Oregonians who buy most kinds of insurance sold in the state are protected if an insurance company becomes insolvent. When a company is insolvent, it is unable to pay the costs of doing business.
Two funds provide this protection: the Oregon Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (OLHIGA) and the Oregon Insurance Guaranty Association (OIGA).
How do guaranty funds operate?
When an authorized Oregon insurance company becomes insolvent and is liquidated by a court order, the guaranty funds will pay covered claims. The guaranty funds will not pay any claim the insurance
company would not have paid. Claims are paid according to the terms of the original insurance policy.
Who is covered?
Both funds cover only Oregon residents. They pay only claims against insurers that were licensed to do business in Oregon at the time of the insolvency. Most insurers licensed to do business in
Oregon must belong to one of the associations.
What is covered?
The following two charts show the coverage and limits of the two guaranty funds.
Oregon Insurance Guaranty Association (Property and Casualty)
10700 SW Beaverton Hwy., Suite 426
Beaverton, OR 97005
503-641-7132
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 734.510 to 734.710
Type of Insurance
Limits of Coverage
Auto, liability and homeowners
$300,000
Workers' compensation
No limits
Not covered:
Title insurance
Surety or builder's bond insurance
Credit insurance
Mortgage guarantee insurance
Home protection insurance
Wet marine and transportation insurance
Oregon Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
P.O. Box 4520
Salem, OR 97302-8520
503-588-1974
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 734.750 to 734.890
Type of Insurance
Limits of Coverage
Life, annuity, and accident and health insurance:
Death benefits
$300,000
Life insurance cash value
$100,000
Present value annuity benefits
$100,000
Health/disability
$100,000
Maximum/individual/insolvency
$300,000
Not covered:
Most variable life and annuity policies or parts of policies with variable earnings potential. Variable products are not guaranteed by the company.
Any annuity contract or group annuity certificate which is not issued to and owned by an individual. Some pension funds have such investments. A governmental entity's employee retirement plan
is covered.
Policies issued by health care service contractors (such as Kaiser Permanente or Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon) are not covered. However, a separate law protects these policyholders.
Health care service contracts contain a "hold harmless" provision which shields the policyholder from collection by health care providers and pharmacies in the event of an insolvency.
Self-insured plans.
Polices issued by fraternal benefit societies.
Interest rates exceeding a certain standard are subject to adjustment.
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