HB 2128 updates Oregon’s insurance laws to create a more detailed regulatory framework for travel insurance and travel protection plans. The bill defines and distinguishes travel insurance, travel assistance services, cancellation fee waivers, travel retailers, limited lines travel insurance producers, travel insurance administrators, and related terms. It also authorizes the sale of bundled travel protection plans, but requires clear written disclosures before purchase and in post-sale fulfillment materials about what is included, how each component works, and who provides the services.
The bill adds consumer-protection rules for marketing and sales practices. It requires pre-purchase advertising and sales materials to match the policy terms, requires disclosure of preexisting-condition exclusions, and gives purchasers a limited cancellation period with a full refund if travel has not begun and no claim has been filed. It also prohibits certain practices, including selling policies that can never pay a claim, advertising blanket travel insurance as free, and using negative-option or opt-out enrollment for travel insurance. The bill further clarifies that travel assistance services are not insurance and sets rules for licensing, registration, recordkeeping, and oversight of travel retailers and travel insurance administrators.
HB 2128 amends ORS 744.101, 744.104, 744.107, and 744.111 and adds new provisions to Oregon’s travel insurance statutes. It places travel insurance generally under the Insurance Code while specifying that, for rate and form filing, it is usually classified as inland marine insurance, with some health-related travel coverage allowed to be filed under accident and health insurance instead. The bill also makes insurers responsible for the acts of travel insurance administrators and gives the Department of Consumer and Business Services authority to enforce compliance and adopt rules. The operative date for the new framework is January 1, 2026.
The overall sentiment appears strongly favorable and largely noncontroversial. The bill passed the House committee unanimously, passed the House 55-0, passed the Senate committee 5-0, and passed the Senate 28-1. That voting pattern suggests broad bipartisan support for standardizing travel insurance rules and strengthening consumer disclosures and oversight.
The main points of contention, to the extent they appear in the record, are limited and technical rather than political. The bill tightens requirements on travel retailers and limited lines travel insurance producers, including training, registration, and compliance obligations, which may be of concern to industry participants. It also restricts marketing practices and prohibits opt-out sales structures, reflecting a consumer-protection emphasis that could limit some existing sales models. However, the near-unanimous votes indicate that any objections were minor and did not prevent broad agreement on the bill’s approach.
HB 2128 expands and clarifies Oregon’s statutory scheme for travel insurance by amending ORS 744.101, 744.104, 744.107, and 744.111 and adding new provisions to the same subchapter. It creates new definitions and compliance rules for travel protection plans, travel retailers, travel insurance administrators, and related products and services, while giving the Department of Consumer and Business Services rulemaking and enforcement authority. The bill affects insurers, producers, travel retailers, administrators, and consumers purchasing travel-related coverage in Oregon, and it applies to travel insurance sold or delivered on or after the operative date of January 1, 2026.
The bill’s reception was overwhelmingly positive. It moved through committee and floor votes with near-unanimous support, including unanimous committee approvals in the House and Senate and only one dissenting vote on the Senate floor. The voting history suggests lawmakers broadly agreed that the bill improves consumer clarity and modernizes regulation of travel insurance and travel protection plans.
The bill’s only likely friction points are industry-facing compliance requirements and restrictions on sales practices. Travel retailers and limited lines travel insurance producers must meet disclosure, training, registration, and recordkeeping obligations, and they are barred from certain marketing tactics such as negative-option enrollment and advertising coverage as free. The bill also makes insurers responsible for travel insurance administrators’ conduct and gives regulators authority to revoke authorization for noncompliant travel retailers. Despite these requirements, the record shows little overt opposition, indicating that any concerns were technical and did not rise to major controversy.