The average motorcyclist pays about $200 to $300 a year for liability insurance on a motorcycle in Oregon. The average motorist pays about five times as much per year for car insurance. Why is it so much cheaper to insure a motorcycle?

Get a Motorcycle Quote Now!

The answer is, it depends. In Oregon, if you have auto insurance or live in a house that does, then any injury you sustain in an automobile-related accident would first be paid by that auto insurance, even if you have health insurance. A car crash victim will often arrive at an emergency room and show their health insurance benefits card rather than the auto insurance identification card. If the victim was a passenger in a vehicle belonging to someone else, the patient might not be able to show proof of the auto insurance belonging to the car’s driver, in which they suffered injuries, regardless of fault.

The State of Oregon requires four mandatory coverages:

• Bodily Injury Liability
• Property damage Liability
• Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury
• Personal Injury Protection.

You have an expensive car, and someone rear-ends you, causing it to be totaled. They have $20,000 in property damage liability, leaving you short, say, $30,000. Who will pay the difference?