With Storm Season Here, Contact Division Of Financial Regulation’s Consumer Advocates For Help With Insurance Issues (Photo) - 11/06/25

National Flood Insurance Program Paused During Federal Government Shutdown (Photo) - 11/04/25

Salem – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) is alerting consumers that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is currently paused due to the federal government shutdown. The congressional authorization for the program lapsed, which is affecting policyholders trying to renew coverage and people buying homes across the country, including Oregon.

DFR wants to make sure Oregonians understand how this may affect them, what steps to take, and provide resources. During the federal government shutdown:

• No new or renewed NFIP policies. NFIP cannot issue new policies or renew existing ones until Congress reauthorizes the program. 
• Current NFIP policies stay active. If you already have a flood insurance policy through NFIP, it will stay in effect until its expiration date. 
• Claims may still be paid, but delays are possible. NFIP will continue paying claims with the funds it has on hand. If those funds run out during the shutdown, payments could be delayed. 
• Some home sales could be delayed. If you are buying a home in a high-risk flood area, flood insurance is usually required for federally backed loans. Without access to NFIP policies, closings may be postponed until the program resumes. 
• Private flood insurance may be an option. Some private insurance companies offer flood policies. These can provide coverage during the NFIP lapse.

What you can do:

• Check your policy. If your flood insurance renewal is approaching or your application is pending, immediately contact your insurance agent to learn about your options.
• If you are buying a home in a flood zone, be aware. Let your real-estate agent, lender, and insurance agent know about NFIP’s pause. You may need to explore private flood insurance to keep your closing on track.
• Ask about private options. Some insurance companies can provide flood coverage through the private market. Talk to your agent to compare coverage and costs.
• Keep your coverage current. If you already have NFIP coverage, continue making your payments and keep your documents handy. Your policy remains valid until it expires.
• Stay informed. Once Congress reauthorizes NFIP, new and renewal policies will start again. For the latest information, it is always best to talk to your insurance agent. 

“While we hope Congress acts quickly to restart the NFIP, this reminds us how important it is to be prepared for flooding and to know your insurance options,” said TK Keen, Oregon’s acting insurance commissioner. “If you have questions or problems, our advocates are ready to help.”

DFR’s consumer advocates can be reached at 888-877-4894 (toll-free) or dfr.insurancehelp@dcbs.oregon.gov. For more information, go to floodsmart.gov.  

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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and dcbs.oregon.gov.

Portland Event Will Offer Educational Opportunities To Increase Worker Safety, Health In Pulp, Paper, Forest Products, And Other Industries (Photo) - 11/04/25

Improving worker safety and health in Oregon’s pulp, paper, and forest products industries will get the spotlight during a conference held Dec. 2-5 in Portland. Attendees will have opportunities to connect with each other, discuss new or emerging topics, and to refresh their safety and health knowledge. Topics include chemical safety, effective communication, safety leadership, electrical safety, air monitoring, and control of hazardous energy.

Although the 33rd annual Western Pulp, Paper & Forest Products Safety & Health Conference focuses on safety and health issues in the pulp, paper, and forest products industries, the event also offers learning opportunities that apply to many other workplaces. Those sessions include nutrition and wellness in the workplace; tools for creating effective safety committees; heat-illness prevention; root cause analysis; and resources for improving driver safety.

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) is one of several partners presenting the four-day conference at the Holiday Inn Portland – Columbia Riverfront in Portland.

The conference will feature a keynote presentation Tuesday, Dec. 3. Matt Pomerinke, safety specialist for Smurfit WestRock in Longview, Washington, will address how workplace accidents and injuries go well beyond immediate outcomes, with long-lasting effects for everyone, including family, friends, and co-workers.

The conference will include exhibits, company safety meetings, roundtable discussions, and numerous workshops.

Sessions include:

• Planning for Emergencies for Our Daily Lives
• Trust Me – It’s Safe! Psyching You Out With Psychological Safety
• Hand Safety
• Hazardous Line Breaking: Program Overview and Best Practices
• Health Impacts of Occupational Exposures in the Wood Products Industry: Evaluating Risk
• So You Think You Know OSHA Codes – Test Your Safety Knowledge!
• Fundamentals of Keeping Steam and Condensate
• Synthetic Ropes in the Forest Products Industry

The registration fee is $450 to attend the full conference. The fee to attend one day – Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday – is $150. It is $50 for Friday. To register, go to safetyseries.cventevents.com/wppfp25.

If you have questions or need help registering, call the Oregon OSHA Conference Section at 503-947-7411, or email oregon.conferences@dcbs.oregon.gov.

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About Oregon OSHA:

Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state's workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, go to osha.oregon.gov.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to www.oregon.gov/dcbs/.

Oregon Building Codes Division Warns Of Wire Transfer Scam (Photo) - 10/31/25

Salem – The Oregon Building Codes Division (BCD) is warning Oregonians of a phishing scam that is targeting people who are awaiting approval for a project from their local building or planning department.

In this scam, someone claiming to be from the local building or planning department emails a person to get them to wire money. The scammers are using information about the person and the project to claim their application has been approved. The next steps in the scam are for the person to reply to the email to request payment advice and wire transfer instructions, pay the invoice using the wire transfer instructions, and then email a copy of the wire transfer receipt to the designated address. The scammers also state “all correspondence must be conducted by email to ensure transparency and accurate record-keeping for auditing purposes.”

“Your local building or planning department will not request that you send money to them via wire transfer,” said Alana Cox, administrator of the Building Codes Division, part of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.

The Building Codes Division recommends that people check to make sure the correspondence is from the correct person and jurisdiction.

“Local building and planning departments are based in either your city or county. If someone claims to be from those departments, go to the official city or county website and find the contact information there,” Cox said. “Then, you can call or email them to check if what you received is legitimate.”

The Building Codes Division has a list of local building departments at https://oregon.gov/bcd/jurisdictions.

You can follow these tips to avoid a phishing scam:

• Do not send money to anyone you have not met in person, and be cautious about sharing personal or financial information.

• Do not transfer money to unknown people or intermediaries. Use only a licensed money transmitter if a third party needs to be involved.
• Do not give out personal information by phone, email, or online. Government agencies and financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, will not ask for this information.
• Always be careful opening emails, clicking on links, or downloading files, regardless of the sender.
• Always be suspicious of claims about lottery or sweepstakes winnings that require personal information to receive the reward.
• Always ignore pop-ups requesting account information or offering to increase computer speed or to clean the computer.

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About Oregon BCD: The Building Codes Division administers the statewide building code, which provides uniform standards that ensure newly constructed residential and commercial buildings are safe for people to occupy. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit oregon.gov/bcd and dcbs.oregon.gov.

Don’t Be Fooled By Masks Or Disguises: Scammers Offer Tricks, Not Treats, This Halloween (Photo) - 10/29/25

October Is Cybersecurity Awareness Month Is A Good Reminder To Protect Your Business From Cybercriminals (Photo) - 10/27/25

Salem – October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) reminds everyone that cybersecurity is a hot topic for the insurance sector today and a growing concern for many businesses.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a collaborative effort led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), uniting the public and private sectors to encourage behaviors that reduce online risks. The campaign emphasizes that fundamental actions can make a big difference in defending our nation against cyber threats and protecting our critical infrastructure.

Businesses, large and small, should consider cyber insurance as part of their risk management process. Cybersecurity is a risk that all insurance carriers should take seriously from an operational resilience perspective, as cybersecurity events can disrupt your business, costing you money.

Most commercial property and general liability policies do not cover cyber risks, and cyber insurance policies are highly customized for clients. Insurers and insurance producers must protect the highly sensitive consumer financial, health and nonpublic personal information collected as part of the underwriting and claims processes. Reports show that sectors such as health care and financial services are experiencing higher cybersecurity incidents and claim costs, partially due to the data they manage.

CISA has tips to protect your business. Cybercriminals look for easy targets. Businesses without basic precautions are vulnerable. Start with these four essential steps to safeguard your data and enable employees to stop attacks before they happen:

1. Teach employees to avoid phishing: Phishing tricks employees into opening malicious attachments or sharing sensitive information. Train employees to recognize and report suspicious activity. 
2. Require strong passwords: Strong passwords are a simple but powerful way to block criminals from accessing your accounts through guessing or automated attacks. Make them mandatory for all users. 
3. Require multifactor authentication (MFA): MFA – also known as two-factor authentication – adds an extra layer of security beyond passwords. Require it to make accounts significantly more secure. Use phishing resistant MFA where available. 
4. Update business software: Outdated software can contain exploitable flaws. Promptly install security updates and patches to keep your systems protected.

CISA also recommends businesses back up all their business data and encrypt it. Encrypting your data and devices strengthens your defense against attacks. Even if criminals gain access to your files, information stays locked and unreadable. Make encryption part of your security strategy.

“We see a complicated landscape in cybersecurity, which remains a priority for us,” said TK Keen, DFR administrator and acting insurance commissioner. “We are seeing increasing calls for legislation nationwide and regulation for enhanced cybersecurity measures to address risks including identity theft, business interruption, data repair costs, and more.”

More companies are entering the market each year. According to the most recent report on the Cyber Insurance Market from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, issued in fall 2024, shows a cyber insurance market of roughly $9.84 billion in direct written premiums.

The U.S. cyber insurance market accounts for 59 percent of the $16.66 billion in premiums written for cyber coverages globally in 2023. This indicates a growing demand for cyber insurance coverage. The number of claims has also gone up with more than 33,000 in 2023. This increase reflects the rising frequency of cyber incidents.

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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and dcbs.oregon.gov.

Oregon DFR Joins Others States In Settlement Against E Mortgage For Unlicensed Activity (Photo) - 10/23/25

Salem – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) has reached a multi-state settlement with E Mortgage Capital, which is based in Irvine, Calif., resolving allegations of unlicensed lending activity and other violations.

Oregon joined Hawaii, Idaho, and Texas in the multi-state settlement agreement, which imposed fines totaling $669,000.

In their examinations, mortgage regulators determined E Mortgage allowed unlicensed mortgage loan originators (MLOs) in their states to originate and earn commissions on 50 different transactions. Idaho and Texas officials also claimed unlicensed loan processors performed functions that should have been prohibited in their states in over 125 instances.

Additionally, Oregon regulators determined that E Mortgage’s remote work-from-home plan lacked adequate inspections and insufficient supervision of MLOs. There were 27 instances in Oregon where E Mortgage engaged in a remote work-from-home plan that was insufficient to adequately inspect remote work locations. Participating states view this as having an inadequate supervision plan and supervision of MLOs.

Regulators also found E Mortgage, in the years 2021, 2022, and 2023, engaged in unlicensed activity by allowing unlicensed MLOs to conduct origination activity. E Mortgage paid these unlicensed MLOs commissions when the MLOs were not licensed to originate loans in the participating states. Each state’s number of violations were Hawaii (7), Idaho (16), Oregon (13), and Texas (14).

The participating regulators determined that E Mortgage failed to cooperate or respond to examiners’ request for information and refused to provide examiners access to its Loan Origination System.

The company agreed to cease mortgage originations coming via unlicensed loan officers and processing activity involving ineligible employees.

“Protecting Oregon consumers means ensuring mortgage companies play by the rules,” said TK Keen, DFR administrator. “When firms fail to supervise their employees or cooperate with examiners, we take action to safeguard consumers and the integrity of the lending system.”

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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and dcbs.oregon.gov.

DFR Asking Financial And Insurance-related Businesses To Provide Relief To Those Affected By Federal Government Shutdown (Photo) - 10/21/25

Salem – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) has issued two bulletins encouraging insurance companies, health care service contractors, state-regulated financial institutions, and other entities providing financial products to take measures to help people affected by the federal government shutdown.

The federal government shutdown began Oct. 1 and will continue until Congress passes a continuing resolution or other funding measure. According to the Oregon Employment Department (OED), there are approximately 30,000 workers on the federal payroll in Oregon; OED estimates 10,000 were affected by the lapse in appropriations as of Oct. 1. These employees may be either furloughed or, in some instances, required to work without pay. In either case, although back pay may eventually be available, many affected Oregon residents will likely experience at least temporary financial hardship through no fault of their own.

DFR is providing guidance to state-regulated entities to make reasonable accommodations to mitigate the adverse effects of the shutdown on Oregon residents.

“We encourage entities regulated under our jurisdiction to take active measures to provide help to their customers and policyholders that are directly affected by the federal government shutdown,” said TK Keen, DFR administrator and acting insurance commissioner. “All accommodations provided should comply with all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.”

DFR has requested steps that include providing grace periods to premium payments, providing more time to file insurance claims, allowing more time for repayment of debts, waiving late payment penalties, postponing foreclosure actions and evictions, and negotiating with consumers to arrive at solutions under the current circumstances.

The bulletins are located on DFR’s website.

“We know the shutdown has affected thousands of families in Oregon and we are asking our regulated entities to give some grace to those who have no control over the situation they are currently in,” Keen said.

If you have questions or need to talk with one of our consumer advocates, call 1-888-877-4894 (toll-free) or send an email to dfr.insurancehelp@dcbs.oregon.gov or dfr.financialserviceshelp@dcbs.oregon.gov.

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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and dcbs.oregon.gov.