Oregon Laws

1. Unfair Claims Practices Act

746.230 Unfair claim settlement practices. (1) No insurer or other person shall commit or perform any of the following unfair claim settlement practices:

(a) Misrepresenting facts or policy provisions in settling claims;

(b) Failing to acknowledge and act promptly upon communications relating to claims;

(c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims;

(d) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based on all available information;

(e) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after completed proof of loss statements have been submitted;

(f) Not attempting, in good faith, to promptly and equitably settle claims in which liability has become reasonably clear;

(g) Compelling claimants to initiate litigation to recover amounts due by offering substantially less than amounts ultimately recovered in actions brought by such claimants;

(h) Attempting to settle claims for less than the amount to which a reasonable person would believe a reasonable person was entitled after referring to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application;

(i) Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application altered without notice to or consent of the applicant;

(j) Failing, after payment of a claim, to inform insureds or beneficiaries, upon request by them, of the coverage under which payment has been made;

(k) Delaying investigation or payment of claims by requiring a claimant or the physician of the claimant to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring subsequent submission of loss forms when both require essentially the same information;

(L) Failing to promptly settle claims under one coverage of a policy where liability has become reasonably clear in order to influence settlements under other coverages of the policy; or

(m) Failing to promptly provide the proper explanation of the basis relied on in the insurance policy in relation to the facts or applicable law for the denial of a claim.

(2) No insurer shall refuse, without just cause, to pay or settle claims arising under coverages provided by its policies with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice in this state, which general business practice is evidenced by:

(a) A substantial increase in the number of complaints against the insurer received by the Department of Consumer and Business Services;

(b) A substantial increase in the number of lawsuits filed against the insurer or its insureds by claimants; or

(c) Other relevant evidence.

(3)(a) No health maintenance organization, as defined in ORS 750.005, shall unreasonably withhold the granting of participating provider status from a class of statutorily authorized health care providers for services rendered within the lawful scope of practice if the health care providers are licensed as such and reimbursement is for services mandated by statute.

(b) Any health maintenance organization that fails to comply with paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be subject to discipline under ORS 746.015.

(c) This subsection does not apply to group practice health maintenance organizations that are federally qualified pursuant to Title XIII of the Health Maintenance Organization Act. [1967 c.359 §588a; 1973 c.281 §1; 1989 c.594 §1]

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2. Unfair Trade Practices Act

746.075 Misrepresentation generally. (1) A person may not engage, directly or indirectly, in any action described in subsection (2) of this section in connection with:

(a) The offer or sale of any insurance; or

(b) Any inducement or attempted inducement of any insured or person with ownership rights under an issued life insurance policy to lapse, forfeit, surrender, assign, effect a loan against, retain, exchange or convert the policy.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section applies to the following actions:

(a) Making, issuing, circulating or causing to be made, issued or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular or statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or advantages therein or the dividends or share of surplus to be received thereon;

(b) Making any false or misleading representation as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on similar policies;

(c) Making any false or misleading representation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates;

(d) Using any name or title of any policy or class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof;

(e) Employing any device, scheme or artifice to defraud;

(f) Obtaining money or property by means of any untrue statement of a material fact or any omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statement, in light of the circumstances under which it was made, not misleading;

(g) Engaging in any other transaction, practice or course of business that operates as a fraud or deceit upon the purchaser, insured or person with policy ownership rights; or

(h) Materially misrepresenting the provider network of an insurer offering managed health insurance or preferred provider organization insurance as defined in ORS 743.801, including its composition and the availability of its providers to enrollees in the plan. [1967 c.359 §574; 2001 c.266 §7]

Note: The amendments to 746.075 by section 7, chapter 266, Oregon Laws 2001, become operative July 1, 2002. See section 18, chapter 266, Oregon Laws 2001. The text that is operative until July 1, 2002, is set forth for the user’s convenience.

746.075. In the offer or sale of any insurance, directly or indirectly, or in connection with any inducement or attempted inducement, directly or indirectly, of any insured or person with ownership rights under an issued life insurance policy to lapse, forfeit, surrender, assign, effect a loan against, retain, exchange or convert the policy, no person shall:

(1) Make, issue, circulate or cause to be made, issued or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular or statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or advantages therein or the dividends or share of surplus to be received thereon;

(2) Make any false or misleading representation as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on similar policies;

(3) Make any false or misleading representation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates;

(4) Use any name or title of any policy or class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof;

(5) Employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;

(6) Obtain money or property by means of any untrue statement of a material fact or any omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statement made, in light of the circumstances under which it was made, not misleading; or

(7) Engage in any other transaction, practice or course of business which operates as a fraud or deceit upon the purchaser, insured or person with policy ownership rights.

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746.240 Undefined trade practices injurious to public prohibited. No person shall engage in this state in any trade practice that, although not expressly defined and prohibited in the Insurance Code, is found by the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services to be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the transaction of insurance that is injurious to the insurance-buying public. [1967 c.359 §589; 1973 c.281 §2]

746.260 Driving record not to be considered in issuance of motor vehicle insurance. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, when an individual applies for a policy or a renewal of a policy of casualty insurance providing automobile liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, automobile medical payments coverage or automobile physical damage coverage on an individually owned passenger vehicle including pickup and panel trucks and station wagons, an insurer shall not consider either the employment driving record or the nonemployment driving record of the individual in determining whether the policy will be issued or renewed or in determining the rates for the policy. An insurer shall not cancel such policy or discriminate in regard to other terms or conditions of the policy based upon the employment driving record or the nonemployment driving record of the individual.

(2) As used in this section, "employment driving record" and "nonemployment driving record" mean the employment driving record and nonemployment driving record described in ORS 802.200.

(3) This section is not intended to affect the enforcement of the motor vehicle laws.

(4) An insurer may use the abstract of the individual’s nonemployment driving record as authorized under ORS

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3. Imitation Crash Parts Regulations 

746.287 Insurer requirement of installation of aftermarket crash part in vehicle. (1) Without the consent of the owner of the vehicle, an insurer may not require, directly or indirectly, that a motor vehicle body and frame repair shop supply or install any aftermarket crash part unless the part has been certified by an independent test facility to be at least equivalent to the part being replaced.

(2) For purposes of this section, an aftermarket crash part is at least equivalent to the part being replaced if the aftermarket crash part is the same kind of part and is at least the same quality with respect to fit, finish, function and corrosion resistance. [1987 c.622 §3]

746.289 Insurer offer of crash part warranty. Any insurer which offers a motor vehicle insurance policy that provides coverage for repair of the vehicle shall make available to its insured a crash part warranty for crash parts not made by the original equipment manufacturer as described in ORS 746.292 when the insured requests one. [1987 c.622 §4]

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4. Anti-Steering Regulations 

746.280 Designation of particular motor vehicle repair shop by insurer prohibited. An insurer shall not require that a particular person make the repairs to the insured’s motor vehicle as a condition for recovery by the insured under a motor vehicle liability insurance policy. [1977 c.785 §2]

746.285 Notice of prohibition in motor vehicle repair shops; size; location. A person operating a motor vehicle body and frame repair shop shall display in a conspicuous place in the shop a sign in bold face type in letters at least two inches high reading substantially as follows:

PURSUANT TO OREGON INSURANCE LAW, AN INSURANCE COMPANY MAY NOT REQUIRE THAT REPAIRS BE MADE TO A MOTOR VEHICLE BY A PARTICULAR PERSON OR REPAIR SHOP.

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746.295 Proof and amount of loss under motor vehicle liability policies; determination by insurer. Nothing in ORS 746.275 to 746.300 or 746.991 shall prohibit an insurer from establishing proof of loss requirements for motor vehicle liability insurance policies, investigating and determining the amount of an insured’s loss through its agents or employees or negotiating with any person for the repair of such loss. [1977 c.785 §6]

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5. Timely Notification

746.230 (1) No insurer or other person shall commit or perform any of the following unfair claim settlement practices:

(b) Failing to acknowledge and act promptly upon communications relating to claims;

(c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims;

(d) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based on all available information;

(e) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after completed proof of loss statements have been submitted;

(m) Failing to promptly provide the proper explanation of the basis relied on in the insurance policy in relation to the facts or applicable law for the denial of a claim. 

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6. Timely Payment

746.230 (1) No insurer or other person shall commit or perform any of the following unfair claim settlement practices:

(L) Failing to promptly settle claims under one coverage of a policy where liability has become reasonably clear in order to influence settlements under other coverages of the policy;  

(f) Not attempting, in good faith, to promptly and equitably settle claims in which liability has become reasonably clear;

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7. False & Misleading Advertising

746.075 Misrepresentation generally. (1) A person may not engage, directly or indirectly, in any action described in subsection (2) of this section in connection with: 

(a) Making, issuing, circulating or causing to be made, issued or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular or statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or advantages therein or the dividends or share of surplus to be received thereon;

(b) Making any false or misleading representation as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on similar policies;

(c) Making any false or misleading representation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates;

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8. False Use of Insurer’s Name

746.075 Misrepresentation generally. (1) A person may not engage, directly or indirectly, in any action described in subsection (2) of this section in connection with: (4) Use any name or title of any policy or class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof;

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9. Total Losses

819.014 Insurer failure to follow procedures for totaled vehicle; penalty. (1) An insurer commits the offense of insurer failure to follow procedures for a totaled vehicle if the insurer declares that the vehicle is a totaled vehicle and does not:

(a) Obtain the certificate of title from the owner of the vehicle as a condition of settlement of the claim and surrender it to the Department of Transportation within 30 days of its receipt; or

(b) If the insurer does not obtain the certificate from the registered owner, notify the department that the vehicle is a totaled vehicle within 30 days of declaring it to be so, or taking title to or possession of it, and notify the registered owner of the vehicle that the registered owner must surrender the certificate to the department and must notify any subsequent purchaser that the vehicle is a totaled vehicle.

(2) If the vehicle is one for which title was issued in a form other than a certificate, the insurer shall notify the department that the vehicle is a totaled vehicle and shall follow procedures adopted by the department by rule.

(3) The offense described in this section, insurer failure to follow procedures for a totaled vehicle, is a violation of the Insurance Code, as provided in ORS 746.308. [1991 c.820 §4a; 1993 c.233 §59]

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10. Consumer Sales Practices Acts

746.075. In the offer or sale of any insurance, directly or indirectly, or in connection with any inducement or attempted inducement, directly or indirectly, of any insured or person with ownership rights under an issued life insurance policy to lapse, forfeit, surrender, assign, effect a loan against, retain, exchange or convert the policy, no person shall:

(1) Make, issue, circulate or cause to be made, issued or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular or statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or advantages therein or the dividends or share of surplus to be received thereon;

(2) Make any false or misleading representation as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on similar policies;

(3) Make any false or misleading representation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates;

(4) Use any name or title of any policy or class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof;

(5) Employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;

(6) Obtain money or property by means of any untrue statement of a material fact or any omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statement made, in light of the circumstances under which it was made, not misleading; or

(7) Engage in any other transaction, practice or course of business which operates as a fraud or deceit upon the purchaser, insured or person with policy ownership rights.

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11. Consumer Auto Repair Practices Acts

746.292 Motor vehicle repair shops; invoices; estimates; warranties; prohibited practices. (1) All work done by a motor vehicle body and frame repair shop shall be recorded on an invoice and shall describe all service work done and parts supplied. If any used parts are supplied, the invoice shall clearly state that fact. If any component system installed is composed of new and used parts, such invoice shall clearly state that fact. One copy of the invoice shall be given to the customer and one copy shall be retained by the motor vehicle body and frame repair shop.

(2) Before commencing repair work and upon the request of any customer, a motor vehicle body and frame repair shop shall make an estimate in writing of the parts and labor necessary for the repair work, and shall not charge for the work done or parts supplied in excess of the estimate without the consent of such customer.

(3)(a) If crash parts to be used in the repair work are supplied by the original equipment manufacturer, the parts shall be accompanied by a warranty that guarantees the customer that the parts meet or exceed standards used in manufacturing the original equipment.

(b) If crash parts to be used in the repair work are not supplied by the original equipment manufacturer, the estimate shall include a statement that says:

______________________________________________________________________________

This estimate has been prepared based on the use of a motor vehicle crash part not made by the original equipment manufacturer. The use of a motor vehicle crash part not made by the original equipment manufacturer may invalidate any remaining warranties of the original equipment manufacturer on that motor vehicle part. The person who prepared this estimate will provide a copy of the part warranty for crash parts not made by the original equipment manufacturer for comparison purposes.

______________________________________________________________________________

(4) No motor vehicle body and frame shop may:

(a) Supply or install used parts, or any component system composed of new and used parts, when new parts or component systems are or were to be supplied or installed.

(b) Supply or install, without the owner’s consent, any aftermarket crash part unless the part has been certified by an independent test facility to be at least equivalent to the part being replaced. For purposes of this paragraph, an aftermarket crash part is at least equivalent to the part being replaced if the aftermarket crash part is the same kind of part and is at least the same quality with respect to fit, finish, function and corrosion resistance.

(c) Charge for repairs not actually performed, or add the cost of repairs not actually to be performed to any repair estimate.

(d) Refuse any insurer, or its insured, or their agents or employees, reasonable access to any repair facility for the purpose of inspecting or reinspecting the damaged vehicle during usual business hours.

(5) As used in ORS 746.287 and this section, "aftermarket crash part" means a motor vehicle replacement part, sheet metal or plastic, that constitutes the visible exterior of the vehicle, including an inner or outer panel, is generally repaired or replaced as the result of a collision and is not supplied by the original equipment manufacturer. [1977 c.785 §5; 1987 c.622 §1]

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12. Telemarketing laws

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13. Home Sales Act

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14. Licensing Adjusters

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15. Diminished Value

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