Colorado home insurance: hail and wildfire

Colorado homeowners pay for two different perils: hail along the Front Range and Eastern Plains, and wildfire in the foothills and mountains. For most households hail is what moves the premium, and for burned-out households wildfire law is what protects the claim. The NAIC put Colorado's average HO-3 premium at $2,492 for 2023, the fourth highest in the country by our ranking of its table and well above the $1,737 national average.

Who writes Colorado homes

Coloradans paid $5.76 billion in homeowners premiums in 2025, according to the NAIC. National carriers dominate: State Farm wrote 23.48%, USAA 12.13%, Allstate 11.91%, Liberty Mutual 11.06% and American Family 9.34%, so the top four groups write nearly 59% of premiums. Farmers, Travelers, Chubb, Nationwide and The Hartford fill out the top 10. See the Colorado state guide for the full table.

Hail is the bigger cost driver

Hail damages roofs, siding, windows and vehicles across the Front Range, which is also where most Coloradans live. When the Division of Insurance (DOI) gathered data from 20 homeowners insurers, hail accounted for up to 54% of total homeowners premiums in some counties and about half along the Front Range and Eastern Plains, according to Colorado Politics' February 2026 report on that data. Wildfire's share ranged from 0.9% to 24.6% depending on the county. That means the roof on your house, not just your distance from a forest, drives your price.

Insurers respond in three ways, and you can see all three on a declarations page:

1. A percentage wind/hail deductible. The DOI notes that many policies set it at 1%, 2% or 5% of coverage. Say your dwelling limit is $500,000 and the deductible is 2%: you pay the first $10,000 of each wind or hail claim. A $9,000 roof repair pays nothing. Use the hurricane and percentage deductible calculator and read wind and hail deductibles explained.
2. A roof payment schedule or actual cash value on the roof. The settlement for an older roof is reduced for age. See Roof payment schedules and ACV roof endorsements.
3. Roof-age and cosmetic rules. Some insurers will not write or renew older roofs, or exclude cosmetic damage to metal roofs.

For claim mechanics, see hail damage claims: roofs, siding and windows. One Colorado-specific rule: a roofer may not advertise or promise to pay, waive or rebate your deductible (C.R.S. 6-22-105). The DOI also says no Colorado law requires an insurer to replace undamaged siding to match.

Wildfire: the Marshall Fire lesson

The Marshall Fire of December 30, 2021 destroyed 1,084 homes in Boulder County. In its April 2022 analysis of 951 of those total losses, the DOI counted $1.02 billion in claims incurred. Only 76 homes, 8%, had guaranteed replacement cost. At a rebuilding cost of $350 a square foot, the DOI found 67% of policies were underinsured. That finding is why most of Colorado's recent insurance law concerns replacement cost and what happens after a total loss.

Before a loss (C.R.S. 10-4-110.8).

• Insurers must give you a reconstruction cost estimate at application and renewal of a replacement-cost policy, and show how they calculated it.
• They must offer extended replacement cost of at least 50% of the dwelling limit and law and ordinance coverage of 20%. The declarations page must show whether you bought or rejected them. See extended and guaranteed replacement cost coverage and ordinance or law coverage: paying to rebuild to code.
• Replacement-cost policies must include at least 12 months of additional living expense coverage, with an offer to buy 24 months.
• Nonrenewal and cancellation require at least 60 days' notice by first-class mail with specific reasons (10 days for nonpayment).

After a governor-declared wildfire disaster. The insurer must offer at least 65% of the contents limit without an inventory, give at least 24 months of living expenses with two six-month extensions for delays outside your control, pay living expenses within 20 days of documentation, give you at least 36 months to collect replacement cost, and let you rebuild elsewhere or buy an existing home. After any total loss, you get at least 30% of the contents limit without an inventory and at least 365 days to submit one.

Wildfire scores and mitigation (HB25-1182, effective July 1, 2026). Insurers that use wildfire models must account for home and community mitigation or give discounts for it, explain your risk score at application, renewal and nonrenewal, and decide an appeal of a score or discount within 30 days. See wildfire risk scores and how insurers use them and defensible space and wildfire insurance.

If a standard insurer says no

The Colorado FAIR Plan (HB23-1288) began writing homeowners policies on April 10, 2025. To qualify you need declinations from three insurers and a licensed agent registered with the plan. Coverage is basic: fire, lightning and smoke, with optional wind and hail and a few other perils, up to $750,000 for dwelling and contents combined. It pays actual cash value, not replacement cost, and does not cover water damage, theft or liability. Agents can add a difference in conditions policy from the carriers the plan lists. Uptake has been small; E&E News reported in August 2025 that it had sold 55 policies against a goal of about 20,000 within three years.

Surplus lines carriers are the other route; see surplus lines home insurance when standard carriers say no and FAIR plans explained: the insurer of last resort for homes.

Roof grants are coming, slowly

SB26-155, signed in June 2026, creates an enterprise funded by a 0.5% fee on homeowners premiums starting in 2027. At least 85% of the money must go to grants for resilient roofs that meet FORTIFIED or a similar wind and hail standard. A seven-member board sets the standards and grant amounts, and grants are not expected before 2027. Until then, ask each insurer what it credits for an impact-resistant roof; Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofs and hail discounts covers the questions to ask. The governor has projected savings of $800 a year, a figure the cited trade report did not independently support, so treat it as a projection.

Claims rules

Under DOI Regulation 5-1-14 an insurer must decide and pay a claim within 60 days after it has a valid and complete claim unless there is a reasonable dispute, and late benefits earn 8% annual interest. By statute, a policyholder whose claim was unreasonably delayed or denied can sue for attorney fees, court costs and two times the covered benefit (C.R.S. 10-3-1116). A policy cannot shorten the time to sue below the statute of limitations, which for contract actions is generally three years. If you disagree on the amount, look at the appraisal clause and a DOI complaint.

A checklist before hail season

1. Write your wind/hail deductible in dollars and compare it with your cash reserve.
2. Ask how the roof is settled and at what age the settlement drops.
3. Check the dwelling limit against the reconstruction cost estimate your insurer must provide, and ask about extended replacement cost.
4. Photograph the roof and exterior now, so you can show pre-storm condition.
5. If you live in the wildland-urban interface, request your wildfire score and ask which mitigation steps earn credit.
6. Keep the DOI Consumer Services number, 303-894-7490 (800-930-3745 outside the Denver area), with your policy.

Key takeaways

• Hail, not wildfire, drives most of Colorado's premium; the DOI data show it as up to 54% of premiums in some counties.
• Check the wind/hail deductible in dollars and how your roof is paid before the storm.
• Colorado law requires reconstruction cost estimates, extended replacement cost and law and ordinance offers, and gives extra protections after a declared wildfire disaster.
• The Colorado FAIR Plan (April 2025) is basic fire coverage up to $750,000 at actual cash value; most owners will want a DIC policy alongside it.