On December 30, 2021, the Marshall Fire - the most devastating fire in Colorado history - damaged or destroyed more than 1,000 residential and commercial structures. In the aftermath of the fire, the towns of Louisville and Superior are allowing victims of the Marshall Fire to opt-out of certain portions of their building codes. The purpose of this emergency regulation is to protect homeowner policyholders who have suffered a loss during the 2021 Marshall Fire and have law and ordinance coverage. This regulation identifies specific acts or practices regarding law and ordinance coverage that may constitute unfair claim settlement practices.
The Division of Insurance (“Division”) finds, pursuant to § 24-4-103(6)(a), C.R.S., that immediate adoption of this regulation is imperatively necessary for the preservation of public health, safety, or welfare. This emergency regulation is necessary in part to provide immediate protections for those homeowner policyholders that were impacted by the Marshall Fire and are filing related claims to repair or replace damaged structures, implicating law and ordinance coverage, or trying to determine their liability and coverage under their policies. Homeowner policyholders are requesting estimates by homebuilders.
Individuals impacted by this fire will need access to every available claim dollar they are entitled to under their policy. In order to rebuild their lives and communities, policyholders are entitled to amounts available through their law and ordinance coverage to cover upgrades made in rebuilding their homes to be compliant with authorized building codes. The Division finds that this regulation will help to protect and provide necessary resources to affected policyholders. Therefore, compliance with the requirements of § 24-4-103, C.R.S., would be contrary to the public interest.
This emergency regulation is effective August 22, 2022.
This emergency regulation, and other Division emergency regulations, can be found on the Division's website via the following link:
