer than 1,300 people. Although he population is light, unemployment is above the 5.1 percent state average, and the poverty rate in this zip code is way out of the ballpark. No wonder Oregon car insurance rates are high around here.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97216 (Portland)	5,005	10.40%	27.50%

This Gresham area zip code is home to nearly 39,000 people. The population density is moderate, but the unemployment rate and the poverty rate are well above the state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97220 (Portland)	4,144	8.30%	20.10%

Approximately 30,000 people live in the Maywood Park section of Portland. The poverty and unemployment rates are notably higher than the state average in this neighborhood.

Now compare the above Oregon zip codes to the zip codes shown below. Here are the four cheapest zip codes (on average) in the state of Oregon to buy car insurance. Annual premium rates in Oregon’s cheapest zip codes can range anywhere from about $790 to around $1,550.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97330 (Corvallis)	539	8.20%	28.30%

This Benton County zip code is home to nearly 42,000 people. The population density is low here, although the poverty and unemployment rates are higher than the state average in this neighborhood.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97333 (Corvallis)	184	7.50%	22.20%

Fewer than 22,000 people live in this Corvallis zip code, where unemployment is more than twice the state average, and the poverty rate is also high. However, the population density is low.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97913 (Nyssa)	8	13.60%	23.70%

This Malheur County zip code is home to less than 6,000 people. The population density is virtually nonexistent, which makes for far fewer auto accidents. The median resident age here is 28.9 years, more than a decade below the state average median age of 39.1 years. There must be quite a few children living here. However, the unemployment and poverty rates are still quite a bit higher than average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
97479 (Sutherlin)	150	7.00%	22.00%

Less than 10,000 people live in this Douglas County neighborhood, where the population density is very light, although the unemployment rate and poverty rate are still well above state averages.

Overall, the state of Oregon is home to 481 zip codes that span 36 counties containing 373 cities, from Adair Village to Yoncalla and every place in between. There is a wide range of premium rates between the cheapest zip codes and the priciest zip codes to buy Oregon car insurance.

Research your own Oregon zip codes today. See how low you can go on car insurance rates in the state of Oregon.

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