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Why Bother with Car Insurance in Portland?

By: Kade Phillips, contributing writer at kanetix.com.

Ha, ha, silly question really, because almost every state in the nation requires that you have auto insurance by law if you wish to drive. And, even those that don’t, have strict financial responsibility laws. It’s just not an option in most places, and certainly not in the city of Portland.

But seriously, would you really be comfortable driving without car insurance, even if it wasn’t the law? If you’ve been driving for any length of time in Portland, you know how weird it can get sometimes. People can get angry, frustrated and careless in bumper to bumper traffic, and accidents do happen.

Not only that, but all sorts of scenarios beyond your control, can cause damage to your vehicle, property, and possible injury to yourself and others. Would you really want to take on the financial responsibility for these possibilities all on your own, even if it wasn’t the law?

Auto insurance exists to protect you and others from the results of car accidents and other unfortunate incidents involving your vehicle. Unfortunately, the consequences of lots of cars and people coming together on the roads and highways of a city like Portland are a higher degree of danger for you and your vehicle than if you were in a smaller urban center.

The auto insurance companies keep track of an enormous number of records and statistics, which enable them to calculate the odds of all sorts of events from accidents to injury and auto thefts and vandalism to name a few. Your individual car insurance is then priced according to the risk your auto insurance company has determined applies to you, according to your unique risk profile.

Auto insurance in Portland shares many similarities with other cities and states.

It’s a requirement in Portland, as in almost every city in every state, that you have at least a minimum amount of liability insurance. Other types of auto insurance coverage may be required or optional, depending on state regulations at the time.

Required or not, these are some of the kinds of insurance terms you need to be aware of in Portland, and what aspects of auto insurance they cover:

• Property damage liability insurance: This covers the repair and/or replacement of the property of other people. – Up to the limits of the policy.
• Bodily injury liability insurance: If you are responsible for a car accident in which other people are killed or injured, this insurance will protect you - Up to the limits of the policy.
• Underinsured/Uninsured motorist coverage insurance: Unless you’re in a "no-fault" state (where your own insurance will cover your losses), this coverage insures you from losses caused by other drivers without adequate auto insurance. (Or with no auto insurance.) – Up to the limits of the policy.
• Collision insurance: This will pay to repair or replace your car when it's damaged in an accident.
• Comprehensive auto insurance: Fire, flood, vandalism and theft are some of the events that this insurance covers. – Up to the limits of the policy.
• Medical payments or personal injury protection insurance: This will cover medical expenses that are not covered by your own health insurance and will typically cover your passengers in a similar manner.

It’s a wise idea, to consider some of the non-essential car insurance options even though they may not be mandated by law in Portland, Oregon. Take your own situation carefully into account before settling on the absolute minimum auto insurance that the state allows.
While it is hoped that you never have to make a claim, it could happen that you find yourself in one of those incidents that everyone slows down to gawk at on one of Portland’s highways. That would be a bad time to realize that some aspect of your auto insurance is woefully inadequate.


Kade Phillips is a contributing writer at kanetix.com,
Serving Portland car insurance quotes / Auto insurance quotes Portland.
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