The Division would like to provide notice that the Commissioner has adopted the following emergency regulation:
The purpose of this emergency regulation is to protect homeowner policyholders who have suffered a loss during a catastrophic disaster, such as the 2020 Colorado East Troublesome Fire and the 2021 Marshall and Middle Fork Fires, from insurers that cause unreasonable delays in claim handling, which may further delay rebuilding property. Such delays may be further exacerbated by labor and material shortages. Further, this regulation identifies specific acts or practices that may constitute unfair claim settlement practices.
It is important to note that this emergency regulation only extends time limits (also referred to as “tolling” the time limits) in narrowly defined circumstances - only “in the event of a catastrophic disaster, where an insurer causes an unreasonable delay in settlement of a claim.” Please review the emergency regulation for the specific circumstances to which it applies. It does not allow for extending the time limits for other issues that cause delays - only instances where the insurance company causes the unreasonable delay.
This emergency regulation is effective on May 6, 2022, and replaces Emergency Regulation 22-E-01, which became effective on January 7, 2022, in its entirety.
This emergency regulation, and other Division emergency regulations, can be found on the Division's Emergency Insurance Regulations website.
Additional information on insurance and the Marshall Fire Response can be found on the Division Marshall Fire and Straight Line Winds Response website. This emergency regulation can be found under the Health Insurance heading.