Does Oregon Allow UM/UIM Stacking? What ORS 742.502 and 742.504 Say

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Oregon's statutes require UM equal to your liability limits, include underinsurance in it, and set primary and excess rules. They neither allow nor ban stacking, so your policy and court decisions decide.

Required coverage

ORS 742.502 requires UM in every motor vehicle liability policy issued for delivery in Oregon or covering a vehicle principally garaged there. The limits must equal your bodily injury liability limits unless a named insured elects lower limits in a signed statement, never below the financial responsibility minimums.

Underinsurance

The coverage must include underinsurance for injuries caused by a driver whose liability insurance provides less than the sums you are legally entitled to recover, equal to those sums up to your UM limits.

Primary and excess

Section 742.504(9) makes your coverage primary while you occupy a vehicle owned by a named insured and excess over similar primary insurance in another vehicle. Underinsured benefits require exhaustion of the liability limits or the alternatives in subsection (4)(d).

What it leaves open

Nothing in these sections allows or bars adding limits across vehicles or policies. Personal injury protection benefits reduce your damages but not your UM limits (ORS 742.542). We did not read court decisions on stacking; ask an attorney.

How to use this

Compare the results in the Oregon UM/UIM stacking calculator, start with the plain-English stacked versus single-limit explainer, and read how Oregon UM and underinsurance work.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Oregon's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Oregon attorney.