Oregon · Insurance Adjuster Sample Interactive Mind Map
Oregon Adjuster Regulations
A visual breakdown of the Oregon rules an adjuster is tested on — and the places where the answer lives in a rule rather than a statute.
Oregon has one of the simplest licensing paths in the country and one of the strangest bodies of claims law. There is no prelicensing course and one $45 exam. But ORS 746.230(1) drops the “general business practice” element every national course teaches and runs against “an insurer or other person” — so one act, on one file, is a violation, and the standard reaches the adjuster personally.
Then there is what is not in the statutes: Oregon licenses public adjusters through twenty administrative rules and no legislation at all, and its bad-faith remedy comes from a 2023 Supreme Court decision rather than a code section. So explore it. Click through the clusters, then take the scenario quiz at the end and see which numbers have actually stuck.
Oregon licenses public adjusters through twenty administrative rules and not one line of statute.
ORS chapter 744 never mentions them. OAR 836-071-1100 to -1195, effective August 1, 2025, built the entire regime on the director’s general rulemaking power.
ORS chapter 744 never mentions them. OAR 836-071-1100 to -1195, effective August 1, 2025, built the entire regime on the director’s general rulemaking power.
| Credential | Where it comes from | Exam & scope |
|---|---|---|
| General Lines Adjuster | ORS 744.531 class | PSI 12-07 · 150 q · 2.5 hr · 70% |
| Health Adjuster | ORS 744.531 class | PSI 12-06 · 100 q · 2 hr · 70% |
| Crop Insurance Adjuster | ORS 744.531 class | PSI 12-15 · 50 q · 1 hr · 80% |
| Public Adjuster | Rule only — no statute | First-party property — auto excluded |
| Workers’ compensation | Not a class at all. Comp is ~2% of the General Lines exam — and ORS 656.780(3) demands a separate certification the State does not issue. | |
70% on every adjuster examexcept Crop, which needs 80%
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The definition has NO tax-treatment prong — do not import one
ORS 744.502(1): “‘Adjuster’ means a person that receives a fee, a commission or other compensation to investigate, negotiate or settle first party or third party losses that arise as claims under the terms of an insurance contract that insures a domestic risk.”
Read what is absent. Several states define the credential by a two-part test whose second prong is independent-contractor tax treatment — with the consequence that a W-2 employee falls outside the definition entirely and needs no license.
Oregon’s definition contains no tax prong. It says nothing about Title 26, nothing about W-2s, nothing about employment status. The Oregon question is what you are paid to do.
That broader hook matters twice. It changes the staff-adjuster analysis — and it is the statutory foundation on which the Division later built a public adjuster licensing regime without a public adjuster statute.
Read what is absent. Several states define the credential by a two-part test whose second prong is independent-contractor tax treatment — with the consequence that a W-2 employee falls outside the definition entirely and needs no license.
Oregon’s definition contains no tax prong. It says nothing about Title 26, nothing about W-2s, nothing about employment status. The Oregon question is what you are paid to do.
That broader hook matters twice. It changes the staff-adjuster analysis — and it is the statutory foundation on which the Division later built a public adjuster licensing regime without a public adjuster statute.
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Public Adjusters — Twenty Rules, Zero Statutes
DFR docket ID 5-2025 · registered 08/01/2025 · NIPR applications live 08/18/2025
- Search ORS chapter 744 for “public adjuster” and you find nothing. Not in the definitions, the license requirement, the exemptions, the classes section, or the prohibited-conduct section. Oregon never adopted the NAIC Public Adjuster Licensing Model Act
- So there is no statutory bond, no statutory contract-cancellation right, and no statutory fee cap — because there is no statute
- Authority: ORS 731.244, the director’s general rulemaking power. Statute implemented: ORS 744.521, the general adjuster licensing section
- The doctrinal move: ORS 744.502(1) already covers a person compensated to settle first party losses. A public adjuster already was an adjuster. The Division carved that activity out as its own class by rule
- OAR 836-071-1100 — the scope, and the last clause is the one to remember: the rules limit “their licensure to assisting insureds in first party claims, excluding claims for personal or commercial auto lines of insurance.”
- OAR 836-071-1105 — a public adjuster acts “solely in relation to first party claims arising under insurance contracts that insure the real or personal property of the insured”
- The twenty rules cover licensing, examination, exemptions, reciprocity, denial and revocation, continuing education, fees, the contract with the insured, place of business, escrow or trust accounts, record retention, standards of conduct, notices, and unlicensed actors
- Same exam standard, same CE: OAR 836-071-1130 routes to OAR 836-071-0120 and 0127 (70%); OAR 836-071-1155 carries the same 24 hours with 3 ethics
The auto exclusion, and a question about nounsAn Oregon public adjuster license does not reach auto claims — personal or commercial. Several states let a public adjuster work any first-party claim; Oregon carves auto out in the first sentence of the scope rule. And note the second-order point: because the whole regime is rule-based, a question asking “what does the Oregon statute require of public adjusters?” has the answer nothing — while a question asking what Oregon requires has a twenty-rule answer. Read the noun.
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Workers’ compensation needs a credential the State does not issue
Comp is not a class on the Oregon adjuster license. It appears on the General Lines exam as content — about 2% of the items, three questions.
But ORS 656.780(3) is separate and mandatory: insurers “may employ only certified workers’ compensation claims examiners to process workers’ compensation claims.”
And the Workers’ Compensation Division expressly does not administer tests or issue certifications. Insurers do. It is a state-mandated, privately administered credential.
So the DFR adjuster license is necessary and not sufficient for Oregon comp files. Two different credentials, two different issuers, and only one of them is the thing you are studying for.
But ORS 656.780(3) is separate and mandatory: insurers “may employ only certified workers’ compensation claims examiners to process workers’ compensation claims.”
And the Workers’ Compensation Division expressly does not administer tests or issue certifications. Insurers do. It is a state-mandated, privately administered credential.
So the DFR adjuster license is necessary and not sufficient for Oregon comp files. Two different credentials, two different issuers, and only one of them is the thing you are studying for.
The rest of chapter 744, in one passORS 744.505 states the license requirement and ORS 744.515 carries the exemptions — read them together, because neither answers the question alone. The recurring tripwire is the same everywhere: the exemption follows the function, not the job title. A person who gathers facts is exempt; the moment that person decides what gets paid, the exemption is gone. ORS 744.555 provides a temporary adjuster permit by rule. ORS 744.541 governs adjusting under a policy issued by an unauthorized insurer — unusual, and worth reading if you touch surplus lines. ORS 744.578 (place of business) and ORS 744.581 (notices) carry the operational duties, and ORS 744.584 is the discipline section that backstops all of it.
The simplest licensing path on the board — with one CE rule that reverses the national norm.
No prelicensing course. A $45 exam you may retake without limit. But nonresidents owe the full 24 CE hours, with no home-state credit at all.
No prelicensing course. A $45 exam you may retake without limit. But nonresidents owe the full 24 CE hours, with no home-state credit at all.
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There is no prelicensing education requirement — for any class
No course, no hours, no certificate, no completion window. DFR says it in four words: “No prelicense training is required.”
That absence is a real finding, not a gap in your notes. It also raises the stakes on the exam, which is the only substantive gate Oregon imposes before licensure.
It has a second consequence people miss. Because there is no course to redo, the cost of letting a license lapse past the grace period is the exam and the wait — a smaller penalty than in a state that front-loads forty classroom hours, but a penalty most licensees never learn about until it applies to them.
That absence is a real finding, not a gap in your notes. It also raises the stakes on the exam, which is the only substantive gate Oregon imposes before licensure.
It has a second consequence people miss. Because there is no course to redo, the cost of letting a license lapse past the grace period is the exam and the wait — a smaller penalty than in a state that front-loads forty classroom hours, but a penalty most licensees never learn about until it applies to them.
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Fingerprints — residents only, and ink cards are simply rejected
DFR directs resident applicants to either have prints “digitally scanned at a PSI testing center located in Oregon” or schedule at FieldprintOregon.com using code FPORDeptConsumerBusServDAS.
The PSI bulletin gives the money: “The $61.25 fee … includes the State processing fee of $46.25, and the PSI processing fee of $15.00. Please note: this process may take up to 4 weeks. Ink cards will not be accepted by the Division.”
Nonresident applicants are exempt if already fingerprinted for an adjuster license in another state — a real saving of $61.25 and four weeks, and easy to miss.
Get printed the day you test. Four weeks of processing sits on the critical path. A resident testing at an Oregon PSI center can be scanned the same day; scheduling prints separately afterward is the most common self-inflicted delay in this state.
The PSI bulletin gives the money: “The $61.25 fee … includes the State processing fee of $46.25, and the PSI processing fee of $15.00. Please note: this process may take up to 4 weeks. Ink cards will not be accepted by the Division.”
Nonresident applicants are exempt if already fingerprinted for an adjuster license in another state — a real saving of $61.25 and four weeks, and easy to miss.
Get printed the day you test. Four weeks of processing sits on the critical path. A resident testing at an Oregon PSI center can be scanned the same day; scheduling prints separately afterward is the most common self-inflicted delay in this state.
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Two passing scores — and the 80% is in the RULE, not just the bulletin
OAR 836-071-0127(1) sets the passing scores. Every Oregon adjuster exam passes at 70% except Crop Insurance Adjuster, which requires 80% — on 50 questions in one hour, meaning you can miss ten.
This is a favorite distractor because candidates reasonably assume one passing score per state. Oregon has two.
And the score is a raw percentage, not a scaled score. Some states report a scaled 70 that does not correspond to 70% of items answered correctly; a course describing Oregon that way is describing a different state.
Every exam also carries 5 to 10 unscored questions in addition to the scored count. You cannot tell which they are and they consume your seat time. Pace against the larger number.
The bulletin itself carries no question counts — they live in PSI’s per-exam content outlines. The General Lines outline says it in four lines: “Oregon Adjuster’s Examination / General Lines Insurance / Series 12‐07 / 150 questions – 2.5‐hour time limit.”
This is a favorite distractor because candidates reasonably assume one passing score per state. Oregon has two.
And the score is a raw percentage, not a scaled score. Some states report a scaled 70 that does not correspond to 70% of items answered correctly; a course describing Oregon that way is describing a different state.
Every exam also carries 5 to 10 unscored questions in addition to the scored count. You cannot tell which they are and they consume your seat time. Pace against the larger number.
The bulletin itself carries no question counts — they live in PSI’s per-exam content outlines. The General Lines outline says it in four lines: “Oregon Adjuster’s Examination / General Lines Insurance / Series 12‐07 / 150 questions – 2.5‐hour time limit.”
| Fee — OAR 836-009-0007 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | $30 |
| License issuance fee | $45 — plus the actual criminal records check cost |
| Total at application | $75 — and it is TWO fees, not one |
| Renewal, on time | $45 |
| Renewal, late | $90 — statutorily “double the amount of the fee” |
| Exam, each attempt | $45 — no cap on attempts |
| Fingerprints, residents | $61.25 |
| NIPR transaction fee | Separate and additional — neither DFR nor NIPR publishes the amount |
state fees, set in rulepenalties and unpublished charges
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Three clocks that end a license or an application
Nine months — OAR 836-071-0125. An application becomes invalid if the license is not granted by the last day of the ninth month after filing.
Two years — OAR 836-071-0130(1)(a). An individual license expires “biennially in the month of the individual’s birthday anniversary.” A business entity license expires on the last day of the month of the second anniversary of initial issuance, then biennially. The renewal window opens 90 days before expiration.
One year — and then you are a new applicant. ORS 744.521(2)(b) gives a one-year grace period to renew late at double the fee. But ORS 744.521(2)(d) sends a licensee whose grace period has lapsed back to ORS 744.521(1), the new-applicant provision.
Not a reinstatement. Not a higher fee. You start over — and the exam comes with it.
Two years — OAR 836-071-0130(1)(a). An individual license expires “biennially in the month of the individual’s birthday anniversary.” A business entity license expires on the last day of the month of the second anniversary of initial issuance, then biennially. The renewal window opens 90 days before expiration.
One year — and then you are a new applicant. ORS 744.521(2)(b) gives a one-year grace period to renew late at double the fee. But ORS 744.521(2)(d) sends a licensee whose grace period has lapsed back to ORS 744.521(1), the new-applicant provision.
Not a reinstatement. Not a higher fee. You start over — and the exam comes with it.
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Nonresident adjusters owe the FULL 24 hours — no home-state credit, no reduction
This is Oregon’s most consequential CE rule and it is the opposite of near-universal national practice.
Most states exempt a nonresident licensee whose home state imposes its own continuing education — the theory being that the home state already polices competence and duplicating the requirement serves nobody. Reciprocity-based nonresident CE exemptions are the norm.
ORS 744.521(2)(a)(B) draws no resident/nonresident distinction at all, and DFR states the consequence directly:
“Beginning January 1, 2020, both resident and non-resident individuals licensed as adjusters must complete 24 hours of continuing education prior to renewal, including 3 hours of ethics.”
The requirement is 24 hours per two-year cycle: 3 ethics + 3 Oregon law + 18 general. Both threes are INSIDE the 24, not on top of it. Nonresidents may substitute home-state-required subjects for the 3 Oregon-law hours. The 24-hour total stands.
Business entities owe none — the provision applies “if the licensee is an individual.” Consultants owe none. Public adjusters owe the same 24 with 3 ethics.
If Oregon is one line in a stack of nonresident licenses, calendar its CE separately. An adjuster who assumes the usual reciprocity discovers the miss at renewal — and the grace period is the only thing between that and starting over.
Most states exempt a nonresident licensee whose home state imposes its own continuing education — the theory being that the home state already polices competence and duplicating the requirement serves nobody. Reciprocity-based nonresident CE exemptions are the norm.
ORS 744.521(2)(a)(B) draws no resident/nonresident distinction at all, and DFR states the consequence directly:
“Beginning January 1, 2020, both resident and non-resident individuals licensed as adjusters must complete 24 hours of continuing education prior to renewal, including 3 hours of ethics.”
The requirement is 24 hours per two-year cycle: 3 ethics + 3 Oregon law + 18 general. Both threes are INSIDE the 24, not on top of it. Nonresidents may substitute home-state-required subjects for the 3 Oregon-law hours. The 24-hour total stands.
Business entities owe none — the provision applies “if the licensee is an individual.” Consultants owe none. Public adjusters owe the same 24 with 3 ethics.
If Oregon is one line in a stack of nonresident licenses, calendar its CE separately. An adjuster who assumes the usual reciprocity discovers the miss at renewal — and the grace period is the only thing between that and starting over.
Carryover and repeat courses: the authority is SILENT for adjustersOAR 836-071-0225 contains an eight-hour-per-day cap and a two-year repeat-course ban — but OAR 836-071-0210 limits rules 0210 through 0250 to ORS 744.072 producers, and DFR publishes the eight-hour cap under “Agents,” not under “Adjusters.” Treat the adjuster position as unaddressed and do not infer a rule in either direction. Saying “Oregon allows no carryover” is as unsupported as saying it does.
🌐 Nonresidents and reciprocity
ORS 744.528 — a nonresident licensed in good standing in a reciprocal home state is generally exempt from the Oregon exam
Three non-reciprocal states: California · Hawaii · New York. Their residents must sit the Oregon exam
Treat that list as current, not closed. The same DFR page writes “i.e. CA, NY, HI etc.”, and OAR 836-071-0120(1)(b) says the authoritative list “is set forth on the department’s … website”
Reciprocity is a CONTINUING condition — ORS 744.538 governs a change of circumstance of a nonresident adjuster
Designate Oregon and you test. The exemption runs off holding a license somewhere else. A candidate from a non-licensing state has none, so the exemption is unavailable by definition, not by policy
⚡ Discipline — a tenth of the money
ORS 744.584 is the prohibited-conduct and disciplinary section, and it reaches the licensee personally
ORS 731.988(1): “The civil penalty for individual insurance producers, adjusters or insurance consultants may not exceed $1,000 for each offense.”
The general ceiling in the same subsection is $10,000 per offense. Most states apply one ceiling to everyone; Oregon expressly discounts the individual
Do not read the smaller number as a smaller exposure. It is a smaller unit. Each violation is a separate offense — ten violations on ten files is ten offenses
Reduced amount, undiminished exposure. You are a proper respondent either way
The statute drops the frequency element, names you personally, and creates no private lawsuit — and then the Supreme Court opened a side door in 2023.
One act, on one file, is a violation. Nobody can sue you under ORS 746.230 — but since Moody they may be able to sue on it.
One act, on one file, is a violation. Nobody can sue you under ORS 746.230 — but since Moody they may be able to sue on it.
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Two inversions live in the space between subsections (1) and (2)
ORS 746.230(1): “An insurer or other person may not commit or perform any of the following unfair claim settlement practices” — then fourteen lettered paragraphs, including “(d) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based on all available information” and “(f) Not attempting, in good faith, to promptly and equitably settle claims in which liability has become reasonably clear.”
Subsection (2) is a different animal: “No insurer shall refuse, without just cause, to pay or settle claims with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice in this state…”
INVERSION ONE — there is no frequency element on the prohibited-practices list. The NAIC model act, on which most multi-state courses are built, conditions liability on conduct committed flagrantly or “with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice.” Oregon strips that qualifier out of the list entirely — subsection (1) reads “may not commit or perform any.” The frequency language survives only in subsection (2), which prohibits something narrower. One act on one file violates subsection (1).
INVERSION TWO — the subject is “or other person,” not “insurer.” The national pattern is a claims statute aimed at insurers, reaching adjusters derivatively if at all. Oregon’s runs against “An insurer or other person.” And the Legislature demonstrated the contrast inside the same section — subsection (2) begins “No insurer shall.” When a drafter uses the broad phrase in one subsection and the narrow one in the next, the difference is deliberate.
OAR 836-080-0210(4) reinforces it from the rule side, defining “Insurer” to include “any person authorized to represent the insurer with respect to a claim.”
The Oregon claims-practices standard travels with the individual adjuster.
Subsection (2) is a different animal: “No insurer shall refuse, without just cause, to pay or settle claims with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice in this state…”
INVERSION ONE — there is no frequency element on the prohibited-practices list. The NAIC model act, on which most multi-state courses are built, conditions liability on conduct committed flagrantly or “with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice.” Oregon strips that qualifier out of the list entirely — subsection (1) reads “may not commit or perform any.” The frequency language survives only in subsection (2), which prohibits something narrower. One act on one file violates subsection (1).
INVERSION TWO — the subject is “or other person,” not “insurer.” The national pattern is a claims statute aimed at insurers, reaching adjusters derivatively if at all. Oregon’s runs against “An insurer or other person.” And the Legislature demonstrated the contrast inside the same section — subsection (2) begins “No insurer shall.” When a drafter uses the broad phrase in one subsection and the narrow one in the next, the difference is deliberate.
OAR 836-080-0210(4) reinforces it from the rule side, defining “Insurer” to include “any person authorized to represent the insurer with respect to a claim.”
The Oregon claims-practices standard travels with the individual adjuster.
| Deadline | What starts the clock | Cite |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Receipt of notification of claim — acknowledge OR pay, with a dated notation in the file | OAR 836-080-0225(1) |
| 21 days | Receipt of an inquiry from the Director — furnish an adequate response | OAR 836-080-0225(2) |
| 30 days | Receipt of any other pertinent communication reasonably indicating a reply is expected | OAR 836-080-0225(3) |
| 30 days | Receipt of properly executed proofs of loss — ACCEPT OR DENY | OAR 836-080-0235(1) |
acknowledge-or-pay — runs from NOTIFICATIONaccept-or-deny — runs from PROOFS OF LOSS
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Acknowledge-or-pay and accept-or-deny are two rules with two triggers — and both are 30 days
OAR 836-080-0225(1) is satisfied by an acknowledgment. It does not require a coverage decision, and it runs from notification of claim.
OAR 836-080-0235(1) requires the decision, and it runs from properly executed proofs of loss — a later and different event.
Both are 30 days, which is exactly why they get conflated. A guide that reports “Oregon: 30 days” and stops has told you one fact and hidden the other. An adjuster who acknowledges on day 29 and thinks the file is clean has satisfied one rule and not started the other.
Note also 0225(4): promptly providing claim forms, instructions and assistance to a first-party claimant, “not later than the 30th day … constitutes compliance with section (1).” Sending the forms is one way to satisfy the acknowledgment.
OAR 836-080-0235(1) requires the decision, and it runs from properly executed proofs of loss — a later and different event.
Both are 30 days, which is exactly why they get conflated. A guide that reports “Oregon: 30 days” and stops has told you one fact and hidden the other. An adjuster who acknowledges on day 29 and thinks the file is clean has satisfied one rule and not started the other.
Note also 0225(4): promptly providing claim forms, instructions and assistance to a first-party claimant, “not later than the 30th day … constitutes compliance with section (1).” Sending the forms is one way to satisfy the acknowledgment.
The rules disclaim their own civil effect — and that is why Moody had to build on the statuteOAR 836-080-0205(4): these rules “do not in any way expand or limit or otherwise change the procedural or substantive rights” of claimants. In most states, unfair-claims regulations are routinely offered in bad-faith litigation as the standard of care. Oregon’s rules expressly refuse that role. So when the Supreme Court needed a standard of care, it grounded it on ORS 746.230 itself — the regulations had disclaimed themselves out of the job.
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Moody — the front door is locked and the side door opened in December 2023
No private right of action under ORS 746.230. Farris v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 284 Or 453 (1978), and it has never been overruled.
But Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union, 371 Or 772, 542 P3d 24 (2023), decided December 29, 2023, holds that ORS 746.230(1) supplies an independent standard of care for a common-law NEGLIGENCE claim, with emotional distress damages available.
The Legislature’s own annotation now reads: “List of unfair claim settlement practices in this section provided independent standard of care for … negligence per se claim against insurer.”
The Court: “in undertaking to provide insurance benefits, an insurer not only undertakes to provide necessary financial resources but also undertakes to provide the peace of mind that comes with knowing that those resources will be promptly paid.” The paragraphs it leaned on were (1)(d) and (1)(f).
Farris was distinguished, not overruled. Those plaintiffs “did not allege … that the defendant owed them an obligation other than that specified in the contract … In particular, the plaintiffs’ complaint did not allege that the defendant’s actions were negligent.”
The difference between a barred claim and a live one is now largely a matter of how the complaint is drafted. Plead breach of the policy and you are in Farris; plead negligence measured by the (1)(d) standard and you are in Moody.
And paragraph (1)(d) makes “refusing to pay without conducting a reasonable investigation” the named breach. A thin file is not a neutral fact — it is the element.
But Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union, 371 Or 772, 542 P3d 24 (2023), decided December 29, 2023, holds that ORS 746.230(1) supplies an independent standard of care for a common-law NEGLIGENCE claim, with emotional distress damages available.
The Legislature’s own annotation now reads: “List of unfair claim settlement practices in this section provided independent standard of care for … negligence per se claim against insurer.”
The Court: “in undertaking to provide insurance benefits, an insurer not only undertakes to provide necessary financial resources but also undertakes to provide the peace of mind that comes with knowing that those resources will be promptly paid.” The paragraphs it leaned on were (1)(d) and (1)(f).
Farris was distinguished, not overruled. Those plaintiffs “did not allege … that the defendant owed them an obligation other than that specified in the contract … In particular, the plaintiffs’ complaint did not allege that the defendant’s actions were negligent.”
The difference between a barred claim and a live one is now largely a matter of how the complaint is drafted. Plead breach of the policy and you are in Farris; plead negligence measured by the (1)(d) standard and you are in Moody.
And paragraph (1)(d) makes “refusing to pay without conducting a reasonable investigation” the named breach. A thin file is not a neutral fact — it is the element.
🔒 Three propositions, three answers
A named tort of “first-party bad faith” — still does not exist. Moody did not create one, and commentators are explicit that it did not
Contract-only remedy for an ordinary coverage dispute — still the baseline, plus ORS 742.061 fees. Farris remains good law on its facts
Negligence, with ORS 746.230(1) supplying the standard of care — NOW AVAILABLE, with emotional distress on the table
Honest caveat on scope: federal district courts have applied Moody beyond life insurance, while defense-side commentary insists the Court tried to cabin it. Treat the reach outside life insurance as genuinely unsettled
Adjuster personal CIVIL liability is unresolved. No private action under 746.230 against anyone; whether Moody’s negligence route reaches the individual adjuster has not been decided
⚡ What Oregon gives the insured instead
ORS 742.061 attorney fees — six months from proof of loss, and Long v. Farmers, 360 Or 791 (2017): paying up mid-litigation does not avoid it
“Proof of loss” need not be written. Dockins, 329 Or 20 (1999): “any event or submission that would permit the insurer to estimate its obligations”; Parks, 347 Or 374 (2009): it “does not need to be in writing.” A recorded phone call can start the clock
Georgetown Realty, 313 Or 97 (1992) — third-party failure to settle is a genuine tort, uncapped by policy limits, with punitive damages available
Punitive damages with no statutory cap — but see the split below
Regulatory enforcement by the Director — and it reaches the adjuster personally at $1,000 per offense
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Georgetown Realty inverts the intuitive result — the trigger is CONTROL, not bad faith
Georgetown Realty v. Home Ins. Co., 313 Or 97, 831 P2d 7 (1992):
“The insured relinquishes control over the defense … That kind of relationship carries with it a standard of care that exists independent of the contract.”
The standard is ordinary negligence, not bad faith. The exposure is uncapped by policy limits and punitive damages are available.
Now the inversion. Refusing to defend is a breach of contract only. Agreeing to defend and then handling it carelessly is a tort.
The insurer that says no is in a better legal position than the insurer that says yes and does it badly. That is the opposite of the “the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify, so denying is the risky move” instinct most courses teach — and it drives every reservation-of-rights decision in the state.
Note also what the test is not: it is not a state-of-mind inquiry. It asks who holds control of the defense. Once the insurer takes control, the duty of care attaches by operation of the relationship.
“The insured relinquishes control over the defense … That kind of relationship carries with it a standard of care that exists independent of the contract.”
The standard is ordinary negligence, not bad faith. The exposure is uncapped by policy limits and punitive damages are available.
Now the inversion. Refusing to defend is a breach of contract only. Agreeing to defend and then handling it carelessly is a tort.
The insurer that says no is in a better legal position than the insurer that says yes and does it badly. That is the opposite of the “the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify, so denying is the risky move” instinct most courses teach — and it drives every reservation-of-rights decision in the state.
Note also what the test is not: it is not a state-of-mind inquiry. It asks who holds control of the defense. Once the insurer takes control, the duty of care attaches by operation of the relationship.
Punitive damages: no cap, and the claimant keeps 30%ORS 31.735(1) splits any punitive award 30% to the prevailing party, 60% to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Account, and 10% to the State Court Facilities and Security Account — and plaintiff’s counsel is separately capped at 20% of the total award, so counsel can receive two-thirds of what the client does. Oregon imposes no statutory ceiling on the award itself and then sends 70% of it to the State. The plaintiff is a minority stakeholder in his own punitive verdict. Split-recovery is a state-by-state design choice and Oregon’s sits at one extreme — do not generalize an assumption in either direction.
Oregon is called a no-fault state constantly, and it is not one.
PIP is mandatory. Tort rights are untouched. There is no threshold of any kind — no verbal, no monetary, no partial abolition anywhere in ORS 742.518 to 742.542.
PIP is mandatory. Tort rights are untouched. There is no threshold of any kind — no verbal, no monetary, no partial abolition anywhere in ORS 742.518 to 742.542.
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Mandatory add-on PIP with NO tort threshold
PIP is required — ORS 742.520(1)(a): every motor vehicle liability policy covering a private passenger vehicle “shall provide personal injury protection benefits to the person insured thereunder, members of that person’s family residing in the same household, … passengers occupying the insured motor vehicle and pedestrians struck by the insured motor vehicle.”
And tort rights are expressly preserved — ORS 742.520(5): “The potential existence of a cause of action in tort does not relieve an insurer from the duty to pay personal injury protection benefits.”
There is no verbal threshold. No monetary threshold. No 60-day disability prong. No partial abolition of tort liability anywhere in the PIP article.
A claimant may sue for pain and suffering on any injury, at any dollar level. The PIP article’s only interactions with the tort claim are reimbursement (ORS 742.534 to 742.544) and offset against UM/UIM (ORS 742.542) — never a gate.
Calling Oregon “a no-fault state” is not shorthand. It is an error that produces wrong answers about what a claimant must prove and about the value of a minor-injury file.
And tort rights are expressly preserved — ORS 742.520(5): “The potential existence of a cause of action in tort does not relieve an insurer from the duty to pay personal injury protection benefits.”
There is no verbal threshold. No monetary threshold. No 60-day disability prong. No partial abolition of tort liability anywhere in the PIP article.
A claimant may sue for pain and suffering on any injury, at any dollar level. The PIP article’s only interactions with the tort claim are reimbursement (ORS 742.534 to 742.544) and offset against UM/UIM (ORS 742.542) — never a gate.
Calling Oregon “a no-fault state” is not shorthand. It is an error that produces wrong answers about what a claimant must prove and about the value of a minor-injury file.
| PIP benefit — ORS 742.524 | Limit |
|---|---|
| Medical | $15,000 — expenses incurred within 2 years of the accident |
| Income loss | 70% of lost income after disability continues at least 14 days; max $3,000 per month; 52 weeks aggregate |
| Essential services | $30 per day, 52 weeks — performed by a non-relative not residing in the household |
| Funeral | incurred within one year, not more than $5,000 |
| Child care | $25 per day beginning after the initial 24 hours of hospitalization, not to exceed $750 |
| PIP denial notice | 60 calendar days of receiving a claim from the provider — to insured and provider (ORS 742.528) |
| Minimum liability limits | 25 / 50 / 20 — ORS 806.070(2) |
| UM and UIM floor | 25 / 50 — and they are not rejectable |
ORS 742.532 makes the schedule a FLOOR, not a ceilingthe only PIP day-count in the statute governs DENIALS
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Only ONE PIP figure has moved this century — and it is not the one people assume
The income-loss cap rose from $1,250 to $3,000 per month by Oregon Laws 2009 chapter 66 section 1, operative for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2010.
The $15,000 medical limit has not changed since January 1, 2004. It came from 2003 c.813 §2 and it is over twenty years old.
What SB 411 did in 2015 was extend the incurral window from one year to two — NOT raise the dollar amount. Any material saying “SB 411 raised PIP medical to $15,000” is wrong. SB 411 changed the clock, not the cap.
And Oregon has no PIP-overdue statute and no PIP penalty interest — the near-universal companion to a PIP mandate. Do not go looking for a 30-day-overdue rule with statutory interest; it is not there. The enforcement mechanism is ORS 742.061 attorney fees at six months.
The $15,000 medical limit has not changed since January 1, 2004. It came from 2003 c.813 §2 and it is over twenty years old.
What SB 411 did in 2015 was extend the incurral window from one year to two — NOT raise the dollar amount. Any material saying “SB 411 raised PIP medical to $15,000” is wrong. SB 411 changed the clock, not the cap.
And Oregon has no PIP-overdue statute and no PIP penalty interest — the near-universal companion to a PIP mandate. Do not go looking for a 30-day-overdue rule with statutory interest; it is not there. The enforcement mechanism is ORS 742.061 attorney fees at six months.
⚖️
UIM STACKS on top of the liability recovery — it does not offset
Oregon Laws 2015 chapter 5 (SB 411) rewrote ORS 742.500, 742.502, 742.504, 742.506, 742.524 and 742.544. The enrolled act: the amendments “apply to motor vehicle liability policies that are issued or renewed on or after the effective date of this 2015 Act” — January 1, 2016.
UIM is now triggered by damages exceeding the recovery, not by comparing limits.
Work the numbers. Insured carries 100/300 UIM. Tortfeasor carries 25/50 and tenders his $25,000 limit. Proven damages $150,000.
• Pre-2016, difference in limits (repealed): $100,000 − $25,000 = $75,000 available → total recovery $100,000
• Current Oregon, add-on: the full $100,000 limit, on top of the $25,000 → total recovery $125,000
And the starker case: if the tortfeasor had carried 100/300 — limits equal to the UIM limits — the pre-2016 answer was $0 in UIM on $150,000 of damages. Today UIM pays up to its full limit above the liability recovery, capped only by proven damages.
Any material describing the difference-in-limits offset as current Oregon law is teaching pre-2016 law. This is the state’s single most valuable vintage trap.
UIM is now triggered by damages exceeding the recovery, not by comparing limits.
Work the numbers. Insured carries 100/300 UIM. Tortfeasor carries 25/50 and tenders his $25,000 limit. Proven damages $150,000.
• Pre-2016, difference in limits (repealed): $100,000 − $25,000 = $75,000 available → total recovery $100,000
• Current Oregon, add-on: the full $100,000 limit, on top of the $25,000 → total recovery $125,000
And the starker case: if the tortfeasor had carried 100/300 — limits equal to the UIM limits — the pre-2016 answer was $0 in UIM on $150,000 of damages. Today UIM pays up to its full limit above the liability recovery, capped only by proven damages.
Any material describing the difference-in-limits offset as current Oregon law is teaching pre-2016 law. This is the state’s single most valuable vintage trap.
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UM and UIM cannot be rejected — and anti-stacking clauses are now void
ORS 742.502(1): a policy “shall provide” uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. There is no rejection mechanism at all. Limits default to the bodily-injury liability limits; the insured may elect lower limits in writing, but never below the ORS 806.070 floor of 25/50.
The common national design is a mandatory offer with a signed rejection. “Must offer, may reject in writing” is a different state. The only election Oregon permits is a reduction.
And anti-stacking is now forbidden. Batten v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 368 Or 538, 495 P3d 1222 (2021): because ORS 742.504 is a floor — the policy must be “no less favorable in any respect” — and SB 411 deleted the model anti-stacking term, insurers may no longer contract for it. Oregon flipped from permitting anti-stacking to forbidding it.
The common national design is a mandatory offer with a signed rejection. “Must offer, may reject in writing” is a different state. The only election Oregon permits is a reduction.
And anti-stacking is now forbidden. Batten v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 368 Or 538, 495 P3d 1222 (2021): because ORS 742.504 is a floor — the policy must be “no less favorable in any respect” — and SB 411 deleted the model anti-stacking term, insurers may no longer contract for it. Oregon flipped from permitting anti-stacking to forbidding it.
The consent-to-settle clock runs AGAINST the insurer — both halves of itORS 742.504(4)(e): silence for more than 30 days after a written consent request means consent is presumed given. ORS 742.504(7)(d): an insurer that refuses consent to a limits offer must itself pay the amount the insured therefore did not collect. In many states the consent-to-settle clause is a trap for the insured — settle without consent and forfeit UIM. Oregon keeps the requirement and loads the consequences onto the carrier: fail to answer in thirty days and you have consented; refuse and you buy the difference. A UM/UIM file with an unanswered consent request sitting in it for a month is not a neutral file.
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Comparative fault is measured against the COMBINED fault of all defendants
ORS 31.600(1) bars recovery only where the claimant’s fault is “greater than the combined fault of all persons” against whom recovery is sought.
Read the noun: “combined.” This is the aggregate rule, and states split on it.
Worked example. Claimant 40% at fault. Three defendants at 25%, 20% and 15% — combined 60%.
• Oregon: 40 is not greater than 60. The claimant recovers, reduced by 40%
• A plaintiff-versus-each-defendant state: 40 beats 25, 40 beats 20, 40 beats 15. The claimant recovers nothing from anyone
Same facts, opposite outcomes. Oregon is a 51% bar measured against the aggregate, so a plaintiff at exactly 50% recovers, halved. ORS 31.610 governs what survives of joint and several liability.
Read the noun: “combined.” This is the aggregate rule, and states split on it.
Worked example. Claimant 40% at fault. Three defendants at 25%, 20% and 15% — combined 60%.
• Oregon: 40 is not greater than 60. The claimant recovers, reduced by 40%
• A plaintiff-versus-each-defendant state: 40 beats 25, 40 beats 20, 40 beats 15. The claimant recovers nothing from anyone
Same facts, opposite outcomes. Oregon is a 51% bar measured against the aggregate, so a plaintiff at exactly 50% recovers, halved. ORS 31.610 governs what survives of joint and several liability.
There is NO total-loss percentage threshold binding an insurerThe 80% figure everyone quotes lives in ORS 801.527(3) and applies only to damage “not covered by an insurer.” It is a DMV titling and branding rule. For an insured vehicle, ORS 801.527(1) is effectively circular: the vehicle is a total loss when the insurer declares it one or pays it as one. Nothing in Oregon law tells an adjuster when to declare a total loss — no threshold, no formula. If you learned an 80% rule as a decision rule, you learned a titling rule. Two related quirks: ORS 742.466(2) makes the insurer pay 100% of appraisal costs when the appraisal beats its last offer, rather than the customary split; and OAR 836-080-0240(10) bars deducting any expense from an insured’s deductible recovery unless an outside attorney was retained — in-house collection expense is categorically un-chargeable.
Nineteen statutes instead of one policy form, an appraisal award that binds only one side, and a comp system where the worker picks the doctor.
Oregon distributes its property answers across the code and its comp answers across a bulletin reissued every May.
Oregon distributes its property answers across the code and its comp answers across a bulletin reissued every May.
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Oregon mandates a standard fire policy — as nineteen separate statutes
ORS 742.202: no fire insurer “shall use any fire insurance policy or renew any fire insurance policy on property in this state unless it contains the provisions set forth in ORS 742.206 to 742.242.”
Oregon does not enact the New York 165-line Standard Fire Policy as a single reprinted form. It disaggregates the standard policy into nineteen separate statutes, each independently commanding “A fire insurance policy shall contain a provision as follows:” followed by the mandated text.
The content tracks the 1943 New York form closely — and several of the numbers are different, and the differences are exactly the ones adjusters get wrong.
ORS 742.204 is the escape hatch that makes a modern HO-3 lawful: a policy including fire “and substantial coverage against other perils” for a single premium need not comply.
Oregon does not enact the New York 165-line Standard Fire Policy as a single reprinted form. It disaggregates the standard policy into nineteen separate statutes, each independently commanding “A fire insurance policy shall contain a provision as follows:” followed by the mandated text.
The content tracks the 1943 New York form closely — and several of the numbers are different, and the differences are exactly the ones adjusters get wrong.
ORS 742.204 is the escape hatch that makes a modern HO-3 lawful: a policy including fire “and substantial coverage against other perils” for a single premium need not comply.
| Fire policy condition | Oregon | Cite |
|---|---|---|
| Vacancy / unoccupancy | 60 consecutive days — a single trigger | ORS 742.228 |
| Notice of loss | “immediate written notice” | ORS 742.230 |
| Proof of loss | 90 days after receipt of the FORMS from the company | ORS 742.230 |
| When loss payable | 60 days after proof of loss and ascertainment | ORS 742.238 |
| Appraisal — name an appraiser | 20 days from written demand | ORS 742.232 |
| Appraisal — agree on an umpire | 15 days, then a judge appoints | ORS 742.232 |
| Suit limitation | 24 months after inception of the loss | ORS 742.240 |
| Option to repair or replace | 30 days after receipt of proof of loss | ORS 742.234 |
| Abandonment | “There can be no abandonment…” | ORS 742.236 |
tracks the national formdeparts from it — in length AND trigger
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The proof-of-loss clock does not start until YOU deliver the forms
ORS 742.230 requires proof of loss “within 90 days after receipt of proof of loss forms from the company, unless such time is extended in writing by this company.”
The New York standard form runs 60 days from the loss. Oregon runs 90 days from the insured’s receipt of the carrier’s forms — different length, different trigger.
And it is non-waivable downward. ORS 742.053(2), as amended by 2023 c.85: “If the insurance policy is fire insurance, notwithstanding any more restrictive requirement in the insurance policy, an insured must provide proof of loss within 90 days after receiving a form.”
ORS 742.053(1) obliges the insurer, “in response to a written request,” to provide the forms; OAR 836-080-0225(4) backstops it on any first-party notification.
An adjuster who denies for a late proof of loss without having delivered the forms is standing on nothing — because the clock never started.
And the suit limitation is 24 months, not 12. ORS 742.240 — “within 24 months next after inception of the loss.” Oregon Laws 1991 chapter 437 section 1 doubled the usual twelve, and that is still the most recent amendment. Note the trigger too: inception of the loss, not the date of denial.
The New York standard form runs 60 days from the loss. Oregon runs 90 days from the insured’s receipt of the carrier’s forms — different length, different trigger.
And it is non-waivable downward. ORS 742.053(2), as amended by 2023 c.85: “If the insurance policy is fire insurance, notwithstanding any more restrictive requirement in the insurance policy, an insured must provide proof of loss within 90 days after receiving a form.”
ORS 742.053(1) obliges the insurer, “in response to a written request,” to provide the forms; OAR 836-080-0225(4) backstops it on any first-party notification.
An adjuster who denies for a late proof of loss without having delivered the forms is standing on nothing — because the clock never started.
And the suit limitation is 24 months, not 12. ORS 742.240 — “within 24 months next after inception of the loss.” Oregon Laws 1991 chapter 437 section 1 doubled the usual twelve, and that is still the most recent amendment. Note the trigger too: inception of the loss, not the date of denial.
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No valued policy law — and an appraisal award that binds only one side
Oregon has NO valued policy law. There is no total-loss “whole amount of the policy” provision in chapter 742 or 746. In a valued-policy state a total loss ends the valuation argument. In Oregon the valuation argument is the whole case.
ORS 742.232 says on its face that “an award in writing, so itemized, of any two when filed with this company shall determine the amount of actual cash value and loss.” Each appraiser is paid by the party selecting them; umpire and appraisal expenses are split equally.
But Oregon case law has cut the binding effect down, so the statutory appraisal binds only the party who invoked it. In most states an appraisal award binds both sides as to amount — which is precisely what makes appraisal attractive as an alternative to litigation.
Confirm the current posture before you demand appraisal in Oregon. Demanding it may bind you without binding the other side. This is one of the few places where knowing the statutory text alone will lead you wrong.
And on ACV, labor depreciation and matching, Oregon is silent. No statutory or regulatory definition of ACV; no controlling authority on labor depreciation either way; no matching statute, no matching rule, no matching case. Two of the most heavily litigated property questions in the country have no Oregon answer — and a course that supplies one is guessing. When a question is unresolved in a state, that IS the answer.
ORS 742.232 says on its face that “an award in writing, so itemized, of any two when filed with this company shall determine the amount of actual cash value and loss.” Each appraiser is paid by the party selecting them; umpire and appraisal expenses are split equally.
But Oregon case law has cut the binding effect down, so the statutory appraisal binds only the party who invoked it. In most states an appraisal award binds both sides as to amount — which is precisely what makes appraisal attractive as an alternative to litigation.
Confirm the current posture before you demand appraisal in Oregon. Demanding it may bind you without binding the other side. This is one of the few places where knowing the statutory text alone will lead you wrong.
And on ACV, labor depreciation and matching, Oregon is silent. No statutory or regulatory definition of ACV; no controlling authority on labor depreciation either way; no matching statute, no matching rule, no matching case. Two of the most heavily litigated property questions in the country have no Oregon answer — and a course that supplies one is guessing. When a question is unresolved in a state, that IS the answer.
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Wildfire — three enactments across three sessions, and the famous one is the smallest
The 24-month additional living expense floor is real but narrower than usually described. It is expressly “subject to the policy limits for additional living expenses.” Oregon extends TIME, not MONEY. A policy with a 12-month or percentage-of-Coverage-A sublimit still caps at that dollar sublimit. This is the most commonly overstated Oregon wildfire provision — an adjuster who tells a displaced insured that Oregon guarantees 24 months of ALE has promised something the statute does not deliver.
Contents-inventory relief came from HB 2982, Oregon Laws 2023 chapter 85, which amended ORS 742.053 — not from SB 82.
SB 82, Oregon Laws 2023 chapter 67, DID pass — but it is a disclosure-and-mapping measure, not a benefits measure. It created ORS 742.277, requiring an insurer that cancels, nonrenews or raises premium “for a reason that is not nonpayment of a premium and that is materially related to wildfire risk” to disclose the property-specific characteristics involved, the mitigation actions the insured could take, and — where a wildfire risk score was used — how it is determined, the range of possible scores, and the relative position of this property within it.
This is the ONE place Oregon requires a reason on a homeowners nonrenewal. The general rule — ORS 746.687(4) — requires 30 days’ notice and no reason at all.
Contents-inventory relief came from HB 2982, Oregon Laws 2023 chapter 85, which amended ORS 742.053 — not from SB 82.
SB 82, Oregon Laws 2023 chapter 67, DID pass — but it is a disclosure-and-mapping measure, not a benefits measure. It created ORS 742.277, requiring an insurer that cancels, nonrenews or raises premium “for a reason that is not nonpayment of a premium and that is materially related to wildfire risk” to disclose the property-specific characteristics involved, the mitigation actions the insured could take, and — where a wildfire risk score was used — how it is determined, the range of possible scores, and the relative position of this property within it.
This is the ONE place Oregon requires a reason on a homeowners nonrenewal. The general rule — ORS 746.687(4) — requires 30 days’ notice and no reason at all.
Two wildfire narrownesses, and a prohibition with nothing left to prohibitORS 742.278 bars an insurer from using “a map published by an agency of this state” identifying wildfire risk. It does NOT reach proprietary vendor wildfire scores — ORS 742.277 confirms this by regulating rather than banning their use. And SB 83 (2025) repealed the statewide wildfire hazard map framework, so ORS 742.278 now prohibits the use of a state map the state has since withdrawn. Separately, Oregon’s nonrenewal moratorium is discretionary and capped at 30 days at a time, requiring a Governor’s emergency declaration as a predicate — where at least one western state mandates a one-year moratorium by statute. An Oregon moratorium is never automatic and never longer than 30 days without an extension. The Oregon FAIR Plan is statutory, with mandatory member participation, dating to 1971.
💳 Guaranty — ORS 734.570
The cap DOUBLED on 1/1/2025. Per 2025 c.20: an obligation from an insolvency “on or after January 1, 2025, may not exceed $600,000”. Before that, $300,000
Note the drafting shift too: the old cap was “less than $300,000” (exclusive); the new one is “may not exceed $600,000” (inclusive)
Oregon omitted the NAIC $100 floor entirely. No minimum, no deductible, no threshold. A $60 covered claim is payable here and would be barred in most model states
Unearned premium is NOT capped separately — it is “including a claim for unearned premiums” inside the ordinary definition, riding the full cap. The model’s typical $10,000 sub-limit is absent
Workers’ compensation is paid IN FULL, uncapped — and carved out of the claim-filing bar deadline. Coverage reaches claims existing at insolvency or arising within 30 days after
🚫 Fraud — almost none of it works as expected
NO mandatory reporting duty on an adjuster. ORS 731.592(2) says “an insurer shall notify”; ORS 731.592(4) says “a person … may furnish.” Permission, not obligation
And the insurer’s “mandate” has no penalty. The only consequence of failing to report is losing eligibility for restitution compensation under ORS 137.106. No fine, no license action
Immunity turns on the absence of ACTUAL MALICE, not good faith — ORS 731.594. More protective of the reporter: a negligent or mistaken report stays immune
No antifraud plan. No SIU mandate. No state fraud bureau. ORS 731.592(2) directs a report to “the appropriate agency” — undefined because there is no agency to name
The fraud warning is OPTIONAL. DFR Bulletin INS 2010-03: warnings “may be included” — then constrains their content so they concede a misstatement must be “fraudulent or material.” The regulator polices overstatement, not omission
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In Oregon workers’ compensation, the WORKER picks the doctor — from the first visit
ORS 656.245(2)(a) gives the worker the choice of attending physician from the first visit, statewide, plus two free changes. There is no employer panel, no posted list, and no initial-treatment control window.
Directed care is available to an Oregon carrier only by certifying a Managed Care Organization under ORS 656.260 — and even then the MCO must permit continued treatment with an outside primary care physician who agrees to refer for specialized treatment.
Any national comp module built on employer-directed care must be overridden for Oregon. The carrier’s only lever is certifying an MCO in advance — a structural decision made long before the claim, not a case-by-case one.
And the claims rules mostly do not reach comp. OAR 836-080-0205: the division 80 rules “apply to workers’ compensation insurance only as provided in OAR 836-080-0250.” Most states exclude comp from the claims STATUTE; Oregon keeps the statute and strips the RULES — leaving one rule construing one paragraph, ORS 746.230(1)(d).
OAR 836-080-0250(2) then closes the file at the moment of decision: “The insurer may not rely on any fact not documented in the claim record at the time of denial to establish that an investigation was reasonable.” No after-acquired justification. No retroactive file-building.
Directed care is available to an Oregon carrier only by certifying a Managed Care Organization under ORS 656.260 — and even then the MCO must permit continued treatment with an outside primary care physician who agrees to refer for specialized treatment.
Any national comp module built on employer-directed care must be overridden for Oregon. The carrier’s only lever is certifying an MCO in advance — a structural decision made long before the claim, not a case-by-case one.
And the claims rules mostly do not reach comp. OAR 836-080-0205: the division 80 rules “apply to workers’ compensation insurance only as provided in OAR 836-080-0250.” Most states exclude comp from the claims STATUTE; Oregon keeps the statute and strips the RULES — leaving one rule construing one paragraph, ORS 746.230(1)(d).
OAR 836-080-0250(2) then closes the file at the moment of decision: “The insurer may not rely on any fact not documented in the claim record at the time of denial to establish that an investigation was reasonable.” No after-acquired justification. No retroactive file-building.
| Workers’ compensation — ORS 656.262 | Deadline | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Employer forwards the claim to the insurer | 5 days | employer knowledge |
| First TTD payment | 14 days | EMPLOYER knowledge |
| Accept or deny | 60 days | EMPLOYER knowledge |
| State average weekly wage, 7/1/2026–6/30/2027 | $1,461.21 | WCD Bulletin 111 (Rev.) |
| Maximum TTD, injuries 7/1/2023 forward | $1,943.41 — 133% of SAWW | WCD Bulletin 111 (Rev.) |
| Burial / final disposition | $29,224.20 — 20 × SAWW | WCD Bulletin 111 (Rev.) |
| PPD lump-sum threshold / multiplier above it | $6,000 / 4.35 × weekly TTD | WCD Bulletin 111 (Rev.) |
indexed every July 1, republished each Maythe clocks that start before you know the claim exists
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Oregon makes you PAY before you decide — and starts both clocks on the employer’s knowledge
The 14-day payment clock and the 60-day compensability clock run independently. The carrier can be paying temporary total disability for up to 46 days while still investigating whether the claim is compensable at all.
And the trigger is the EMPLOYER’s knowledge, not yours. The employer has 5 days to forward the claim under ORS 656.262(3) — by which time the 60 days is already running. An insurer that starts counting from its own receipt has already lost days it will not get back.
Two rate traps. ORS 656.210(1) sets the TTD minimum as “90 percent of wages a week or the amount of $50 a week, whichever amount is less.” Nationally a comp minimum is the greater of a percentage or a dollar figure — a floor. Oregon inverts it, making $50 a ceiling on the floor.
And older Oregon claims carry HIGHER maximums. Injuries from 1/1/2002 to 6/30/2012 max at $2,013.58, against $1,943.41 for current injuries — the annual escalation ratcheted older claims above the current 133% cap. An adjuster who assumes “older claim, lower maximum” will underpay a legacy file. Always pull the rate for the date of injury.
And the trigger is the EMPLOYER’s knowledge, not yours. The employer has 5 days to forward the claim under ORS 656.262(3) — by which time the 60 days is already running. An insurer that starts counting from its own receipt has already lost days it will not get back.
Two rate traps. ORS 656.210(1) sets the TTD minimum as “90 percent of wages a week or the amount of $50 a week, whichever amount is less.” Nationally a comp minimum is the greater of a percentage or a dollar figure — a floor. Oregon inverts it, making $50 a ceiling on the floor.
And older Oregon claims carry HIGHER maximums. Injuries from 1/1/2002 to 6/30/2012 max at $2,013.58, against $1,943.41 for current injuries — the annual escalation ratcheted older claims above the current 133% cap. An adjuster who assumes “older claim, lower maximum” will underpay a legacy file. Always pull the rate for the date of injury.
PPD has no current dollar-per-degree — Oregon abolished degrees in 2005For injuries on or after January 1, 2005, impairment is whole-person impairment percentage × 100 × SAWW, and work disability is × 150 × the worker’s own weekly wage. WCD Bulletin 111 still prints a “scheduled dollars per degree” column — $347.51 for injuries before 1/1/1992, $559.00 for 1/1/2002 to 12/31/2004 — but those are historical-claim conversion figures. Presenting them as “the current value per degree” is a twenty-year-old answer.
Ten scenarios — each one a place Oregon departs from the national rule.
Read the fact pattern before the options. Most of these have a plausible wrong answer that is simply the majority rule somewhere else.
Read the fact pattern before the options. Most of these have a plausible wrong answer that is simply the majority rule somewhere else.
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Top Exam Tips — Oregon Adjuster Regulations
1. ORS 744.502(1) has NO tax-treatment prong. The question is what you are paid to do — “investigate, negotiate or settle.”
2. Public adjusters are licensed by RULE only — OAR 836-071-1100 to -1195, effective 8/1/2025. No statute, no statutory bond, no statutory fee cap. Auto is excluded.
3. Comp is not a class on the adjuster license — but ORS 656.780(3) requires a certified claims examiner, and the State does not issue that certification.
4. No prelicensing education, any class. The exam is the only substantive gate.
5. 150 q / 2.5 hr (12-07) · 100 q / 2 hr (12-06) · 50 q / 1 hr (12-15) — plus 5–10 unscored on every exam.
6. 70% — except Crop at 80%, and it is set in OAR 836-071-0127(1), not just the bulletin. Raw percentage, not scaled.
7. Fingerprints $61.25, RESIDENTS ONLY, no ink cards, up to 4 weeks. The $75 application is two fees — $30 + $45.
8. Nonresidents owe the full 24 CE hours. No home-state credit. 3 ethics + 3 Oregon law, both inside the 24.
9. One-year grace to renew late at double the fee — then you are a NEW APPLICANT and re-test.
10. ORS 746.230(1) has NO frequency element — “may not commit or perform any”. The NAIC general-business-practice condition is not Oregon law.
11. The subject is “an insurer OR OTHER PERSON.” Subsection (2) says “No insurer shall” — the contrast is deliberate. The standard reaches you personally.
12. 30 acknowledge-or-pay · 21 to answer the Director · 30 to reply · 30 accept-or-deny after proofs of loss. Two different 30s, two different triggers.
13. No private right of action (Farris, 1978) — but Moody (2023) allows common-law NEGLIGENCE on the ORS 746.230(1) standard, with emotional distress damages.
14. Georgetown Realty: the trigger is CONTROL, not bad faith. Refusing to defend is contract; defending carelessly is tort, uncapped.
15. ORS 742.061 — six months, and “proof of loss” need not be in writing.
16. Punitive: no cap, but 30% claimant / 60% Criminal Injuries / 10% court facilities. Counsel capped at 20% of the total.
17. Your civil penalty ceiling is $1,000 per offense — a tenth of the general $10,000, and each violation is a separate offense.
18. Oregon is NOT a no-fault state. Mandatory add-on PIP, no tort threshold of any kind.
19. PIP: $15,000 medical / 2 yrs · 70% income to $3,000 mo, 52 wks, after 14 days · $30/day services · $5,000 funeral · $25/day child care to $750.
20. UIM STACKS since 1/1/2016 (SB 411). Difference-in-limits is repealed law. UM/UIM cannot be rejected; anti-stacking is void (Batten).
21. Comparative fault is measured against the COMBINED fault of all defendants — 51% bar, and 50% still recovers.
22. The 80% salvage figure is a TITLING rule for damage not covered by an insurer. No threshold binds the insurer’s total-loss call.
23. Nineteen statutes, not one form. Proof of loss 90 days from the FORMS; suit 24 months; no valued policy law; the appraisal award binds one way.
24. Wildfire: SB 82 is disclosure and mapping, not benefits. ALE extends time, not money. The moratorium is discretionary and 30 days at a time.
25. Guaranty $600,000 since 1/1/2025 (was $300,000) · no $100 floor · unearned premium uncapped separately · comp uncapped.
26. No adjuster fraud-reporting duty, no SIU, no antifraud plan, no fraud bureau. Immunity absent actual malice; the warning is optional.
27. Comp: the WORKER picks the doctor, two free changes. 14 days to pay, 60 days to decide, both from EMPLOYER knowledge.
2. Public adjusters are licensed by RULE only — OAR 836-071-1100 to -1195, effective 8/1/2025. No statute, no statutory bond, no statutory fee cap. Auto is excluded.
3. Comp is not a class on the adjuster license — but ORS 656.780(3) requires a certified claims examiner, and the State does not issue that certification.
4. No prelicensing education, any class. The exam is the only substantive gate.
5. 150 q / 2.5 hr (12-07) · 100 q / 2 hr (12-06) · 50 q / 1 hr (12-15) — plus 5–10 unscored on every exam.
6. 70% — except Crop at 80%, and it is set in OAR 836-071-0127(1), not just the bulletin. Raw percentage, not scaled.
7. Fingerprints $61.25, RESIDENTS ONLY, no ink cards, up to 4 weeks. The $75 application is two fees — $30 + $45.
8. Nonresidents owe the full 24 CE hours. No home-state credit. 3 ethics + 3 Oregon law, both inside the 24.
9. One-year grace to renew late at double the fee — then you are a NEW APPLICANT and re-test.
10. ORS 746.230(1) has NO frequency element — “may not commit or perform any”. The NAIC general-business-practice condition is not Oregon law.
11. The subject is “an insurer OR OTHER PERSON.” Subsection (2) says “No insurer shall” — the contrast is deliberate. The standard reaches you personally.
12. 30 acknowledge-or-pay · 21 to answer the Director · 30 to reply · 30 accept-or-deny after proofs of loss. Two different 30s, two different triggers.
13. No private right of action (Farris, 1978) — but Moody (2023) allows common-law NEGLIGENCE on the ORS 746.230(1) standard, with emotional distress damages.
14. Georgetown Realty: the trigger is CONTROL, not bad faith. Refusing to defend is contract; defending carelessly is tort, uncapped.
15. ORS 742.061 — six months, and “proof of loss” need not be in writing.
16. Punitive: no cap, but 30% claimant / 60% Criminal Injuries / 10% court facilities. Counsel capped at 20% of the total.
17. Your civil penalty ceiling is $1,000 per offense — a tenth of the general $10,000, and each violation is a separate offense.
18. Oregon is NOT a no-fault state. Mandatory add-on PIP, no tort threshold of any kind.
19. PIP: $15,000 medical / 2 yrs · 70% income to $3,000 mo, 52 wks, after 14 days · $30/day services · $5,000 funeral · $25/day child care to $750.
20. UIM STACKS since 1/1/2016 (SB 411). Difference-in-limits is repealed law. UM/UIM cannot be rejected; anti-stacking is void (Batten).
21. Comparative fault is measured against the COMBINED fault of all defendants — 51% bar, and 50% still recovers.
22. The 80% salvage figure is a TITLING rule for damage not covered by an insurer. No threshold binds the insurer’s total-loss call.
23. Nineteen statutes, not one form. Proof of loss 90 days from the FORMS; suit 24 months; no valued policy law; the appraisal award binds one way.
24. Wildfire: SB 82 is disclosure and mapping, not benefits. ALE extends time, not money. The moratorium is discretionary and 30 days at a time.
25. Guaranty $600,000 since 1/1/2025 (was $300,000) · no $100 floor · unearned premium uncapped separately · comp uncapped.
26. No adjuster fraud-reporting duty, no SIU, no antifraud plan, no fraud bureau. Immunity absent actual malice; the warning is optional.
27. Comp: the WORKER picks the doctor, two free changes. 14 days to pay, 60 days to decide, both from EMPLOYER knowledge.
ORS 744.502(1)
The definition — “receives a fee, a commission or other compensation to investigate, negotiate or settle.” No tax-treatment prong.
ORS 744.531
Classes of insurance for adjusters — General Lines, Health, Crop. Workers’ compensation is not among them.
OAR 836-071-1100 to -1195
The twenty rules creating the public adjuster license, effective 8/1/2025. Built on ORS 731.244 rulemaking power — there is no public adjuster statute.
ORS 656.780(3)
Insurers “may employ only certified workers’ compensation claims examiners” — a state-mandated credential that the State does not issue.
OAR 836-071-0127(1)
Passing scores — 70% on every adjuster exam except Crop at 80%. In the rule, not merely the bulletin.
OAR 836-009-0007
The fee schedule — $30 application + $45 issuance = the “$75”; $45 renewal; $45 exam. The NIPR fee is separate.
ORS 744.521(2)(a)(B)
24 CE hours per biennium, 3 ethics + 3 Oregon law inside them — and no resident/nonresident distinction.
ORS 744.521(2)(d)
Let the one-year grace lapse and you return to subsection (1) as a new applicant — which means the exam again.
ORS 731.988(1)
“The civil penalty for individual … adjusters … may not exceed $1,000 for each offense” — a tenth of the $10,000 general ceiling.
ORS 746.230(1)
“An insurer or other person may not commit or perform any of the following” — fourteen practices, no frequency element.
ORS 746.230(1)(d) & (f)
Refusing to pay “without conducting a reasonable investigation”; failing to settle in good faith where “liability has become reasonably clear.” The two paragraphs Moody was built on.
OAR 836-080-0210(4)
“Insurer” includes “any person authorized to represent the insurer with respect to a claim” — the rule-side reinforcement that the standard reaches you.
OAR 836-080-0225
The communication clocks — 30 days acknowledge-or-pay, 21 days to answer the Director, 30 days to reply.
OAR 836-080-0235
The accept-or-deny clock — 30 days after properly executed proofs of loss. A different rule and a different trigger from 0225(1).
OAR 836-080-0205(4)
The rules “do not in any way expand or limit or otherwise change the procedural or substantive rights” of claimants — why Moody built on the statute.
Farris v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co.
284 Or 453 (1978) — no private cause of action under the unfair claim settlement practices statute. Distinguished, not overruled, by Moody.
Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union
371 Or 772 (2023) — ORS 746.230(1) supplies an independent standard of care for a negligence claim, with emotional distress damages.
Georgetown Realty v. Home Ins. Co.
313 Or 97 (1992) — the insured “relinquishes control over the defense.” Negligence, not bad faith. Refusing to defend is contract; defending carelessly is tort.
ORS 742.061
Attorney fees where the insurer did not tender within six months of proof of loss — and proof of loss “does not need to be in writing” (Parks).
ORS 31.735(1)
Punitive allocation — 30% claimant, 60% Criminal Injuries Compensation, 10% court facilities. No cap on the award.
ORS 742.520(1)(a) & (5)
PIP is mandatory, and “the potential existence of a cause of action in tort does not relieve” the insurer. No tort threshold exists in Oregon.
ORS 742.524
The whole PIP schedule — $15,000 medical over 2 years; 70% income to $3,000/mo for 52 weeks after 14 days; $30/day; $5,000; $25/day to $750.
SB 411 — 2015 c.5
UIM became add-on for policies issued or renewed on or after 1/1/2016. It also extended PIP medical to a 2-year window — it did not raise the $15,000.
ORS 742.504(4)(e) & (7)(d)
30 days’ silence = consent presumed. And an insurer refusing consent to a limits offer pays what the insured did not collect.
Batten v. State Farm
368 Or 538 (2021) — anti-stacking clauses are void, because ORS 742.504 is a floor and SB 411 deleted the model term.
ORS 31.600(1)
Recovery barred only if the claimant’s fault is “greater than the combined fault of all persons” — the aggregate rule, 51% bar.
ORS 801.527(3)
The 80% figure — applies only to damage “not covered by an insurer.” A titling rule, not a total-loss decision rule.
ORS 742.230 / 742.240
Proof of loss 90 days from receipt of the FORMS; suit 24 months from inception of the loss. Both differ from the national form.
ORS 742.232
Appraisal — 20 days to name, 15 days for an umpire, award “of any two” — but Oregon case law makes the statutory award bind only the party who invoked it.
ORS 742.277 / 742.278
SB 82 (2023 c.67) — wildfire disclosure on cancellation, nonrenewal or premium increase, and a ban on using a state-published risk map. Not a benefits measure.
ORS 734.570
Guaranty — $600,000 for insolvencies on/after 1/1/2025 (was $300,000), no $100 floor, unearned premium uncapped separately, comp uncapped.
ORS 731.592 / 731.594
Fraud — “an insurer shall notify” but “a person … may furnish.” No adjuster duty; immunity absent actual malice.
ORS 656.245(2)(a)
The worker chooses the attending physician from the first visit, with two free changes. MCO certification is the carrier’s only route to directed care.
ORS 656.262(4)(a) & (6)(a)
14 days to first payment, 60 days to accept or deny — independent clocks, both running from the EMPLOYER’s knowledge.
ORS 656.210(1)
TTD minimum — “90 percent of wages a week or $50 a week, whichever amount is less.” Nationally the minimum is the greater. Oregon inverts it.
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