(1) (a) The general assembly determines that competition is fundamental to the free market system and that the unrestrained interaction of competitive forces will yield the best allocation of our economic resources, the lowest prices, the highest-quality commodities and services, and the best environment for democratic and social institutions. Therefore, the right of the individual to choose a repair business is a matter of statewide concern.
(b) The general assembly declares that the purposes of this section are to:
(I) Safeguard the public against monopolies, trusts, and market barriers;
(II) Foster and encourage competition by prohibiting unfair and discriminatory insurance practices that impede fair and honest competition;
(III) Ensure that all consumers benefit from competition and the expansion of choices in the marketplace; and
(IV) Enhance Colorado's economic development.
(c) This section shall be liberally construed so that its beneficial purposes may be served.
(2) An insurer or its agent that issues or renews a policy that insures real or personal property shall not:
(a) Directly or indirectly require that appraisals or repairs to the property be made or not be made by a specified repair business;
(b) Represent to a beneficiary or claimant who is making a claim under a policy that the use of, or the failure to use, a particular repair business may result in the nonpayment or delayed payment of a claim;
(c) Intimidate, coerce, threaten, or induce by incentive a beneficiary or claimant to use a particular repair business for repairs; except that an inducement by incentive does not include warranty or guaranty repairs;
(d) Contract with a person to manage, handle, or arrange insurance repair work or to act as an agent for the insurer if:
(I) The contract requires a particular repair business to do claims work for the insurer at a price established by the insurer; and
(II) The person retains a percentage of any compensation paid by the insurer;
(e) Use disincentives to discourage a beneficiary or claimant from using a particular repair business; except that a disincentive does not include warranty or guaranty repairs;
(f) Solicit or accept a referral fee or compensation in exchange for referring the beneficiary or claimant to a repair facility;
(g) Require the beneficiary or claimant to travel an unreasonable distance to choose a repair facility;
(h) Misinform a beneficiary or claimant to induce the use of a particular repair business; or
(i) In the settlement of a liability claim by a third party against a beneficiary or claimant for property damage claimed by the third party, require a third-party claimant to have repairs done by a particular repair business.
(3) An insurer or its agent that issues or renews a policy that insures real or personal property shall:
(a) Supply the beneficiary or claimant with a copy of the estimate upon which the settlement is based, when partial losses are settled on the basis of an estimate prepared by or for the insurer;
(b) Require that any estimate prepared by or for the insurer covering damages that are visible or evident at the time of inspection is adequate to restore the property within a reasonable time to its condition before the loss, in accordance with applicable policy provisions;
(c) Pay for repair services and products based on a prevailing competitive price, as established by competitive bids, generally accepted insurer-based methodology, or market surveys that determine a fair and reasonable market price for similar services;
(d) Orally or in writing disclose to a beneficiary or claimant that the beneficiary or claimant may freely choose any repair business;
(e) Assume all reasonable costs sufficient to pay for the beneficiary's or claimant's repairs including materials or parts, less any applicable deductible or reduction for comparative negligence;
(f) Promptly pay the cost of property repair services and products from any repair facility location that is within a reasonable distance, less any applicable deductible amount payable by the beneficiary or claimant according to the terms of the insurance policy, at no less than the prevailing competitive market price in the same geographic area; and
(g) Disclose to the beneficiary or claimant any ownership interest in, or ownership by or through an affiliation with, a repair business recommended by the insurer when the recommendation is made.
(4) An insurer is not required to furnish the notices required by this section more than once to each beneficiary or claimant for each claim.
(5) A beneficiary, claimant, or repair business may submit a written, documented complaint to the commissioner alleging a violation of this section.
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an insurer or its agent shall inform the beneficiary or claimant that he or she may select any repair business of his or her choosing, and, if the insurer chooses, the insurer may also inform the beneficiary or claimant that the insurer can provide a list of repair businesses for the beneficiary or claimant to consider.
Source: L. 2007: Entire section added, p. 972, � 1, effective May 18.
10-4-121. Authority of insurer to protect policyholders' property - emergency. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an insurer may provide services protecting the property of its policyholders in the event of an emergency.
Source: L. 2014: Entire section added, (SB 14-097), ch. 62, p. 282, � 2, effective July 1.
10-4-122. Market study - property and casualty insurance - associations of common interest communities and lodging facilities owners - definitions - report - repeal. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Admitted insurance means any property and casualty insurance written by an insurer that holds a certificate of authority to conduct the business of insurance in Colorado.
(b) Association means a unit owners' association of a common interest community, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (3).
(c) Captive insurance company has the meaning set forth in section 10-6-103 (2).
(d) Common interest community has the meaning set forth in section 38-33.3-103 (8).
(e) Condominium unit has the meaning set forth in section 38-33-103 (1).
(f) Nonadmitted insurance has the meaning set forth in section 10-5-101.2 (10).
(g) Owner of lodging facilities or owner means a person that possesses an ownership interest in:
(I) A hotel, as defined in section 44-3-103 (21); or
(II) A lodging facility.
(2) The commissioner shall conduct a study of the market for admitted insurance policies issued by insurers to associations and to owners of lodging facilities. To the extent practicable, the study must include consideration of:
(a) Current market conditions, including:
(I) The availability of coverage, as differentiated by county or zip code, in the markets for admitted insurance and nonadmitted insurance and through self-insured mechanisms, including captive insurance companies;
(II) The affordability of coverage, as differentiated by property value and by county or zip code; and
(III) Identification of areas of Colorado with particular availability concerns;
(b) Recommendations regarding potential measures and programs to ensure the long-term sustainability and availability of property and casualty insurance policies issued to associations and owners;
(c) Whether any captive insurance companies have been formed by an association or an owner; and
(d) Whether the formation of a captive insurance company by an association or an owner could impact current market conditions.
(3) (a) The commissioner may contract with a third party to conduct the study required in subsection (2) of this section. The commissioner is not required to comply with the Procurement Code, articles 101 to 112 of title 24, for purposes of this subsection (3); except that the commissioner shall use a competitive process pursuant to the Procurement Code to select a third party to conduct the study.
(b) The commissioner and any third party conducting the study shall engage with and seek input from insurers, consumer groups, and other interested parties.
(4) As part of the study, the commissioner may collect data from each insurer in the markets for admitted insurance and nonadmitted insurance, including:
(a) The number and location of each association and owner in Colorado for which the insurer provides coverage through a property and casualty insurance policy;
(b) The criteria used by the insurer to underwrite property and casualty insurance policies issued to associations and owners;
(c) Combined loss and expense ratios incurred by the insurer from issuing property and casualty insurance policies to associations and owners; and
(d) Any other data the commissioner identifies as relevant to evaluating current market conditions and developing proposed availability and affordability solutions.
(5) Information submitted by an insurer pursuant to subsection (4) of this section is subject to public inspection only to the extent allowed under the Colorado Open Records Act, part 2 of article 72 of title 24. The division and any third-party contractor shall not disclose trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information to any person that is not authorized to access the information.
(6) The commissioner shall prepare a report summarizing the results of the study required by this section. On or before January 1, 2026, the commissioner shall submit the report to the joint budget committee, to the business affairs and labor committee of the house of representatives, and to the business, labor, and technology committee of the senate, or any successor committees. To the extent feasible, the commissioner may collect data concerning self-insured mechanisms, including captive insurance companies, and include such information in the report.
(7) This section is repealed, effective July 1, 2026.
Source: L. 2024: Entire section added, (HB 24-1108), ch. 312, p. 2097, � 1, effective August 7.
10-4-123. Policy summary of major provisions - choice of language - penalty for insurer noncompliance - rules - definitions. (1) (a) (I) On or after January 1, 2026, an insurer that issues insurance policies in this state shall provide a summary document in Spanish and that satisfies the requirements of subsection (1)(a)(II) of this section to:
(A) The named insured under an insurance policy issued in this state, if the named insured completed and returned to the insurer the language selection form in accordance with subsection (2)(c) of this section; or
(B) All named insureds under insurance policies issued in this state in accordance with subsection (2)(d) of this section.
(II) The summary document required by this subsection (1) must:
(A) Provide a general explanation of the coverages and exclusions under the insurance policy, consistent with the requirements of section 10-4-111;
(B) Include the coverages selected by the named insured under the insurance policy;
(C) Include any mandatory coverages rejected by the named insured pursuant to section 10-4-609 or 10-4-635 and any exclusions selected by the named insured pursuant to section 10-4-630; and
(D) Be in the form prescribed by, and in a written or electronic format as determined by, the commissioner by rule.
(III) By December 31, 2024, the commissioner, by rule, shall create and approve a summary document form, including specifying the format, for insurers to use to comply with this subsection (1).
(b) With regard to a summary document that an insurer provides to the named insured:
(I) The summary document is for informational purposes only;
(II) The actual terms of the named insured's insurance policy prevail over the information provided in the summary document;
(III) In the case of a dispute, the insurance policy is controlling, and a court shall rely on the English-language version of the insurance policy to resolve the dispute;
(IV) The information in the summary document does not create rights or obligations on the part of the insurer, the named insured, the producer, or the state; and
(V) The summary document is not intended to be a substitute for the actual insurance policy written in English.
(2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(d) of this section, an insurer that issues insurance policies in this state on or after January 1, 2026, shall:
(I) Offer an applicant for a new or renewal insurance policy a form to select the summary document described in subsection (1) of this section; and
(II) Provide the language selection form in English and Spanish.
(b) For new insurance policies issued on or after January 1, 2026, the insurer shall provide the language selection form described in subsection (2)(a) of this section to the applicant at the time of application for the insurance policy. For renewal insurance policies, the insurer shall offer the language selection form once, at the first renewal of the insurance policy that arises on or after January 1, 2026; except that, if the insurer previously offered the language selection form to the named insured at the time of application for a new insurance policy, the insurer is not required to offer the language selection form at the time of renewal of that insurance policy.
(c) If the applicant for a new or renewal insurance policy returns the language selection form described in subsection (2)(a) of this section to the insurer, the insurer shall provide the summary document described in subsection (1) of this section upon issuance of the initial insurance policy and at every renewal of the insurance policy. If the applicant does not return the language selection form to the insurer within sixty days after the insurer sends the language selection form, the insurer is not required to provide the summary document described in subsection (1) of this section.
(d) Instead of offering an applicant for a new or renewal insurance policy a language selection form pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section, an insurer may comply with this section by providing all named insureds under its insurance policies issued in this state the summary document described in subsection (1) of this section.
(e) By December 31, 2024, the commissioner, by rule, shall create and approve a language selection form, in English and Spanish, for insurers to use to comply with this subsection (2).
(3) (a) On and after January 1, 2026, if an insurer fails to comply with the requirements of this section, any written rejections of mandatory coverages pursuant to section 10-4-609 or 10-4-635 or exclusions pursuant to section 10-4-630 are voidable at the named insured's election. If the named insured elects to void the coverage rejection or exclusion:
(I) The named insured may recover reasonable attorney fees and court costs incurred in reinstating or rewriting the coverage; and
(II) The insurer shall not require the named insured to pay any premium during the policy period applicable for the reinstated or rewritten coverage.
(b) If the named insured does not reject coverage in future policy periods, the insurer may charge a premium for the coverage in future policy periods.
(4) As used in this section:
(a) Insurance policy means a personal automobile policy of insurance.
(b) Producer has the same meaning as insurance producer as set forth in section 10-2-103 (6).
Source: L. 2024: Entire section added, (HB 24-1440), ch. 320, p. 2139, � 1, effective May 31.
10-4-124. Homeowner insurance - underwriting - wildfire risk models - requirements - definitions - rules. [Editor's note: This section is effective July 1, 2026.]
(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Catastrophe model means a tool, instrumentality, means, or product, including a map-based tool, a computer-based tool, or a simulation that is used by an insurer to estimate potential losses from catastrophic events.
(b) Community-level mitigation action means a science-based mitigation action as demonstrated by a community- or neighborhood-level designation or certification or as undertaken by a government entity.
(c) Property-specific mitigation action means a science-based mitigation action as demonstrated by the Wildfire Prepared Home designation from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety or by a similar mitigation program that includes a verification and certification process.
(d) Wildfire risk model means a tool, instrumentality, means, or product, including a map-based tool, a computer-based tool, or a simulation, that is used by an insurer in whole or in part, to measure or assess the wildfire risk associated with a residential property or community for purposes of rating, classifying, or pricing based on wildfire risk or estimating risks or losses corresponding to the wildfire risk classifications.
(2) (a) An insurer that uses a wildfire risk model or a catastrophe model or scoring method to assign risk shall provide the wildfire risk model, catastrophe model, or scoring method used to assign risk, including a description of the model, the impact of the model on rates, an actuarial justification for all rating factors, including mitigation discounts offered, and an explanation of the use of the model in underwriting decisions, to the commissioner as part of the insurer's complete filing.
(b) To the extent data is available and as established by rule, an insurer shall submit to the division, as part of their rate filings, information on how and whether the models used for underwriting and rating account for state-wide mitigation activities, such as forest treatment, investments in wildfire fighting and mitigation equipment, and utility wildfire mitigation activities undertaken pursuant to a wildfire mitigation plan approved by the public utilities commission.
(c) Models submitted to the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be treated as trade secrets and not subject to disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act, part 2 of article 72 of title 24.
(3) An insurer that uses a wildfire risk model, a catastrophe model, or a combination of models shall ensure the following factors are either incorporated in the wildfire risk model, catastrophe model, or combination of models or are otherwise demonstrably included in the insurer's underwriting and pricing:
(a) Property-specific mitigation actions such as establishing defensible space, incorporating building hardening measures, or receiving certification from an entity with expertise in mitigation of properties against wildfire; and
(b) Community-level mitigation activities or designations, including forest treatment and other fuel reduction activities.
(4) If an insurer does not incorporate property-specific and community-level mitigation actions into its models, the insurer shall provide discounts to policyholders who can demonstrate that property-specific mitigation actions have been undertaken on the property or community-level mitigation actions have been undertaken in sufficient proximity to the property to reduce the risk of loss.
(5) An insurer shall post on its public website readily accessible information on the premium discounts, incentives, or other premium adjustments that are available to policyholders who undertake property-specific mitigation actions or provide evidence of community-level mitigation actions and the process for appealing a wildfire risk score. The website shall identify, as applicable:
(a) Property-specific mitigation actions for the policyholder to undertake and community-level mitigation actions that could result in a discount, incentive, or other premium adjustment; and
(b) The amount of the discount, incentive, or other premium adjustment associated with each action.
(6) (a) An insurer that provides a mitigation discount or that uses a wildfire risk model or risk score to underwrite, nonrenew, price, create a rate differential, or surcharge the premium based upon the policyholder's or applicant's wildfire risk shall provide an annual written notice to each policyholder or applicant upon application for property insurance of the applicable mitigation discounts, the wildfire risk score, and any other wildfire risk classification used by the insurer to underwrite, nonrenew, price, create a rate differential, or surcharge the premium based upon the policyholder's or applicant's wildfire risk.
(b) The notice shall include:
(I) A plain-language explanation of the wildfire risk score or other wildfire risk classification, including an explanation that insurers may use different models and have different risk score ranges that could result in different risk scores from other insurers;
(II) The range of the scores or classifications that could potentially be assigned to the property;
(III) The relative position of the score or classification assigned to the property within that range of possible scores or classifications provided by the insurer's risk model;
(IV) A written explanation of why the policyholder or applicant received the assigned score or classification that identifies the primary features of the property that influenced the assignment of the score or classification; and
(V) The impact, if any, that each property-specific mitigation or community-level mitigation action could have on a wildfire risk score or classification assigned to the property.
(7) The insurer shall provide the wildfire risk score or classification to the policyholder or applicant:
(a) For applicants, no later than fifteen days after the submission of the applicant's completed application to the insurer;
(b) For policyholders, in the offer of renewal;
(c) For policyholders that are not being offered a renewal, with the nonrenewal notice; and
(d) For a policyholder or applicant, if the policyholder or applicant has completed a property-specific mitigation action or provides evidence of a community-level mitigation action in sufficient proximity to the property to reduce the risk of loss since the time of the last application to or renewal by the insurer, no later than thirty days after the submission to the insurer of the policyholder's or applicant's request that the insurer provide a revised wildfire risk score or wildfire risk classification.
(8) A policyholder or applicant for a policy of property insurance whose wildfire risk model score, wildfire risk classification assigned to the property, or applicable mitigation discount is inaccurate and provides evidence of the property-specific or community-level mitigation action may appeal the score directly to the insurer. The insurer shall notify the policyholder or applicant in writing of the right to appeal the wildfire risk score or other wildfire risk classification or applicable mitigation discount when the score or classification or discount is provided to the policyholder or applicant as required by subsection (6) of this section. If the policyholder or applicant appeals the wildfire risk score or other wildfire risk classification or applicable wildfire discount, the insurer shall acknowledge receipt of the appeal in writing within ten calendar days after receipt of the appeal. The insurer shall respond to the appeal in writing with a reconsideration and decision within thirty calendar days after receiving the appeal. If an appeal is denied, the insurer shall, upon request by the commissioner, forward a copy of the appeal and the insurer's response to the commissioner.
(9) This section applies to property insurance coverage provided by the fair access to insurance requirements plan association created in section 10-4-1804.
(10) This section applies only to homeowner's insurance policies as defined in section 10-4-110.6, property insurance policies covering residential condominium units as defined in section 38-33-103 (1), and multifamily residential housing as defined in section 24-32-3701 (9).
(11) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this section.
Source: L. 2025: Entire section added, (HB 25-1182), ch. 278, p. 1443, � 1, effective July 1, 2026.