diff --git a/rules/prefer-starts-ends-with.js b/rules/prefer-starts-ends-with.js
index 209ba42a5e..4105c3e113 100644
--- a/rules/prefer-starts-ends-with.js
+++ b/rules/prefer-starts-ends-with.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ const doesNotContain = (string, characters) => characters.every(character => !st
 
 const isSimpleString = string => doesNotContain(
 	string,
-	['^', '$', '+', '[', '{', '(', '\\', '.', '?', '*']
+	['^', '$', '+', '[', '{', '(', '\\', '.', '?', '*', '|']
 );
 
 const regexTestSelector = [
diff --git a/test/prefer-starts-ends-with.js b/test/prefer-starts-ends-with.js
index 5b28a1c7c3..2a00e4c00e 100644
--- a/test/prefer-starts-ends-with.js
+++ b/test/prefer-starts-ends-with.js
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ const validRegex = [
 	/\^foo/,
 	/^foo/i,
 	/^foo/m,
-	/^foo/im
+	/^foo/im,
+	/^A|B/,
+	/A|B$/
 ];
 
 const invalidRegex = [