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Colorado
The questions Colorado drivers, homeowners, renters and military families ask us most — state minimums, SR-22s, hail deductibles, wildfire nonrenewals, the FAIR Plan and SGLI. Short answers first, detail after.
Reviewed September 25, 2026 by Greg Strauch, licensed Colorado insurance agent (license #963971). General information, not advice for your specific policy.
Auto insurance in Colorado
Colorado requires liability of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries, plus $15,000 for property damage (25/50/15). Insurers must also offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage equal to your liability limits and $5,000 of medical payments coverage — you can only turn those down in writing. The state minimum keeps you legal; it rarely protects a house or savings after a serious crash.
No. Colorado has been an at-fault (tort) state since 2003: the driver who causes the crash is responsible for the damage. That is why your liability limits, and your uninsured motorist coverage for when the other driver has too little, matter more here than in no-fault states.
It is not required, but insurers must offer it at the same limits as your liability coverage, and declining it takes a signed rejection. It pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. For most households it is one of the best-value lines on the policy.
Usually three years from the date your license is eligible for reinstatement, though the exact period depends on the violation and your record — the Colorado DMV sets it. If the policy lapses during that time, the insurer notifies the state and the clock can start over, so the payment schedule matters as much as the price.
Yes, if you carry comprehensive coverage. Hail, theft, fire, flooding and hitting a deer are all comprehensive claims; collision covers hitting another car or object. On the Front Range, dropping comprehensive to save a few dollars a month is one of the most expensive mistakes we see.
Homeowners insurance in Colorado
Many Colorado home policies have a separate deductible for wind and hail claims, often a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount. On a home insured for $400,000, a 1% wind/hail deductible means you pay the first $4,000 of a hail claim. Check the declarations page — it is usually listed separately from the all-other-perils deductible.
Enough to rebuild your home at today's construction costs — not what you paid for it and not its market value, which includes land that does not burn. Extended replacement cost adds a cushion for when rebuild costs spike after a large disaster, which is exactly what happened after the Marshall Fire.
HB23-1174, signed in 2023, strengthened protections against being underinsured: insurers must consider specific factors when estimating what it costs to rebuild and disclose that information, extended replacement cost and building-code (law and ordinance) coverage standards were raised, and the notice period before a nonrenewal went from 30 to 60 days. Ask your agent how your rebuild number was calculated.
Insurers score each address for wildfire exposure using models that weigh vegetation, slope, road access and nearby fire history. A high score can mean a nonrenewal or a declined application even without a claim. Your options are usually defensible-space mitigation, shopping carriers that rate the risk differently, or the Colorado FAIR Plan as a last resort.
The Colorado FAIR Plan is the state's insurer of last resort for homes that cannot get coverage in the regular market, most often because of wildfire risk. It began writing residential policies in April 2025. It covers fire, including wildfire, on an actual cash value basis up to $750,000, and it does not include liability — so it is usually paired with a second policy that fills those gaps. Applications go through a licensed agent after standard insurers have declined the home.
No. Flood is excluded from standard home policies and needs its own policy, through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer. Flash flooding is a real risk in Colorado, and it rises sharply below burn scars for several years after a wildfire. NFIP policies usually have a 30-day waiting period, so buy before the season, not during the storm.
Renters, life and military families
Not by state law, but many landlords and most military base housing require it in the lease. It covers your belongings, your liability if a guest is hurt or you damage the unit, and hotel costs if the apartment becomes unlivable — usually for less than a streaming subscription.
SGLI tops out at $500,000 and ends after you separate unless you convert it to VGLI, which costs more as you age. Many families with a mortgage and kids need more than $500,000, and a private term policy stays with you through a PCS, a separation or a career change. We look at SGLI and any group coverage first, then size the gap.
Call before you change anything. For a PCS, the policy has to follow where the car is garaged and registered, so it may need to move to a new state. For a deployment, a car in storage can often be reduced to comprehensive-only instead of cancelled — which protects it and avoids a gap in coverage that can raise your rates when you come back.
Working with a local agent
There is no charge from us for a quote or a coverage review. The difference is what you get for the same call: a licensed agent who reads your current policy, explains what each limit actually does, and is the person you call when there is a claim.
Yes. The Strauch Agency is based in Colorado Springs and writes policies for households and businesses throughout Colorado. Most quotes and reviews are done by phone in about 10 minutes.
Your drivers' names and dates of birth, the vehicles (year, make and model, or VINs), your home address, and ideally your current declarations page so we can compare coverage line by line instead of just price. The online form takes about 10 minutes.