Colorado sets the auto liability floor in statute, and it adds a medical-payments rule that Texas does not use. Home insurance is still a policy form, not a statute, and flood sits outside a standard policy. This page quotes the Colorado Revised Statutes. It is not a quote and not legal advice.
Auto minimumsHome exclusionsDeductiblesQuestions
The auto liability minimum is 25/50/15
Colorado Revised Statutes section 10-4-620 says the basic coverage required to comply with that part of the insurance code is legal liability of twenty-five thousand dollars to any one person in any one accident, fifty thousand dollars to all persons in any one accident, and fifteen thousand dollars for property damage in any one accident. The figures exclude interest and costs. The 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes still state those amounts.
Medical payments of $5,000, unless you reject it
Section 10-4-635 says an auto liability policy shall not be delivered in Colorado unless it provides medical payments coverage of $5,000 for bodily injury, sickness, or disease resulting from the ownership, maintenance, or use of the vehicle. A policy may be issued without that coverage only if the named insured rejects it in writing, or in the same medium as the application. That $5,000 is a coverage the statute puts on the policy. It is not the liability limit, and it is not a deductible.
The liability minimum has been easy to outgrow. A single injury claim or a newer vehicle can cost more than $25,000 or $15,000. Anything above the limit is not the insurance company’s bill.
What a home policy leaves out
Colorado does not require you to buy homeowners insurance by statute. A mortgage lender can. The building, your belongings, loss of use, and liability are the usual pieces. The losses below are where people get surprised.
Flood
The Insurance Information Institute says a standard policy will not pay for damage caused by a flood. Rising water, surface water, and overflow need a separate flood policy, federal or private. A heavy Front Range storm can flood a house that has never been in a mapped zone. The map is a lender rule, not the edge of the risk.
Sewer or drain backup
Water from a supply line that breaks is often a covered sudden leak. Water that comes back up through a floor drain, toilet, or sump is a different cause of loss. On a typical homeowners form, backup of sewers or drains is an endorsement with its own limit. The Texas Department of Insurance lists it that way for a typical policy. A Colorado form can add it, so look at the declarations rather than assuming.
Ordinance or law
If a covered fire or hail repair triggers a current building code, the extra cost of that code work is ordinance or law coverage. The base dwelling limit pays to repair the damaged part. It does not automatically pay to upgrade undamaged systems to today’s code. If the policy includes an ordinance limit, it is printed on the declarations. If it does not, that extra cost is yours.
A standard homeowners policy and a flood policy are two contracts. The Insurance Information Institute says a standard policy will not pay for damage caused by a flood. The same form usually treats sewer or drain backup, and the extra cost of meeting current building codes, as add-ons rather than part of the base dwelling coverage. The Texas Department of Insurance describes those two items that way in its home insurance guide. Forms in this state can be broader, so the declarations page is the list that matters.
Hail is a covered wind or hail loss on most standard policies, and it is the claim Coloradans actually file. The surprise is usually the deductible, not a total exclusion. Earthquake and wear and tear are the usual exclusions beside flood.
How a claim deductible works
The deductible is the amount of a covered claim you pay before the company pays. It is chosen when you buy the policy, and it can be different for wind or hail than for fire or theft. The company then stops at the limit for that coverage. Insuring the house for less than the cost to rebuild is a limit problem, separate from the deductible.
A dollar deductible
The Texas Department of Insurance explains the mechanic with a $1,000 claim and a $300 deductible. The company pays $700. On a larger repair, the same guide uses a $10,000 replacement-cost roof and a $2,000 deductible, and the company pays $8,000. Those are teaching examples. They are not a Colorado requirement and they are not a Freedom price.
A percentage deductible
Some policies, often for wind or hail, use a percent of the dwelling limit instead of a flat dollar amount. If the declarations say 2 percent and the dwelling limit is $200,000, the deductible for that type of claim is $4,000. The percent is whatever the policy says. It is not a statewide minimum.
One claim, one deductible, then the limit
You do not pay the deductible on top of a bill the company has already paid in full. The company applies it to the covered loss and stops at the dollar limit for that coverage. You can have a different deductible for a different coverage. If the loss is excluded, the deductible never comes into play, because there is no covered claim.
Questions people ask
What auto insurance does Colorado require?
Colorado Revised Statutes section 10-4-620 sets the minimum liability at $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage. That is 25/50/15.
Does Colorado require medical payments coverage?
Yes, unless you reject it. Section 10-4-635 says an auto liability policy has to include $5,000 of medical payments coverage unless the named insured rejects it in writing, or in the same form used for the application.
Does a Colorado home policy cover flood?
A standard homeowners policy does not. The Insurance Information Institute says a standard policy will not pay for flood. Flood insurance is a separate policy. Colorado policies can differ, so the declarations page is the list that counts.
Does homeowners insurance cover sewer backup?
Usually not, unless the policy adds it. A sudden pipe leak and water that backs up through a drain are different losses. The Texas Department of Insurance, describing a typical home policy, lists sewer or drain backup as an add-on. Read the Colorado form before you assume it is included.
What is ordinance or law coverage?
It pays extra construction cost when a covered repair has to meet current building codes. On a typical home policy that cost is an add-on, not the base dwelling payment. The amount, if any, is on the declarations page.
How does a deductible work on a claim?
The deductible is the part of a covered claim you pay. The company pays what is left, up to the limit for that coverage. If a covered repair is $1,000 and the deductible is $300, the company pays $700. That is the arithmetic, not a Colorado price and not a Freedom quote.
Where these figures come from
Colorado Revised Statutes section 10-4-620, required auto liability coverage. The same sentence is in the 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 10.
Colorado Revised Statutes section 10-4-635, medical payments of $5,000 unless rejected.
Insurance Information Institute, standard homeowners coverage.
Texas Department of Insurance home guide, used here only as a plain-language description of backup and building-code add-ons on a typical policy.
City pages that use these rules
Other state guides: Texas, Missouri, and Tennessee.
Get a Colorado quote
The Evans office is at 3610 35th Avenue. Call (303) 847-0411, or start a free auto quote or a free home quote.
