Oregon Property & Casualty Insurance License Exam Overview
The Oregon Property & Casualty Insurance License Exam is administered by PSI on behalf of the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR). Oregon's diverse geography—from the Pacific Coast to the Cascade Mountains—creates unique insurance challenges including wildfire risk, earthquake exposure, and coastal flooding.
Passing this exam qualifies you to sell property insurance, auto insurance, liability coverage, and related products throughout Oregon—a state with over 4.2 million residents, significant natural disaster exposure, and progressive regulatory environment that creates specialized P&C insurance needs.
Exam Format at a Glance
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Questions | 150 multiple-choice |
| Scored Questions | 150 |
| Time Limit | 2 hours |
| Passing Score | 70% (105 correct answers) |
| Testing Vendor | PSI |
| Exam Fee | $55 |
| Pre-licensing Education | 40 hours required |
Why Get P&C Licensed in Oregon?
- Growing population — Portland metro and surrounding areas expanding
- Unique risks — Wildfire, earthquake, and coastal exposure
- Tech industry growth — Silicon Forest creates commercial opportunities
- Progressive market — Strong consumer protection focus
- Competitive compensation — High demand for licensed agents
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Key Topics Covered on the Exam
1. Property Insurance (30%)
Homeowners Insurance:
- HO-2, HO-3, HO-4, HO-5, HO-6, HO-8 policy forms
- Coverage A (Dwelling), B (Other Structures), C (Personal Property)
- Coverage D (Loss of Use), E (Personal Liability)
- Dwelling fire policies
Oregon-Specific Property Topics:
- Oregon FAIR Plan (residual market)
- Wildfire coverage (critical in rural and suburban areas)
- Earthquake coverage (Cascadia Subduction Zone)
- Flood insurance (coastal and river areas)
- Volcanic eruption coverage (Mt. Hood exposure)
Commercial Property:
- Building and personal property coverage forms
- Business income coverage
- Equipment breakdown
- Tech industry property coverage
2. Liability Insurance (30%)
Personal Liability:
- Homeowners liability (Coverage E)
- Personal umbrella policies
- Medical payments coverage
Commercial Liability:
- Commercial General Liability (CGL)
- Products and completed operations
- Professional liability (E&O)
- Technology errors and omissions
Oregon Workers' Compensation:
- Required for all employers
- SAIF Corporation (state fund)
- Competitive state (private market options)
- Self-insurance available for large employers
3. Auto Insurance (25%)
Oregon Auto Insurance Requirements:
| Coverage | Minimum Limit |
|---|---|
| Bodily Injury (per person) | $25,000 |
| Bodily Injury (per accident) | $50,000 |
| Property Damage | $20,000 |
Additional Auto Topics:
- Personal Auto Policy (PAP) coverage parts
- Oregon Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law
- Uninsured motorist coverage (required)
- Underinsured motorist coverage (required)
- Personal injury protection (PIP) required
- SR-22 requirements
- Commercial auto insurance
4. Oregon Insurance Code and Regulations (10%)
ORS Chapter 746 Key Provisions:
- Producer licensing requirements
- Unfair trade practices
- Unfair claims settlement practices
- Policy cancellation and nonrenewal rules
- Advertising guidelines
Licensing Requirements:
- Pre-licensing education: 40 hours required
- Continuing education: 24 hours every 2 years
- Ethics requirement: 3 hours included in CE
- Background check required
5. Ethics and Professional Conduct (5%)
- Fiduciary duties to insureds
- Premium handling requirements
- Claims reporting obligations
- Privacy and confidentiality
Study Timeline for Success
| Week | Focus Area | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1-2 | Property insurance fundamentals | 10-12 |
| Week 2-3 | Liability insurance | 10-12 |
| Week 3-4 | Auto insurance and OR requirements | 10-12 |
| Week 4-5 | Oregon regulations (ORS 746) | 8-10 |
| Week 5-6 | Practice exams and review | 10-12 |
Total recommended study time: 50-60 hours
Free Practice Questions Available
Test your knowledge with hundreds of free practice questions designed specifically for the Oregon P&C exam.
Oregon-Specific Exam Tips
1. Know Oregon Auto Minimums
Oregon requires 25/50/20 liability coverage:
- $25,000 per person bodily injury
- $50,000 per accident bodily injury
- $20,000 property damage
Important: Oregon also requires PIP and UM/UIM coverage.
2. Master Wildfire Coverage
Oregon's growing wildfire risk:
- Defensible space — Understand mitigation requirements
- WUI zones — Wildland-Urban Interface considerations
- Evacuation coverage — Additional living expenses during evacuations
- Brush clearing credits — Discounts for fire-resistant landscaping
3. Understand Earthquake Coverage
Oregon's Cascadia Subduction Zone risk:
- Not covered by standard homeowners policies
- Separate earthquake endorsement required
- Deductible typically 10-15% of dwelling coverage
- Essential for coastal and Portland metro areas
4. Key Numbers to Remember
| Topic | Oregon Requirement |
|---|---|
| Auto minimums | 25/50/20 |
| WC threshold | All employers |
| Pre-licensing | 40 hours |
| CE requirement | 24 hours/2 years |
| Passing score | 70% |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not knowing auto minimums — Oregon is 25/50/20
- Forgetting PIP requirement — Oregon requires PIP coverage
- Underestimating wildfire coverage — Critical OR exposure
- Ignoring earthquake risk — Cascadia Subduction Zone threat
- Not practicing timed exams — 2 hours for 150 questions
- Cramming last minute — Spread study over 5-6 weeks
After Passing Your Exam
- Apply for license through Oregon Division of Financial Regulation
- Complete background check — Required for all applicants
- Pay license fee — $50 for resident license
- Affiliate with insurer — Get appointed by carrier
- Maintain CE compliance — 24 hours every 2 years
- Begin selling — Your license is valid for 2 years
2026 Oregon Updates
For 2026, be aware of:
- Wildfire coverage availability changes
- Earthquake coverage updates
- Auto insurance rate adjustments
- Enhanced consumer protection regulations
Start Your Oregon P&C Insurance Career Today
The Oregon P&C license opens doors to one of the Pacific Northwest's most dynamic insurance markets. With proper preparation, you can pass the exam on your first attempt.
Our free study materials include:
- Complete topic coverage
- Practice questions with explanations
- Oregon-specific regulations (ORS Chapter 746)
- Study guides and summaries
- AI-powered study assistance
Don't pay for expensive prep courses when everything you need is available FREE.
How to Verify the Rules Before You Schedule
Use this guide for exam strategy, then confirm the current licensing steps with official sources before you pay for an appointment. Property and casualty licensing is state-administered, and administrative details can change even when the insurance concepts stay the same. Check the Oregon insurance department first, then the testing vendor candidate handbook, then the application path used after passing. The NAIC state insurance department directory is the safest way to find the current regulator site, and NIPR state requirements can help you confirm post-exam application steps where NIPR is used.
For exam content, keep two buckets separate. The national bucket includes property policies, casualty policies, liability principles, negligence, risk management, policy structure, exclusions, conditions, endorsements, and claims concepts. The Oregon bucket includes regulator authority, producer licensing, unfair practices, cancellation and nonrenewal rules, state auto requirements, residual market mechanisms, and local compliance duties. When a question includes a deadline, dollar limit, filing duty, required notice, or licensing step, ask whether it is a general insurance concept or a Oregon rule.
What to Master for Property Questions
Property questions reward careful reading. Know the difference between named-peril and open-peril coverage, replacement cost and actual cash value, direct and indirect loss, vacancy and unoccupancy, and first-party property coverage versus third-party liability. Homeowners forms are a frequent source of points because the forms look similar but solve different problems. Practice identifying who is insured, what property is covered, which location qualifies as the residence premises, and whether the loss is excluded before an endorsement changes the answer.
Do not treat deductibles, limits, and valuation as afterthoughts. A question may describe a covered loss but test whether the settlement is reduced by deductible, limited by a sublimit, valued at actual cash value, or excluded because the cause of loss is not covered. Commercial property questions add business personal property, business income, extra expense, equipment breakdown, inland marine, and builder's risk concepts. For commercial forms, focus on why a business would need the coverage and what exposure remains if it does not have it.
What to Master for Casualty and Liability Questions
Casualty questions often turn on liability logic. Before choosing an answer, identify the claimant, the insured, the alleged injury or damage, and the legal theory. Negligence questions usually require duty, breach, causation, and damages. Liability policy questions ask whether the policy responds to bodily injury, property damage, personal and advertising injury, medical payments, or a specifically excluded exposure.
For auto, separate personal auto policy structure from state financial responsibility requirements. You need to know liability, medical payments or personal injury protection where relevant, uninsured and underinsured motorist concepts, damage to your auto, covered auto definitions, exclusions, and endorsements. For commercial auto, pay attention to covered auto symbols, hired and non-owned autos, business use, and garage exposures. For workers' compensation, separate statutory benefits from employer liability and remember that workers' compensation is not ordinary negligence coverage.
Final Two-Week Study Plan
In the first week, rotate by coverage family: homeowners and dwelling property, commercial property, personal auto, commercial auto, general liability, workers' compensation, and Oregon law. After every practice set in /study-guides/or-property-casualty, write down whether each miss was caused by vocabulary, form structure, state rule, or careless reading. Vocabulary misses need flashcards. Form structure misses need diagrams. State-rule misses need a one-page Oregon checklist. Careless reading needs slower question markup.
In the second week, stop studying by chapter only. The actual exam mixes topics, so your practice should mix them too. Use timed sets and force yourself to decide quickly whether the question is asking about coverage trigger, excluded cause, valuation, limit, condition, producer conduct, or state filing rule. Review explanations immediately. The review is where your score improves; simply taking more questions without fixing the reason for misses mostly measures the same weakness again.
Common P&C Exam Traps
One trap is choosing the coverage that sounds familiar instead of the coverage that fits the loss. A flood loss, an employee injury, a professional advice claim, a business income interruption, and a personal auto collision may all involve money damages, but they do not belong in the same policy part. Another trap is ignoring who owns the property or who is legally liable. Property insurance usually protects the insured's financial interest in property; liability insurance responds to claims made by others against the insured.
Cancellation and nonrenewal questions also deserve attention. The exam may test required notice, permitted reasons, timing, or who has authority to act. If the question is state-specific, do not rely on a generic national rule. Unfair trade practice questions work the same way: rebating, twisting, misrepresentation, false advertising, unfair claims handling, and fiduciary misuse of premiums are tested because they show whether a producer can operate lawfully after the exam.
Exam-Day Workflow
Confirm your appointment, identification, remote-proctoring rules, allowed materials, and reschedule deadline before test day. At check-in, your legal name should match the exam registration. During the test, take the easy points first. If a scenario is long, identify the policy, the insured, the covered property or claimant, the cause of loss, and the question's command word. If two answers are legally true, choose the one that answers the exact fact pattern.
If you miss the passing score, use the report as a map. Rebuild the two weakest content areas, then retest with mixed questions. Candidates often improve fastest by mastering policy architecture: declarations, insuring agreement, conditions, exclusions, definitions, and endorsements. Once you can locate where a rule lives inside the policy, unfamiliar questions become easier to reason through.
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