Homeowners insurance in Oregon

The home insurance market in Oregon

Oregonians paid $1.80 billion in homeowners premiums in 2025, according to NAIC market share data. These are the 10 largest insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written:

State Farm leads with 22%, and Liberty Mutual and Farmers are close behind at about 13.5% each. COUNTRY Financial, 26th nationally, ranks eighth here. The 10 largest groups write about 88% of premiums. DFR says more than 100 companies write homeowners insurance in Oregon, so it tells people who are turned down to keep shopping, ideally through an independent agent.

What drives home insurance costs in Oregon

Oregon is still a cheap state to insure a home. The NAIC put the average HO-3 premium at $1,003 for 2023, the second-lowest in the country and far below the countrywide $1,737. That average hides a growing split between low-risk neighborhoods and homes in or near wildland.

Wildfire is the force reshaping the market. According to a February 2026 report to the Legislature by DFR and the State Fire Marshal, Oregon has had nearly $3 billion in insured wildfire losses since 2020, after decades when wildfire claims ran in the millions. FEMA declared a major disaster for the July-August 2024 wildfires. In 2026, Governor Tina Kotek declared a wildfire state of emergency on June 16 and had invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for 11 fires by late July.

Reinsurance is the other pressure. A 2025 DFR data call found that what Oregon insurers paid for catastrophe reinsurance rose 205% from 2018 to 2024 while the coverage they bought rose only 90%. Labor, materials and tariffs push rebuilding costs up as well. Insurers must file their rating plans with DFR, which reviews them to make sure rates are not excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.

Deductibles and coverage rules to know

Oregon has no hurricane deductible rules. The rules that matter here are about wildfire and earthquake.

• Wildfire is always covered. Oregon is a standard fire state, so DFR says every homeowners policy must cover fire, including wildfire. Insurers may not use a map published by a state agency to cancel, nonrenew or raise the premium on a homeowners policy (ORS 742.278), and SB 83 (2025) repealed the statewide wildfire hazard map altogether. Insurers still use their own wildfire models and risk scores.
• Wildfire notices. If an insurer cancels, nonrenews or raises your premium for reasons tied to wildfire risk, it must tell you the property-specific reasons, what mitigation could help and, if it used a wildfire risk score, how the score works and where yours falls (ORS 742.277). A premium-increase notice must also list mitigation steps that would earn a discount and how much. See wildfire risk scores and how insurers use them.
• After a declared disaster. For a total loss in a Governor-declared emergency, the insurer must offer at least 70% of your contents limit without an itemized inventory (ORS 742.053). You get at least 24 months to rebuild and collect full replacement cost and 24 months of living expenses, extendable in six-month steps to 36 months for delays beyond your control. If your dwelling limit falls short, the insurer must combine it with your other-structures limit (ORS 742.270, 742.273).
• Earthquake. Standard policies exclude it. DFR says about 20% of Oregonians have earthquake coverage and that most insurers here sell it with 10% or 15% deductibles. DFR's example: on $300,000 of dwelling coverage, a 10% deductible is $30,000. See earthquake insurance explained.

Insurers must also offer you a new estimate of the cost to rebuild every other year at renewal (ORS 742.276). Take it: a dwelling limit set years ago may not cover today's rebuilding costs.

Flood and other gaps

Flood, landslide and earth movement are excluded from homeowners policies. FEMA counted 22,352 NFIP policies in force in Oregon as of September 30, 2026, down 4.0% in a year. DFR notes that flood insurance, not earthquake insurance, typically covers tsunami damage, and that landslide coverage is expensive and hard to find. See NFIP flood insurance explained.

If you can't find coverage

The Oregon FAIR Plan Association, created by the Legislature in 1971 and funded by its member insurers rather than taxpayers, writes basic property coverage for owners declined in the standard market. Per its FAQ and DFR:

• Limits: up to $600,000 on a dwelling and $1 million on commercial property, raised in May 2023 from $400,000 and $700,000. Higher limits require facultative reinsurance.
• Coverage: actual cash value on the ISO basic dwelling form (DP 00 01). No liability or theft coverage, no personal articles floaters, and no vacant buildings. Owners with repeated wind losses may get fire-only coverage until they fix the cause, such as a poor roof.
• Wrap-around: the plan points to a partnership with AccessOne80 for difference-in-conditions coverage that fills some gaps.
• Eligibility: you must have been declined by admitted insurers; credit history is not considered.

The plan is small, with about 2,500 active policies against roughly 1.6 million homeowners policies statewide, according to the 2026 legislative report. Surplus lines insurers are the other option, usually at a higher price. See FAIR plans explained: the insurer of last resort for homes and surplus lines home insurance when standard carriers say no.

Claims rules and deadlines

Oregon's claim rules (OAR 836-080-0225 to 836-080-0235) require an insurer to acknowledge a claim within 30 days, finish investigating within 45 days of notice unless that cannot reasonably be done, and accept or deny within 30 days of receiving a properly executed proof of loss. If it needs more time, it must say why within those 30 days and write again every 45 days. A denial must be in writing and cite the policy provision it relies on.

The fire policy provision required by ORS 742.240 gives you 24 months after the loss begins to sue. Under ORS 742.061, if a claim is not settled within six months of filing proof of loss and you win more in court than the insurer offered, the court awards your attorney fees. We found no state-run claim mediation program; DFR's consumer advocates take complaints instead. See deadlines to sue over a home insurance claim.

Notice rules (ORS 746.686 and 746.687):

• Nonrenewal or renewal: at least 30 days' notice before the policy expires.
• Cancellation: after 60 days in force, only for nonpayment, fraud or misrepresentation (10 days' notice), or for breaking policy terms, a substantial increase in risk or a solvency order (30 days' notice).
• Claims history: an insurer may not nonrenew you for your first claim in five years, or use claims older than five years against you. Asking a question about coverage is not a claim and cannot be held against you.
• Wildfire orders: after the 2026 fires, DFR ordered insurers to suspend cancellations and nonrenewals and extend payment and claim deadlines in evacuated ZIP codes, through October 29, 2026.

Discounts and mitigation programs

SB 83 (2025) directed the State Fire Marshal to set up a grant program for retrofitting homes against wildfire; we could not confirm that it is taking applications. The February 2026 SB 85 report recommended piloting premium discounts for homes and Firewise communities that meet set standards. Oregon had 357 Firewise USA sites in good standing in 2025, second in the nation. Ask your insurer whether it credits defensible space, ember-resistant vents, a Class A roof or an IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home designation, and get the answer in writing. See home hardening for wildfire and insurance discounts.

Where to get help

DFR's consumer advocates take insurance questions and complaints at 888-877-4894 (toll-free) or [email protected], and through the online complaint form. The division's address is 350 Winter St. NE, Room 410, P.O. Box 14480, Salem, OR 97309. Advocates recovered $3.89 million for consumers in the first half of 2026. See how to file a complaint with your state insurance department and the nonrenewal action plan. Neighbors Washington, Idaho and California face the same wildfire pressures.