Latest Oregon Headlines
All the headlines from our Oregon Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Alliant Acquires PBC Employee Benefits Division in Oregon
Jan 3 2024 // Alliant Insurance Services acquired the employee benefits division of Eugene, Oregon-based PBC Insurance. The PBC employee benefits team will join Alliant and continue serving clients from its Eugene headquarters. PBC also...
2024 Oregon Consumer Laws Include Protections for Homeowners Dealing with Wildfire
Dec 29 2023 // Consumer protections for homeowners dealing with wildfire-related issues, property contents coverage, personal data protection and prescription drugs are set to go into effect in 2024. The Oregon Division of Financial...
Appeals Court Finds Rules for Oregon’s Climate Program Invalid
Dec 22 2023 // A state appeals court in Oregon decided the rules for a program designed to limit and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel companies are invalid. The program, started in 2022, is one of the...
Oregon’s Compensable Worker Fatalities up in 3Q, Report Shows
Dec 13 2023 // A report from the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services for the third quarter shows a rise in work-related compensable fatalities. The department’s Quarterly Fatality report for the third quarter 2023...
Berkshire Utility Reaches $299 Million Oregon Fire Accord
Dec 8 2023 // Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.’s PacifiCorp said it will pay $299 million to settle claims over wildfires that burned homes in southwest Oregon, averting another jury trial in litigation that has already exposed the...
Winter Weather in Pacific Northwest Cut Power to Thousands in Seattle
Dec 4 2023 // Winter weather brought high winds and snow to parts of the Pacific Northwest, knocking out power in some areas and dumping fresh snow across the Cascade Range. Thousands of households were without power Saturday morning in...
Oregon Regulator to Investigate Pacificorp’s Request to Limit Wildfire Liability
Nov 30 2023 // Oregon’s utility regulator this week said it would investigate a petition by PacifiCorp to limit its liability from future wildfire-related lawsuits, delaying a decision on the power provider’s request by as...
Oregon Jury Awards Man $3M After Officer Accused Him of Trying to Steal Car
Nov 17 2023 // A jury in Oregon has awarded a man more than $3.1 million after a police officer accused him of trying to steal a car he was fixing and allegedly used excessive force when arresting him. That jury award included more than...
Oregon OSHA Cites Contractor for Repeatedly Violating Fall Hazard Requirements
Oct 30 2023 // Oregon OSHA cited Forest Grove contractor J&K Roofing Co. $39,000 for repeatedly violating a requirement to provide protection to safeguard workers from fall hazards that could injure or kill them. The citation...
Oregon Prosecutors Charge Off-Duty Pilot Accused of Trying to Cut Engines on Midflight Jet with Attempted Murder
Oct 25 2023 // Oregon prosecutors have charged an off-duty pilot accused of trying to cut the engines on a Horizon Air jet in mid-air with 83 counts of attempted murder. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in Portland...
Oregon Seeks $27M for Dam Repair from Contractors, District
Oct 13 2023 // Oregon officials are seeking more than $27 million in damages over dam repairs they say killed more than half a million Pacific lamprey fish in what they`ve described as one of the largest damages claims for illegal...
People Moves: Kunz Joins Alliant’s Employee Benefits Group in Oregon
Sep 27 2023 // Nicole Kunz joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in Portland, Ore., Kunz previously served as board president at Total Rewards PDX, as principal at Mercer Health...
Tech Startups in US, France, Germany Help in Fight Against Wildfires
Sep 25 2023 // This year has been a challenging one for Phil Schneider, who hasn’t seen wildfire behavior like this in his 47-year firefighting career. Blazes raged through more than 2,000 acres of wildland in recent months in his...
Berkshire Hathaway Energy Shows Unusual Risk Appetite in Wildfire Court Fight
Sep 21 2023 // Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.’s PacifiCorp has been battered in an unprecedented court fight over the utility’s failure to prevent massive wildfire destruction in Oregon. The largest grid operator in the...
Oregon Workers’ Comp Costs to Drop 11th-Straight Year
Sep 8 2023 // Oregon employers will pay on average less for workers’ compensation coverage, according to an update from the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. The decline marks 11 years of average decreases in...
SAIF in Oregon Declares $135M Dividend for Policyholders
Sep 7 2023 // The SAIF board of directors declared a $135 million dividend for its policyholders, marking the 14th straight year SAIF has been able to offer a dividend. SAIF is a not-for-profit with a goal of making workers’...
Business Moves
Sep 4 2023 // National Acturis Group, Broker Buddha The software-as-a-service firm Acturis Group has entered the U.S. market with the acquisition of Broker Buddha. Broker Buddha, based in New York City, provides insurance brokers and...
Risk Strategies Acquires Benefit Design Group in Oregon
Aug 31 2023 // Risk Strategies acquired Benefit Design Group LLC in Oregon. The purchase of BDG adds to Risk Strategies’ presence in the Pacific Northwest. It builds upon the firm’s previous acquisition of the Fournier Group,...
Grant Extended to Fire-Harden Homes, Businesses Damaged by Oregon Wildfires
Aug 23 2023 // The Oregon Building Codes Division has partnered with counties on a grant to help homeowners and businesses rebuild after the 2020 and 2021 Oregon wildfires. People who own a home or business damaged or destroyed by the...
California-Oregon Wildfires Prompt Evacuation Orders
Aug 17 2023 // Growing fires near the California-Oregon border have prompted evacuation orders. A Siskiyou County wildfire, the Head Fire, started in the Klamath National Forest after a bout of thunderstorms and lightning. A social media...
