Oregon Auto Insurance Minimums Explained (2026)

The short answer: Oregon's auto insurance minimums are 25/50/20 — $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for bodily injury liability, and $20,000 for property damage. Every Oregon policy must also include at least $15,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and uninsured motorist coverage that matches your liability limits. These are the legal floor for driving in Oregon, not a recommendation.

This guide walks through each required coverage, what it actually pays for when a crash happens, and the places where drivers routinely discover their minimum policy doesn't cover what they assumed it would.

Key Takeaways

• Oregon's minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person / $50,000 per crash for bodily injury and $20,000 per crash for property damage.
• Every Oregon policy must also include $15,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) that pays your own medical bills regardless of fault.
• Uninsured motorist coverage must match your bodily injury liability limits unless you sign a written election for lower limits.
• These are legal minimums, not recommendations — a single serious injury crash can exhaust them in hours.
• Driving without the required coverage is illegal under Oregon law and can lead to license suspension, fines, and vehicle impoundment.

What Oregon Law Actually Requires

Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 806.010 makes it illegal to drive or own a vehicle on Oregon roads without financial responsibility — in practical terms, an active auto insurance policy. The dollar amounts behind that requirement are spelled out in ORS 806.070, which sets a minimum payment schedule for every liability policy issued in the state.

Those minimums are:

• $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in any one accident
• $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people in any one accident
• $20,000 for damage to someone else's property in any one accident

Most insurance quotes refer to this combination as 25/50/20. It is the lowest package a driver can legally buy in Oregon, and it's the coverage that pays for injuries and property damage you cause to other people. The Oregon DMV's official insurance page uses these same numbers as the required floor statewide.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP): The Coverage That Pays for You

PIP is the coverage most Oregon drivers actually use after a crash. It pays your own medical bills, lost wages, and essential services regardless of who caused the collision — and it kicks in right away, before fault is sorted out.

Oregon is one of a small group of states that require PIP on every auto policy. Under ORS 742.524, every Oregon PIP policy must include:

• Up to $15,000 per person for medical, hospital, dental, surgical, ambulance, and related expenses incurred within two years of the crash.
• 70% of lost income for disabilities lasting 14 consecutive days or longer, capped at $3,000 per month for up to 52 weeks.
• Essential services reimbursement for non-working people who can't perform normal household tasks — up to $30 per day for up to 52 weeks.
• Up to $5,000 in funeral expenses within one year of death.
• Child care reimbursement of $25 per day, capped at $750, when a parent is hospitalized.

PIP applies to the policyholder, household family members, and passengers in the insured vehicle. It also follows the policyholder when they're struck as a pedestrian or cyclist. For a plain-English walkthrough of how PIP actually works in practice, see our Oregon PIP explained in plain English guide, or visit our Oregon PIP hub page for a full overview.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is what protects you when the other driver has no insurance — or can't be identified at all, as in a hit-and-run. Oregon requires it on every liability policy, and the limits must match your bodily injury liability unless you specifically opt lower in writing.

Under ORS 742.502, UM limits default to the policy's bodily injury liability limits. For a minimum-limits policy, that means $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident in UM coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage — typically bundled with UM — steps in when the at-fault driver has some coverage, but not enough to pay for the injuries they caused.

This is one of the coverages that gets misunderstood most often, so we wrote a dedicated resource on uninsured motorist coverage in Oregon that goes deeper into how UM and UIM interact with PIP and liability.

What These Limits Actually Pay For in a Real Crash

The dollar amounts look reassuring on a declarations page, but they go fast once a real collision is involved.

A moderate ER visit with imaging can run several thousand dollars before any treatment begins. An ambulance ride in Oregon frequently exceeds $1,500. A single night in the hospital, surgery, or physical rehabilitation can push costs past $25,000 for one person without difficulty. When two or more people are injured in the same crash, the $50,000 per-accident cap is divided among them.

On the property side, $20,000 is less than the average transaction price of a new vehicle in the United States. A minimum-limits policy that fully "totals" a newer SUV or truck can leave the at-fault driver owing the difference out of pocket.

None of this is an argument for any particular coverage level — that's a decision for each driver and their insurance agent. But it does explain why medical providers, attorneys, and crash-recovery professionals often encounter patients who assumed "full coverage" meant more than the Oregon minimums actually buy.

How the Minimums Interact After a Crash

When an Oregon driver is hurt in a collision, PIP pays first, then the at-fault driver's liability policy, then UM/UIM. Health insurance may contribute after auto coverages are exhausted, subject to each plan's rules.

The typical sequence looks like this:

1. PIP pays first for medical care, lost income, and essential services, up to the statutory limits.
2. The at-fault driver's liability policy covers additional medical expenses, property damage, and pain-and-suffering claims — up to that driver's liability limits.
3. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage picks up where the at-fault driver's policy runs out (or where there is no at-fault policy at all).
4. Health insurance, when applicable, may contribute after auto coverages are exhausted, subject to the terms of each plan.

In practice, the order and interaction depend on the specific injury, the specific policies, and Oregon's rules on reimbursement and subrogation. For a broader look at how an Oregon claim typically moves through these stages, see how the insurance process typically works in Oregon — and for what to expect from the at-fault carrier specifically, dealing with the other driver's insurance company.

Penalties for Driving Without the Required Coverage

Driving without insurance in Oregon is a Class B traffic violation. Consequences commonly include fines, license suspension, proof-of-insurance filings (SR-22) as a condition of reinstatement, and potential vehicle impoundment at the scene of a stop or crash. Drivers involved in a collision while uninsured face additional exposure if the other party files suit for damages — without a policy, those costs fall on the driver personally. If you're unsure whether your situation calls for legal help, do I need a lawyer after a car accident in Oregon covers the common signals.

Questions Oregon Drivers Commonly Ask

Is PIP the same as health insurance?
No. PIP is auto coverage and pays regardless of fault within the two-year window after a crash. Health insurance may coordinate with PIP or kick in after PIP benefits are exhausted, but the two are separate systems with separate rules.

Can I opt out of PIP?
Not on a standard Oregon private-passenger policy. PIP is required coverage under state law.

Do the minimums change between counties?
No. Oregon's minimum limits apply statewide — from Multnomah and Washington counties to Klamath, Deschutes, Umatilla, and everywhere in between.

What if I'm hit by an out-of-state driver?
Your PIP still applies as first-party coverage. The at-fault driver's liability policy and your UM coverage can also be triggered, depending on the circumstances and the other driver's insurance.

Do I need higher limits?
That's an insurance-planning question, not a legal one. Oregon's minimums are a floor — any driver can buy more coverage, and many do. A licensed insurance agent can walk through what higher liability, PIP, and UM limits would cost on a specific policy.

The Bottom Line on Oregon Auto Insurance Minimums

Oregon's auto insurance minimums exist so that every driver on the road carries at least some protection for themselves and for the people they might injure. They are the legal starting point — not a complete answer to what a serious crash can cost. Drivers who understand exactly what their policy covers, and where it runs out, are in a far better position to recover if a collision ever happens.

If you've just been in a collision and aren't sure what to do first, what to do after a car accident in Oregon walks through the immediate steps. If you need help finding care in your area, you can use the provider directory below to locate clinics across Oregon that work with crash-related insurance coverages.

Sources

• Oregon DMV — Insurance Requirements: oregon.gov/odot/dmv
• ORS 806.010 — Driving uninsured prohibited
• ORS 806.070 — Minimum payment schedule: oregon.public.law
• ORS 742.502 — Uninsured motorist coverage: oregon.public.law
• ORS 742.520 — Personal injury protection benefits for motor vehicle liability policies: oregon.public.law
• ORS 742.524 — Contents of personal injury protection benefits: oregon.public.law