In our continued effort to keep the public informed about important changes to Oregon laws that have profound impact on the rights for every Oregonian we provide the following update:
Beginning January first of next year (2016) Senate Bill 411 will go into effect. This bill expands and improves the benefits available to every Oregon automobile insurance policy. There are three important changes this law provides.
- Underinsured Motorist (UIM) stacking: Currently if you are in an accident and your own insurance UIM limits are equal to or less than the limits of the at fault driver, you are not entitled to make a UIM claim. The new law will remove that obstacle and allow you to “stack” your own insurance limits on top of the at fault driver’s limits.
- Longer PIP Medical Payments: Currently the medical coverage under your Personal Injury Protection benefits only covers payments for the medical treatment you incur during the first year following the accident. The new law will extend that to two years.
- PIP Reimbursement Limited: Currently, if you receive PIP benefits following an accident, you may be required to reimburse your insurance company for those benefits if recovery exceeds your economic loss. The new law allows you to keep more of your money by allowing reimbursement to the PIP carrier only if the amount you recover exceeds both the economic and non-economic damages.
Oregon consumers will greatly benefit from this new law. However, they only apply to new or renewed policies issued after January 1, 2016. This means that if your automobile insurance policy does not renew until May of 2016, you will not enjoy the benefits of the new law until May. We therefore urge you to immediately contact your insurance agent and request that your auto policy renew January 1, 2016. We would also encourage you to share this information with your friends and family so they can benefit as well. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
