You have to make a lot of decisions in a day, and the prospect of having to make one more can seem like the last straw. Unfortunately, your car insurance isn’t as incidental as, say, what you’re going to have for dinner! You have to have car insurance, and it has to be sufficient to meet both Oregon car insurance requirements and your own personal insurance needs. The question is, how low can you go?
Oregon Car Insurance Requirements
When it comes to car insurance requirements, Oregon is one of the most inflexible states in the continental 50. If you’re busted driving the Oregon highways without insurance, even if you’re driving on a light vehicle trip permit, you’re going to be paying the consequences for years in the form of SR-22 compliance, fines and, in some cases, a complete suspension of your driving privileges. Local law enforcement may even decide to “relocate” your vehicle.
Needless to say, whatever they do it’s not going to be good. When you register a vehicle with the Oregon DMV you’re committing to carrying the minimum car insurance requirements on it at all times while it’s on the road. Breaking that promise comes with stiff consequences. It’s much easier for everyone to just pick up the phone, log on to the web and purchase your Oregon car insurance policy.
When you’re in Oregon you’re required to have a minimum of:
1. $25,000 per person bodily injury and property damage liability,
2. $50,000 per crash for bodily injury to others,
3. $10,000 per crash for anyone else’s personal property that decides to get involved,
4. $15,000 in personal injury protection (to cover “reasonable and necessary medical, dental and other expenses one year after a crash”), and
5. $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash in uninsured motorist coverage.
Is This All I Need to Have?
With today’s stiff economic hardships and the recession dragging on with no immediate end in sight it’s very, very tempting to say good enough is good enough and stick with the bare minimum Oregon car insurance requirements (i.e. whatever isn’t going to get you slapped with fines you’ll be paying off for years). That doesn’t mean you’re going to be protected against whatever life and route 84 throw your way.
Who’s going to pay for damages to your vehicle if hail the size of your fist starts falling from the sky? Or your car gets stolen while you’re shopping at Lloyd Center? There are an infinite number of possibilities besides crashing that could cause damages to your car, and you don’t want to be left without wheels for weeks while you try to come up with the money. That’s why even though they’re not technically part of Oregon’s car insurance requirements, comprehensive and collision coverage for your vehicle should still be a part of your insurance policy.
But that’s entirely between you and your budget.
When it comes to car insurance Oregon isn’t playing around, so don’t wait. Contact your Oregon car insurance dealer today to make sure you’ve got the insurance coverage you need at a price you can afford.