DENVER, CO – A bill designed to help Coloradans save money on their property insurance policies cleared a key hurdle today, passing through the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee. The legislation, HB25-1182, aims to improve transparency surrounding wildfire mitigation risk models and their effect on individual insurance policies. The bill, sponsored by Representatives Brianna Titone and Kyle Brown, was approved by a vote of 8-4.
“Wildfires represent a significant danger to the health and safety of Colorado communities,” stated Rep. Brianna Titone, a Democrat representing Arvada. “The legislation I’m sponsoring today mandates that insurers provide policyholders with information about their properties’ potential wildfire risks. This includes details on the science-based models used to assess these risks and how they impact insurance pricing. This ensures that property owners understand what measures they can take to safeguard their property, thus potentially lowering their insurance costs. Ultimately, this will save Coloradans money on property insurance and contribute to more fire-resilient communities.”
Rep. Kyle Brown, a Democrat from Louisville added, “Property owners and communities making proactive efforts to reduce wildfire threats are deserving of transparency in their insurance policies, as well as pathways to lower their insurance costs. My community was deeply affected by the Marshall Fire, and many property owners have since implemented fire mitigation strategies to protect homes, businesses, and public spaces from future fires. This bill is essential in improving access to affordable insurance while providing property owners with a clear appeals process, giving Coloradans the necessary tools to improve their risk scores directly with insurers and save money.”
HB25-1182 introduces several requirements for insurance companies. Insurers would be required to provide a written notice to each policyholder during application, renewal, or nonrenewal. This notice would breakdown wildfire risk scores or classifications in plain language, providing a range of possible scores and explaining how each mitigation action could affect the score or classification.
Policyholders and applicants would have the ability to appeal their wildfire risk model score, wildfire risk classification, or applicable mitigation discount if they can prove inaccuracies and present evidence of mitigation efforts. Insurers would be obligated to notify the policyholder or applicant in writing about their right to appeal and acknowledge receipt of the appeal within 10 days. They would then be required to respond with a reconsideration and decision within 30 days. Should an appeal be denied, the Commissioner can request a copy of the appeal and the insurer’s response.
Furthermore, HB25-1182 specifies that insurers who consider parcel-level and community-wide mitigation efforts must ensure that risk scores accurately reflect actual resilience. Insurers using these models would be required to account for property-specific mitigation actions, along with community-level mitigation activities or designations, in their underwriting and pricing. If an insurer does not incorporate these actions into their models, they will be required to offer discounts to policyholders who demonstrate such mitigation efforts at the property or community level.
