Oregon pauses some insurance cancellations, renewals for wildfire evacuees

Oregonians forced to flee wildfires won’t have to worry about losing certain insurance coverage while they’re under evacuation orders, state regulators said Friday.

The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation issued an emergency order requiring property and casualty insurers to temporarily stop canceling or refusing to renew policies covering homes, businesses and other risks in ZIP codes under wildfire evacuation notices.

The order also gives affected customers more time to pay premiums, report claims and submit other claim-related paperwork.

State officials said evacuations can leave people without access to their homes, mail, financial records or the internet, making it difficult to pay bills or communicate with insurers before deadlines.

Oregon Insurance Commissioner TK Keen said the state wanted to “make sure evacuees and other Oregonians affected by these wildfires are able to access the insurance resources they need, especially while they are displaced.”

Under the order, insurers must:

The order comes as Oregon faces one of its worst wildfire seasons on record. About 1.7 million acres have burned across the state this year, and the National Weather Service has warned that hot, dry and windy conditions this weekend could fuel the rapid spread of existing fires and spark new ones across central and eastern Oregon.

Most of the state’s largest fires were ignited by mid-July lightning, and firefighters have battled dry conditions, high temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds that have made containment more difficult.

Gov. Tina Kotek said the order is intended to provide stability for families and communities responding to this summer’s wildfires. She declared a statewide wildfire emergency June 16 because of the growing fire danger.

She has since invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for 11 fires, deploying additional state firefighting resources to help local communities.

State officials also warned Oregonians to watch out for scams as wildfire recovery gets underway. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said scammers often try to take advantage of disasters by setting up fake fundraisers or posing as charities seeking donations.

Officials said people should verify charities before donating or sharing personal information and report suspected scams to the Oregon Department of Justice.

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