Colorado
Colorado wants to force insurance companies to help homeowners understand, mitigate wildfire risk
Insurance companies operating in Colorado would be required to inform homeowners of ways they could reduce the risk of wildfire to their properties and subsequently pay less in premiums under a bill introduced this week in the state legislature.
House Bill 1182 would also require insurers to give customers an opportunity to appeal assessments of a property’s wildfire risk, which can lead to increased costs and nonrenewals.
The measure is the legislature’s latest effort to tackle the growing problem of rising homeowners insurance costs and nonrenewals in wildfire-prone areas of Colorado as climate change increases the frequency and severity of wildland fires across the state. The cost of property insurance in Colorado has become one of the fastest-growing household expenses, with premiums increasing an average of 57.9% from 2018 to 2023, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.
Nevertheless, in eight of the past 11 years, property insurers have lost money in Colorado, said Ethan Aumann, senior director of environmental issues and resiliency at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
In 2023, the legislature passed a bill creating a quasi-governmental insurer of last resort for homeowners who can’t get coverage on the private market. Lawmakers hope House Bill 1182 will serve as a way to prevent homeowners from needing that last-resort coverage.
Hail is a big part of the rising cost of homeowners insurance in Colorado. Wildfire is another.
Unlike hail, however, Colorado homeowners can take several steps to protect their properties against wildland blazes.
The bill’s lead sponsors in the House are Democratic Reps. Kyle Brown of Louisville and Brianna Titone of Arvada. In the Senate, the main sponsors are Sens. Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, and Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa.
Titone said she knows of examples of homeowners losing their coverage because insurance companies have made incorrect assumptions about a property’s risk of being destroyed in a wildfire. One person’s insurer dropped them after determining based on satellite images that their property was in the woods, even though it really wasn’t, Titone said.
“We want to make sure that these kinds of situations are rectified,” Titone said.
House Bill 1182 would require home insurers in Colorado that use a wildfire risk model or scoring method to share the details of those calculations with the state and how they affect underwriting decisions and rates.
The models and scoring methods would be required to take into account a homeowner’s work to mitigate risk on their property, such as removing vegetation to create defensible space for firefighters and using fire-resistant building materials, as well as community- and state-level mitigation activities.
Finally, insurers would have to take into account the state-level purchases of equipment to combat wildfires. Colorado has purchased two wildfire-fighting helicopters in recent years — Colorado’s only state-owned firefighting aircraft.
Insurers would have to tell homeowners within 60 days of a renewal or 90 days of a nonrenewal how they assessed a property’s wildfire risk. Insurance companies would have 30 days to respond to an appeal, and any denials of an appeal would have to be forwarded to the Colorado insurance commissioner.
The bill, if it passes the legislature and is signed into law, would go into effect in 2026. The changes are a key part of Gov. Jared Polis’ legislative agenda this year.
“I hear from Coloradans across our state — I’m sure you have too — who either can’t find coverage or who are seeing very large increases and getting priced out of the market for the coverage that they have,” Polis told lawmakers during his State of the State address last month. “And the rising cost of insurance of course doesn’t just affect homeowners. It’s also passed along to renters, too.”
Insurance companies have concerns about how soon the bill would go into effect and their ability to adhere to its changes, citing technological limitations.
“We do believe in mitigation,” said Carole Walker, who leads the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, an insurance industry trade group. “We have common ground on (wanting) mitigation to matter and we want to incentivize homeowners to do personal- and community-level mitigation.”
The hang-up is around protecting the proprietary technology of the third-party companies that provide modeling to insurers and verifying and measuring the meaningfulness of mitigation work of homeowners and communities.
“It has to be something that both the modeling companies can comply with and the insurance companies can, (too),” she said. “The stakes are really high.”
Titone said she is open to working with the companies to give them more time to prepare for the legislation before it would go into effect.
“Maybe there’s some things that you need to push off a little bit later, but we shouldn’t kick the whole thing down the road just because there’s a couple technological things that we need to address,” Titone said.
The measure was assigned to the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee. Its first hearing hasn’t been scheduled yet.
An investigation is underway after authorities found a body near a picnic area in western Colorado last weekend that appears to have been eaten by a bear.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office says the human remains were located on Sunday near the Wild Rose Picnic Area off Lands End Road on the Grand Mesa. Investigators say the remains were scavenged and scattered, and they believe the person was consumed by a bear and other wildlife.
The Mesa County Coroner’s Office is working to identify the person and officially determine their cause of death.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who was in the area of the Wild Rose Campground between June 22 and July 5, 2026, and noticed anything suspicious to contact Investigator Jenna Reed at (970) 244-3274.
They added that Colorado Parks and Wildlife believes there is no threat to the community at this time.
The area is home to black bears, and the MCSO shared several guidelines for the community to prevent human-bear conflicts:
- Stay alert and together: Go with others when possible, keep children in sight and close by, and avoid using headphones so you can hear your surroundings.
- Food safety: Double-bag food, pack out all food and trash, and don’t burn scraps and trash in fire rings/grills or leave them behind.
- Pet safety: Keep dogs on a leash at all times or leave them at home; don’t force a bear to defend itself.
- Camping safety: Set up camps away from dense cover or natural food sources and do not cook or store food near/in a tent. Secure food in bear-resistant containers or suspend at least 10 feet above the ground and 10 feet away from any part of the tree.
- Know how to respond: Don’t approach bears; quietly move away. Never run, as it may trigger a chase response. If a bear approaches, stand your ground, wave your arms, and yell until it leaves. Stay with your group, use bear spray, and fight back aggressively if necessary.
- Bear spray: Carry bear spray and know how to use it correctly. It’s not repellent; don’t spray your tent, campsite, or belongings.
Damage assessments are still ongoing for homes and businesses affected by the Aspen Acres Fire in southern Colorado, but over 200 homes have been confirmed destroyed so far. The United Way of Southern Colorado is working to raise relief funds for those affected and says it’s making progress towards its fundraising goal.
In an update on Wednesday afternoon, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero said they’ve assessed approximately 67% of the properties affected in the county. Authorities have confirmed the loss of 192 homes and four commercial structures so far and are working to contact property owners as quickly as possible.
Lucero urged everyone affected by the fire to use the survivor portal for more information on assistance.
Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith says they’ve lost approximately 83 homes so far, almost 2% of the county’s homes. The worst hit area is along the Highway 165 corridor, Smith added. He said that authorities don’t expect any new evacuation areas, but are not yet ready to release the existing evacuation orders.
Smith said a hotline is available during business hours for affected Custer County Residents to ask questions. He urged residents to contact them at (719) 467-0271 and advised they may need to leave a voicemail if the line is busy due to the high number of calls.
A flash flood watch is in effect for areas near the burn scar, which could affect nearby homes.
The President of the United Way of Southern Colorado, Shanna Farmer, said the organization is working to raise wildfire relief funds for those affected. Over the last few days, they have reached just over $417,000 of their $10 million goal.
“It has been incredible, the number of individuals and companies who have come out to support, to provide matches, and to provide innovative ways to raise those funds,” said Farmer. “And so, I encourage anyone who is willing to work with us on a corporate, business, or individual level to please reach out because it is going to take all of us to help rebuild.”
Farmer said that the community not only needs help with their immediate needs but also long-term support. She urged anyone interested in donating to visit their website.
The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office says anyone who has evacuated needs to contact the Disaster Assistance Center located at 29 Lehigh Ave. in Pueblo. The center is open between 9 a.m and 6 p.m. and provides multiple resources for those forced to evacuate.
Residents must also visit the center to obtain a re-entry pass, which will allow them to return home once evacuation orders have been lifted. A photo ID and proof of residency are required. Visitors can sign up online to reserve a place in line for faster service.
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