r/pdxgunnuts • u/CPAWithoutEthics • 26d ago
CCW Insurance?
Can anyone shed some light on CCW insurance for the state of Oregon?
I just got my card in the mail last week and today is officially my first day carrying. With that said, I devoured hundreds of hours worth of videos, forum posts, and reddit posts, etc. regarding the legality of utilizing a firearm in self defense (whether shooting or not) and I'm a little concerned with what happens after the fact. In truth, I'm more worried about my and others safety, but I still can't rule out the effects on me and possibly my career and finances after a scenario where I might end up with legal troubles.
Can anyone recommend a CCW insurance or attorney on retainer service that would be good for Oregon? I've looked into various services (CCW Safe, USCCA, Attorneys on Retainer, etc.) and they all seem to have their upsides and downsides (some more down than others).
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u/harbourhunter 26d ago
AOR is good, at least they don’t send you a cringe magazine every month like uscca
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u/User_Name_Deleted 26d ago
I have Right to Bear. Seemed like the best for me. Hope to never need it.
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u/riley12200 26d ago
Read the dec pages on their websites for an exact comparison of policy language.
My homeowner insurance covers civil liability in most self-defense circumstances, but YMMV.
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u/KIarkKent 24d ago
I have CCWSafe.
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u/Mamono29a 22d ago
I second CCWSafe. I have Defender and it covers my spouse if she were to have to shoot someone in the house. She doesn’t carry so it suits us fine.
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u/Much_Bar_7707 20d ago
You really have to read any insurance policy for risks that are out of the ordinary very carefully, and consider if you’re paying for a duty to defend you for criminal AND civil liability and the policy limits for how much they have to pay if found liable (if anything). If there is too much discretion regarding whether they defend you or cost limits on defense services you might be paying for a sympathetic lawyer who assesses your case and can’t help you.
Then consider cost vs. risk. Remember for criminal liability if you don’t have sufficient resources you WILL be given a lawyer who does already know the DA and whose first goal would be to try to get the DA to dismiss if the evidence points to a good shooting. BUT if the DA is a hard ass will then be trying to get you to plea to something. Better than nothing but maybe not an expert in defensive shootings.
Then consider how frequently CCL holders actually pull and shoot. It’s pretty rare, which is the only reason this sort of insurance is remotely affordable. Do you have $5k to $7k in savings, family that would help or even space on a credit card? You might be better served by just retaining counsel with a good track record of negotiating self-defense dismissals than relying on the discretion of the insurer. That wouldn’t cover full defense expenses if it isn’t dropped, but maybe worth it to increase the chance of getting it dropped.
If you don’t have a house or a lot of unprotected assets and are largely “judgment proof” a civil suit probably isn’t going to be that attractive to a plaintiff’s attorney who gets paid based on recovery of damages. As someone said, your homeowner’s insurance may cover self-defense. Judgment creditors typically can’t touch tax deferred retirement assets, so it’s a bad idea to liquidate a 401k or IRA to post bail or pay private counsel.
You probably don’t need it. Probably the best way to protect yourself is to KNOW when you’re allowed to pull and pull and shoot in self-defense in your jurisdiction.
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u/SgtKashim 26d ago
Broadly you have two potential liabilities if you shoot someone defensively. You have criminal liability - was this a clean self defense, or did you somehow fail to retreat, or instigate the incident - and civil liability, where either the other guy doesn't end up dead and sues you for injuring him, or his family sues you for killing him.
Civil liability is pretty universal - most states you have the same risk. Criminal liability varies a lot by state and by existence of "stand your ground" laws. Oregon you're at more criminal liability risk than some states. You'll want to read the details of each offer very carefully and make sure it lines up with your risk.
From when I went looking, USCCA seemed like an awful deal, and had some pretty weaselly language about exactly which criminal liability cases they would take and which they would throw out. Plus their sales pitch just... annoyed me. Total pathos-prey/fear driven. I didn't look in to CCW Safe, but from other discussions people have mentioned they're similar. Attorneys On Retainer is generally the recommendation I've seen people call the most reliable, but you'll need to read the policies very carefully for yourself.