If you have an Oregon auto policy, you have Personal Injury Protection — PIP — coverage. It’s the most important and least understood part of your car insurance. Most people I talk to don’t know they have it, or even what it is. And most patients I talk to don’t fully understand its uses and limitations.
This is the guide I wrote to fix that. By the end of it you’ll know exactly what PIP covers, how much, for how long, what to do to get it paid, and how it interacts with everything else (the at-fault driver’s insurance, your health insurance, UM/UIM, attorneys, settlements). I cite the actual Oregon statutes throughout. If you want shorter answers to specific questions, the FAQ at the bottom and the linked articles handle those one at a time.
I’m Dr. Mike Kam, owner of Crash Care Clinics, an auto-injury chiropractic practice in NW Portland. PIP is how we get paid for almost every patient we see. We bill PIP directly so patients don’t pay out of pocket. After hundreds of claims, the patterns of what works, what gets denied, and what trips people up are pretty predictable. That’s what this guide reflects.
This page is general information about Oregon law and how PIP works in practice. It is not legal advice for your specific claim. For legal advice, consult an Oregon-licensed attorney.
The 60-second version
- Every Oregon auto policy must include PIP. It’s mandatory under ORS 742.520 — you cannot opt out.
- PIP is no-fault. It pays your medical bills regardless of who caused the crash.
- Minimum coverage is $15,000 in medical with a 2-year window from the date of the crash, plus wage loss, essential services, child care, and funeral benefits on top of that.
- PIP applies to you, your passengers, and pedestrians struck by your insured vehicle — not just the policyholder.
- You file with your own insurance company first, even if the other driver caused the crash. Your insurer recovers from the at-fault carrier later through subrogation; you don’t have to coordinate that.
- Use it. In practice, most Oregon carriers do not raise rates after a non-at-fault PIP claim. Talk to your agent about your specific carrier’s surcharge policy.
What PIP actually covers — the five categories
Oregon PIP has five distinct benefit categories under ORS 742.524. Understanding which is which matters because they have different caps and triggers.
1. Medical expenses — minimum $15,000
The biggest category and the one most patients use. Covers:
- Medical, hospital, dental, surgical, ambulance, and prosthetic services
- Reasonable and necessary care related to the auto injury
- The full $15,000 (more if you bought higher PIP) is available within two years from the date of the accident
The 60-day rule: when a provider submits a bill to your PIP carrier, the bill is presumed reasonable unless the insurer denies it in writing within 60 calendar days of receiving notice. This is a real protection for patients — it means PIP carriers can’t just sit on bills indefinitely. If your provider has been billing PIP and the insurer hasn’t paid or denied within 60 days, the bill is presumptively payable.
In practice, $15,000 covers a typical post-crash treatment course (chiropractic, physical therapy, soft-tissue work, basic imaging). It’s usually enough for most soft-tissue cases. It can run out faster than you’d think if there’s MRI imaging, an ER visit, or a specialist consult.
You can buy more. Most Oregon insurers offer PIP coverage levels of $25K, $50K, or $100K for a small premium increase. If you live in Portland and drive much, $50K is worth the upgrade.
2. Wage loss — up to $3,000/month for 52 weeks
If your injuries keep you out of work for at least 14 days, PIP pays 70% of your lost income, capped at $3,000 per month, for up to 52 weeks total (cumulative across the recovery, not consecutive).
The 14-day rule trips people up: a quick injury that puts you out for a week doesn’t qualify. You have to be disabled from working for 14 consecutive days minimum before this benefit kicks in. Once it does, it’s retroactive to day 1.
“Income” is broadly defined — salary, wages, tips, commissions, professional fees, and profits. So this benefit applies to W-2 employees, self-employed contractors, and small business owners. The catch: you must be “usually engaged in a remunerative occupation” — this benefit doesn’t apply to people who weren’t working before the crash.
3. Essential services — $30/day for non-income-earners
For people who weren’t working at the time of the crash but were performing essential household services (raising children, caring for elderly parents, managing the home), PIP pays $30 per day for those services to be performed by someone outside the household, for up to 52 weeks.
This applies to stay-at-home parents, retirees, and anyone disabled 14+ days who wasn’t earning income. The $30/day is meant to cover the cost of having a third party do what the injured person normally does.
4. Funeral expenses — $5,000
If the crash causes a fatality within one year, PIP pays up to $5,000 in funeral expenses.
5. Child care — $25/day up to $750 total
If a parent is hospitalized for 24 hours or more after the crash, PIP pays $25 per day for child care, up to a total cap of $750.
These last two categories don’t come up often, but they’re real benefits that get missed because patients (and even some claim adjusters) don’t know they exist.
Who’s eligible for PIP benefits
Most Oregonians assume PIP only covers the policyholder. It actually covers a much wider circle.
The named insured (policyholder): covered when injured in a crash involving any vehicle — yours, a rental, someone else’s, even as a pedestrian.
Resident relatives of the named insured: spouses, children, and household family members are covered the same as the policyholder.
Passengers in the insured vehicle: anyone riding in your car at the time of a crash gets PIP coverage from your policy, regardless of whether they have their own insurance.
Pedestrians and cyclists struck by the insured vehicle: if your vehicle hits a pedestrian or cyclist, your PIP covers their medical bills under the same $15K minimum. (The cyclist or pedestrian’s own auto policy, if they have one, is usually primary; yours fills the gap.)
The named insured riding a bike or walking and struck by a car: your own PIP follows you. If you’re hit while walking or biking, your auto policy’s PIP applies even though you weren’t driving.
The practical effect: PIP follows people, not vehicles. If you have an Oregon auto policy, you almost certainly have PIP coverage available in any crash you’re involved in — even ones where you weren’t driving.
How to file a PIP claim — the actual steps
The mechanics matter because timing affects whether PIP gets paid cleanly or fights you on it.
1. Notify your insurer promptly. Within a few days of the crash, ideally within the first week. You don’t need a final diagnosis or treatment plan to open the claim — just call and tell them you’ve been in a crash and want to open a PIP claim. They’ll give you a claim number on the spot.
2. Get the claim number to your providers. Every chiropractor, ER, urgent care, and imaging center that treats you needs the PIP claim number to bill correctly. We collect this at the front desk on your first visit. If you’re seeing providers elsewhere, give them the number proactively — bills sent without a claim number bounce.
3. Fill out the medical authorization form. Most insurers require an authorization to release medical records. This is normal. Sign it; without it, your providers can’t share notes with the carrier and your bills won’t get paid.
4. Track your treatment. Keep a folder: dates, providers, copays (you shouldn’t have any with PIP, but track them), pain levels, what you can’t do. The treatment record is what supports both the medical claim and any later wage-loss or settlement claim.
5. If you missed work, request the wage-loss benefit separately. Don’t assume the medical adjuster knows. You’ll need an employer letter confirming missed days and earnings, or self-employment income documentation. The wage-loss check is sent to you, not your provider.
6. Don’t sign anything from the at-fault driver’s insurance until you’ve talked to an attorney or your own insurer first. PIP comes from your own carrier; the at-fault carrier is a separate (and usually adversarial) conversation that can wait.
How long PIP lasts and how it gets exhausted
The two coverage windows that matter:
- 2 years from the date of the crash — the maximum window during which any medical bill is eligible for PIP coverage. After 2 years, even if you have $15K of unused PIP, it stops applying to medical bills.
- $15,000 medical cap — the dollar ceiling. Once you hit it, PIP stops paying medical bills regardless of whether time is left.
Either trigger ends the medical coverage. Most patients hit the dollar cap before the time cap. A typical 4-6 month treatment course — including advanced imaging and care from other specialists where needed — runs $10K-$15K. Patients with multiple injuries, longer recovery, or surgical workups can blow through $15K well before the 2-year window closes.
When PIP exhausts:
- Your provider keeps treating, but billing shifts to the at-fault driver’s BIL (Bodily Injury Liability) coverage in a future settlement, OR your own UM/UIM if the other driver was uninsured/underinsured, OR your health insurance.
- Your treatment doesn’t have to stop. The funding shifts.
- This is when most patients either (a) hire an attorney to coordinate the BIL claim, or (b) let an attorney they’re already working with handle the transition.
We’ve seen patients try to “save” their PIP by paying out of pocket early on. Don’t do this. Use the PIP first; it doesn’t roll over and using it first is what it’s for.
How PIP interacts with everything else
This is the section that confuses most people, so I’ll be specific.
PIP vs. the at-fault driver’s BIL (Bodily Injury Liability)
Different functions. PIP pays your medical bills as you treat. BIL pays for the eventual settlement of your case — pain and suffering, wage loss beyond PIP limits, medical bills exceeding PIP limits.
Order of operations: PIP pays first while you’re treating. When treatment ends, your attorney (or you) negotiates a settlement with the at-fault driver’s BIL carrier. The BIL settlement covers everything PIP didn’t, plus pain and suffering.
Your insurer recovers from the at-fault carrier through subrogation (ORS 742.538). You don’t repay PIP yourself; the carriers handle it between them.
PIP vs. UM/UIM
If the at-fault driver was uninsured or underinsured, your own UM/UIM coverage kicks in to cover what BIL can’t. UM/UIM coverage is mandatory in Oregon (minimum $25K per person / $50K per accident). It applies after PIP exhausts or in parallel for non-medical recovery.
UM/UIM claims are technically against your own carrier, which means the carrier becomes adversarial — they’re trying to minimize what they pay you. That’s where attorneys earn their fees.
PIP vs. health insurance
PIP is primary for auto-injury medical bills in Oregon. Your health insurance is secondary. If PIP exhausts before treatment ends, then health insurance picks up — but most providers prefer to wait for PIP to run out before submitting to health insurance, because the documentation flow is different.
One quirk: some health insurers, especially Medicare and Medicaid, have separate subrogation rights. If PIP and health insurance both pay, your eventual settlement may be reduced to pay back the health insurer. An attorney handles this in any case with significant treatment.
PIP and rideshare crashes
Different rules for Uber/Lyft. The rideshare company carries its own PIP coverage in Oregon (minimum $15K per HB 2393, effective 2022). For passengers and other-driver scenarios, your own PIP applies first. For rideshare drivers themselves, the rideshare company’s policy carries PIP. Full breakdown: Rideshare Accidents in Portland.
PIP and work-related crashes
If the crash happened in the course of your employment (delivery driver, traveling sales rep, etc.), workers’ comp is primary and PIP is secondary. There’s careful coordination — never assume one or the other; talk to both carriers.
Specific scenarios
A handful of scenarios come up often enough that they deserve specific notes.
Scenario: hit-and-run
The other driver fled. Your PIP still covers your medical bills the same as any other crash. Your UM coverage also applies for non-medical recovery (pain and suffering, wage loss beyond PIP limits). Report the crash to police immediately and to your insurer within a few days; UM claims for hit-and-run usually require a police report.
Scenario: hit while a pedestrian or cyclist
PIP applies. If you have your own auto policy, your PIP covers the bills (yes, even though no car of yours was involved). If you don’t have an auto policy, the at-fault driver’s auto policy is primary.
Scenario: passenger in someone else’s car
You’re covered. The driver’s PIP is primary if you don’t have your own auto policy. If you do, your own PIP usually applies first by election (you can choose).
Scenario: out-of-state driver hit you in Oregon
Oregon law applies for the crash. The out-of-state policy may not include “Oregon-style” PIP, but it has analogous medical-payments coverage in most cases. Your own Oregon PIP also applies if you have it.
Scenario: you have a high-deductible auto policy
You can have a PIP deductible of up to $250 (ORS 742.524(2)) for medical, wage loss, and essential services. If you do, you pay the first $250 out of pocket before PIP starts. Most policies don’t have a deductible — check yours.
Common claim issues and how to handle them
A few patterns that come up often enough to warrant naming.
“The insurer requested an Independent Medical Examination (IME)”
The PIP carrier can request an IME — an exam by a doctor of their choosing — to verify the necessity of continued care. Show up, be honest, don’t exaggerate or downplay symptoms. The IME doctor’s report can lead to a denial of further care; if so, a second opinion from your treating provider and (if needed) attorney intervention are the next steps.
“The insurer is delaying or partially paying my bills”
Document the timing. If you provided notice of a bill more than 60 days ago and the insurer hasn’t paid or denied in writing, the bill is presumed reasonable under ORS 742.524(1)(a). This is the lever your attorney (or your provider’s billing department) uses to force payment.
“The insurer denied my claim entirely”
A flat denial is unusual but happens — typically because the carrier alleges the injury isn’t related to the crash, or there’s a coverage technicality. You have the right to appeal, and Oregon has a separate complaint process through the Department of Consumer and Business Services. For any meaningful denial, talk to a personal injury attorney before appealing on your own.
“The insurer wants me to settle quickly”
Early-settlement offers (within the first few weeks after a crash) are almost always low. The injury picture isn’t clear yet. Soft-tissue inflammation peaks at 24-72 hours but treatment often runs 6-12 weeks; long-term outcomes can take months to assess. Don’t sign anything that limits your future treatment until your treating clinician confirms you’ve reached maximum medical improvement.
When to involve an attorney
Most simple PIP-only treatment plans don’t need an attorney. PIP just pays the bills.
You should talk to an attorney when:
- The crash put you in the hospital or you needed imaging to rule out fractures
- The other driver was uninsured or underinsured (UM/UIM claims are technical)
- You’re being asked to give a recorded statement to the at-fault carrier
- You’re being offered a settlement or release in the first few weeks
- The PIP carrier denied your claim or stopped paying
- The crash involved a rideshare, commercial vehicle, or government vehicle
- There’s a fatality
- Your injuries exceed $15K in medical or you’ll be out of work more than 4-6 weeks
Most Portland personal injury attorneys work on contingency — no fee unless they recover for you. Free initial consultations are standard. We coordinate with several local PI firms and can refer you if useful; we don’t charge for the referral and the firms we recommend have a track record we can speak to.
Does using PIP raise your rates?
Generally not, when you weren’t at fault. In practice, most Oregon carriers do not raise rates after a non-at-fault PIP claim — auto rate-rating typically looks at fault and overall claims history, not at PIP usage in isolation. Carrier surcharge policies vary, though, so it’s worth a quick call to your insurance agent if you’re concerned about a specific policy.
The fear of rate increases stops a lot of patients from using PIP. Don’t let it. The benefit is paid up front through your premium; using it is what it’s for.
What is Oregon PIP insurance? PIP (Personal Injury Protection) is a no-fault medical coverage included on every Oregon auto policy. Minimum $15,000 in medical with a 2-year coverage window, plus benefits for wage loss, essential services, child care, and funeral expenses. It pays your medical bills regardless of who caused the crash.
How much does Oregon PIP cover? The mandatory minimum is $15,000 in medical, plus 70% of lost income up to $3,000/month for up to 52 weeks (with a 14-day disability minimum), plus $30/day in essential services for non-earners, plus $25/day up to $750 in child care if a parent is hospitalized 24+ hours, plus $5,000 in funeral expenses. Higher PIP limits (up to $100,000 medical) are available for a modest premium increase.
Who is covered by my Oregon PIP? You as the policyholder, your resident relatives, your passengers, pedestrians or cyclists struck by your insured vehicle, and you as a pedestrian or cyclist when struck by another vehicle.
Does PIP cover passengers in my car? Yes. Anyone riding in your car at the time of a crash is covered by your PIP, regardless of whether they have their own auto insurance.
Does PIP cover me if I’m hit as a pedestrian? Yes. If you have an Oregon auto policy, your PIP covers you even when you’re walking or biking. PIP follows the person, not just the vehicle.
How long do I have to file a PIP claim? Notify your insurer promptly — generally within a few days, definitely within the first week or two. The actual coverage window for medical benefits is 2 years from the date of the crash.
Does using PIP raise my insurance rates? Generally not when you weren’t at fault. In practice, most Oregon carriers don’t raise rates after a non-at-fault PIP claim — rate-rating typically looks at fault and overall claims history, not PIP usage in isolation. Carrier policies vary; check with your agent if you have questions about your specific policy.
Can my PIP be denied? Yes, but the carrier must deny within 60 calendar days of receiving notice of a bill — otherwise the bill is presumed reasonable under ORS 742.524(1)(a). Common denial reasons: alleging the treatment isn’t related to the crash, or that the care isn’t medically necessary. An IME (Independent Medical Examination) usually precedes a denial.
What happens when PIP runs out? Treatment continues. Funding shifts to the at-fault driver’s BIL coverage in your eventual settlement, or to your UM/UIM coverage if the other driver was uninsured/underinsured, or to your health insurance. Most patients with significant injuries involve an attorney at this transition.
Do I have to pay back PIP from my eventual settlement? Generally no — your insurer recovers from the at-fault carrier through subrogation, separately from your settlement. There can be exceptions when health insurance has paid bills that PIP also covered; an attorney handles this.
What’s the difference between PIP and BIL? PIP is on YOUR policy and pays your medical bills no-fault. BIL is on the AT-FAULT driver’s policy and covers your settlement (pain and suffering, wage loss beyond PIP, medical exceeding PIP). PIP first, BIL settlement at end of treatment.
Is PIP the same as health insurance? No. PIP is auto insurance specifically for crash injuries; it’s primary over health insurance for auto-related care in Oregon. Health insurance may cover non-auto-related conditions or pick up after PIP exhausts.
What if I don’t have an Oregon auto policy? If you were a passenger, the driver’s PIP covers you. If you were struck as a pedestrian or cyclist, the at-fault driver’s PIP (or BIL if they have no PIP) covers you. If neither applies and the at-fault driver had no insurance, you may have a path through your own UM coverage if you’re a resident of someone else’s policy.
Can I have a PIP deductible? Yes, up to $250 (ORS 742.524(2)) for medical, wage loss, and essential services. Most policies don’t include a PIP deductible — check yours.
If you want practical step-by-step advice instead of reference material, our 8 Steps After a Car Accident in Oregon cornerstone walks through the first 72 hours.
If you were in a rideshare crash, see our Rideshare Accidents in Portland guide — the insurance picture is more complicated.
If you’re trying to decide whether to come in: our first-visit guide walks through what actually happens at the first appointment.
If you’d rather read this in Spanish, see our Qué Hacer Después de un Accidente de Auto en Portland.
If you want to call us: (503) 567-2981. Our front desk handles PIP claim setup and we bill direct, so you don’t pay anything out of pocket.
- Oregon Revised Statutes 742.520 — Mandatory PIP Coverage
- Oregon Revised Statutes 742.524 — Personal Injury Protection Benefits
- Oregon Revised Statutes 742.538 — PIP Subrogation
- Oregon HB 2393 — Rideshare PIP Requirements (eff. 2022-01-01)
- Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services — File a Complaint
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