#13 Who's Working on This?

#13 What is being done on a State and County level to address insurance issues?  What is the insurance industry doing? 

State legislators and the state Division of Insurance are working to find creative and workable solutions to insurance availability and cost.  In July, 2025, the Jefferson County Commissioners approved an expansion of their Wildfire Management program from one person to 38.  The insurance industry is looking more carefully at neighborhood-wide mitigation, and collecting data to assess the home-mitigation actions that make the biggest difference in real-life wildfires. 

More Details: The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) has been working with stakeholders and the legislature to find creative solutions to the issues of availability and cost of homeowners’ insurance. After the experiences reported by Marshall Fire survivors who lost their homes, two laws were enacted in 2022 to protect consumers. HB 22-1111 changed the minimum requirements that an insurer must offer to cover the total loss of a home and its contents in a governor-declared wildfire disaster. Most importantly, it requires that the insurer pay a minimum of 65% (up from 30%) of the personal property limit without requiring the homeowner to submit an inventory of what was lost.  The homeowner can negotiate with the insurer to pay out a percentage higher than 65% without requiring an inventory.

SB22-206 (Disaster Resilience Rebuilding Program) provides grants and loans to eligible homeowners rebuilding after a disaster and requires that the rebuilding is disaster-resilient.

In 2023, a bill was passed creating the FAIR plan to provide insurance policies of last resort to homeowners who can’t find insurance in the marketplace. The FAIR plan was open to consumers in 2025 (See FAQ #6 on the FAIR plan).

Another bill passed, HB23-1174 addressed the finding that many of the homeowners who lost homes in the Marshall fire were underinsured. It requires that increased coverage be offered in several categories, but it is up to the homeowner whether or not to increase their coverage. The bill also increases the required notice to policyholders of non-renewal or cancellation from 30 to 60 days.

Insurers finally must consider your mitigation work, thanks to HB 25-1182, passed in 2025 and taking effect July 1, 2026. The law also increases transparency in the wildfire risk scores used to determine the price and availability of a policy. The rules are still being written by the state Division of Insurance.

Another bill, HB 25-1302, passed the House, but not the Senate. It would have addressed the two big drivers of property insurance cost and availability. It would be used to incentivize hail-resistant roofs and fund a Colorado-run reinsurance program to reduce insurers’ risk associated with wildfires. Although funded by a 1% fee on homeowners’ insurance policies, it would be expected to reduce premiums overall and increase availability.

At the county level, in 2025 Jefferson County greatly increased its commitment to wildfire mitigation and response, including the purchase of new equipment and the hiring of 38 new staff. This includes two full teams of wildland firefighters to respond 24/7 if there is a wildfire in the County.  They will work on large mitigation projects when they are not on a fire.

Changes to the building codes should result in decreased property wildfire risk scores, greater insurance availability and decreased costs. Colorado has a new Wildfire Resiliency Code, applicable to homes in the WUI, that all jurisdictions must adopt as a minimum standard. However, the new code will apply only to new construction. For existing homes, it will apply only to exterior modifications, exceeding certain minimums. JeffCo is currently working on the revision to its building code.