Baker & Malheur County residents also see insurance grace period during wildfire emergency

By on Tuesday, August 18th, 2026 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

BAKER & MALHEUR COUNTIES – Previously, Elkhorn Media Group reported on several zip codes in Union and Wallowa Counties that were officially added to the Oregon Wildfire Emergency Order list, per the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation. For residents in Baker and Malheur Counties, several address areas are also present on the list, creating mandates for insurance providers covering properties in the impacted zip codes, including extended deadlines, grace periods for premium payments, and restrictions on new insurance rates and cancelations of policies as a result of wildfire damage or danger.

As written in points 11 through 14 of the full order:

“11. All insurers must immediately take the following actions for reporting of claims and other

communications about claims with insureds having insurance policies issued, delivered, or

covering a risk in any of the Affected Areas subject to this Order:

  1.  Extend all deadlines for insureds to report claims or submit other communications related to claims.5
  1.  Take all practicable steps to provide opportunities for insureds to report claims or provide required communications related to claims considering any potential limitations for an insured’s access to communication tools due to wildfires.

12. All insurers must immediately institute a grace period for premium payment for all insurance

policies issued, delivered, or covering a risk in the Affected Areas subject to this Order,

ending no earlier than the first date on which this Order is no longer in effect.

13. All insurers must immediately take the following actions and adhere to the following

directions with respect to cancellations and nonrenewals for all active insurance policies

issued, delivered, or covering a risk in the Affected Areas subject to this Order:

  1.  Except as provided in subsection (e), insurers must suspend all cancellations and nonrenewals until this Order is no longer in effect.
  1.  For insurance policies not yet cancelled or nonrenewed as of the date of this Order, but for which a notice of cancellation or nonrenewal has been delivered, insurers must withdraw the issued notice and provide insureds with a notice that cancellation and nonrenewal is suspended during the time this Order remains in effect.
  1.  For policies in which the insurer is permitted to cancel a policy for underwriting reasons within the first 60 days the coverage is in effect, the 60-day period shall be suspended for the duration of this Order. Insurers that cancel a policy under ORS 742.562(2), 746.687(6), and 742.710(1)(a) must provide the policyholder 30 days’ notice after this Order is no longer in effect.
  1.  For policies extended beyond the normal date of cancellation or nonrenewal as a result of this Order, the premium for the extended coverage may be determined by the insurer in accordance with the terms of the policy, if applicable. Insurers may continue to bill insureds for this premium amount, but may not cancel or nonrenew coverage due to nonpayment of the extended premium amount during the time the Order remains in effect.
  1.  An insurer may not cancel or nonrenew a policy solely because of a claim directly resulting from the circumstances of the wildfire disaster, except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of a material fact as prohibited by the terms of the policy. An insurer may cancel or nonrenew a policy if such cancellation or nonrenewal is requested in writing by a policyholder.

14. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to relieve insureds of the obligation to pay premiums that are due under the terms of the insurance policy.”

As of the August 14 bulletin, the following zip codes for both counties fall under the emergency order and temporary insurance requirements (Note that some zip codes cross multiple counties and may be largely based in different counties):

Baker County:

  • 97907 (Southeast Baker County/Malheur County border)
  • 97877 (Sumpter & Granite area/Grant County border)
  • 97870 (Richland)
  • 97840 (Eastern Baker County/Oxbow)
  • 97833 (Haines/west of Haines)
  • 97814 (Baker City) 
  • 97869 (Grant County Border near Prairie City) 
  • 97867 (Union County Border/North Powder area) 

Malheur County:

  • 97917 (Warm Springs Reservoir area)
  • 97911 (Beulah Reservoir area)
  • 97910 (South Central Malheur County/Jordan Valley)
  • 97906 (Harper/North Central Malheur County)
  • 97907 (Northeast Malheur County/Baker County border)
  • 97904 (Gran/Harney County border)
  • 97901 (Adrian)
  • 97721 (Southeast Malheur County/Idaho Border)

The previous article on Union and Wallowa County zip codes can be found here. As of the time of writing, no address for Union or Wallowa County have been changed since the August 14 bulletin.

Elkhorn Media Group