The changes were made following Waldo Canyon fire victim testimony by the members.
A Colorado Senate committee heard the testimony of victims of the Waldo Canyon wildfires two weeks ago and has now made a few small changes to some of the homeowners insurance industry regulations proposal.
The committee took the time to take the concerns of the witnesses under consideration before continuing.
According to Senator Jeanne Nicholson (D-Black Hawk), “We wanted to take some time to consider some of the concerns that were raised by some of the witnesses who came to testify.” Senator Nicholson added that many of those people did not own homes, but “said they were more traumatized by the treatment they received from their insurance companies than by the loss of their home. That is a very powerful statement and the inspiration for us to work on this bill.”
Among the largest changes is the length of time policyholders have to make property claims on homeowners insurance.
This change was introduced to provide homeowners insurance customers with at least a year to file an inventory of their home contents in order to receive reimbursement after they faced a total loss. This was in response to the testimony that many people made.
These individuals, who lost their homes in the wildfires in Waldo Canyon last year, said that their homeowners insurance companies wouldn’t give them enough time to provide a detailed list of all of the possessions that they owned. These lists are long and meticulous, including everything from every small item in the kitchen, to tools in the workshop, decorative items, and the contents of the linen closet.
House Bill 1225 was passed in the Colorado House by a vote of 58 to 6. Its mandates also include that homeowners insurance companies must provide a claim for a total loss with a minimum of 30 percent of the amount that is covered by the claim for the contents even when an itemized list has not been provided.
The homeowners insurance bill also passed the Senate Local Government Committee, at a 3 to 2 vote, with two Republicans having voted against it.
