Oregon Personal Injury Protection (Laws and Benefits)

Oregon has a mandatory law that all auto insurance policies must include Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This insurance covers medical expenses, wage loss, household service expenses, and funeral expenses that result from an auto motor accident. Besides the insured individual, the following people are also included under the protection coverage: members of the insured person’s family that reside in the same house, all passengers that were in the insured vehicle, and pedestrians or cyclists that were struck by the insured auto vehicle.

All medical expenses paid for under PIP must be considered reasonable and necessary, not exceed the $15,000 total limit allotted to the insured individual, and occur within 1 year of the incident. These include but are not limited to:

• Chiropractic
• Medical
• Hospitalization
• Dental
• Prosthetic

PIP is also required to pay your wage loss if you are out of work for 14 consecutive days as a result of your injuries as verified by a medical professional. You will be reimbursed 70% of the wage loss until you are able to return to work, up to 52 weeks. This reimbursement cannot exceed the $3,000 limit a month. This includes salary, wages, tips, and commissions.

Expenses for hiring outside personnel to perform necessary domestic services are also covered, if the injured person is a stay-at-home individual who normally performs these tasks. Some examples would be cooking, cleaning, and child care. The payment maxes out at $30 a day, and only pays out a maximum of 52 weeks.

PIP will also pay up to $5,000 of reasonable funeral expenses if the person’s death occurs within 1 year of the incident.