Car Insurance in Colorado

What do you need to know before you buy car insurance in Colorado?

Three things set Colorado apart from a generic state: hail, uninsured drivers and a strict fault rule. The legal minimum is 25/50/15 liability coverage. That means up to $25,000 for one person’s injuries, $50,000 for everyone hurt in a crash, and $15,000 for the other side’s property. It never pays for your own car.

Colorado is a fault state, so the driver who causes a crash is responsible for the damage. Nobody gets automatic injury benefits from their own insurer, and no personal injury protection is required. The closest thing is medical payments coverage, covered below.

The Division of Insurance estimates 15% to 20% of drivers have no insurance. Triple-I, using Insurance Research Council data for 2023, puts Colorado at 19.7%, ninth highest when D.C. is counted and above the 15.4% national figure. The sources measure this differently, so read it as “about one in five.”

Our guide to fault and no-fault states explains the difference in plain terms.

What happens if you drive without insurance in Colorado?

It is treated as a crime, not just a ticket. A conviction is a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense with a mandatory minimum fine of $500. A judge can cut up to half of that if you show you have since bought a policy. A second conviction within five years starts at $1,000. A court may also order 40 or more hours of community service.

The paperwork can hurt as much as the fine. After a conviction you must file proof of insurance with the DMV and keep it for three years. If it lapses, your license is suspended. Getting it back takes an SR-22, a $95 fee and a written test. An SR-22 is a form your insurer files to tell the state your policy is active. It is not a policy, and the insurer must report any cancellation.

You will not be convicted if you show the court a valid policy that was in force on the day. Keep your card on your phone or in the car, because an officer who stops you can ask to see it.

Our SR-22 guide covers the filing step by step.

What is the 50% fault rule?

Colorado cuts your payout by your share of the blame, and it cuts it to zero at 50%. If a jury decides you were less at fault than the other driver, your award shrinks in proportion to your share. If your share equals or beats theirs, you recover nothing from them. Most readers do not know this until a claim is disputed.

Here is an example. You are rear-ended while a taillight is out, and a jury sets your fault at 30% on $40,000 of damages. You collect $28,000. If the jury says 50%, you collect nothing from the other driver.

This is why your own coverage matters. Collision coverage, medical payments and uninsured-driver coverage pay without a fight over fault, and they are the pieces most likely to be there when you are partly to blame.

You also have three years to sue after a crash. Many states allow two. Do not rely on that for insurance claims, because your policy sets its own, shorter notice deadlines.

Is 25/50/15 enough in Colorado?

For most drivers, no. The $15,000 property limit is the weak spot. Suppose you pull out in front of a new pickup and the repair bill is $38,000. Your insurer pays $15,000 and you owe the other $23,000. That is an example, not a quote, but trucks and SUVs are common here.

Injury costs run the same way. One hospital stay can pass $25,000, and a crash with several injured people can pass $50,000. Anything above your limits can be pursued against your savings and wages.

Raising limits usually costs far less than the extra protection suggests. Ask for quotes at higher limits, and use our liability limit checker if you are unsure where to land. The full coverage versus liability-only guide explains when each makes sense.

Which coverages come built in?

Several protections arrive with your policy unless you decline them. Look for these on your declarations page, the summary sheet that lists your coverages.

• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Included unless you reject it in writing. Your insurer has to offer limits equal to your injury liability limits. It pays your injuries when the other driver has no insurance, flees, or carries too little. Colorado law does not let the insurer subtract your health insurance or medical payments from it.
• Medical payments of $5,000. Included unless you reject it in writing or the same way you applied. It pays you and your passengers regardless of fault, before your health insurance, and it can cover your deductible and coinsurance.
• Collision. The insurer must offer a $100 or $250 deductible. You can pick a higher one, and most people do to lower the premium.
• Uninsured motorist property damage. Optional. It repairs your car if an uninsured driver hits it, and it only applies if the cars touched. It is aimed at drivers who skipped collision coverage.

Our uninsured motorist guide goes deeper.

Does hail change what coverage you need?

Yes, because hail is a comprehensive claim, and comprehensive is optional. FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Denver County “Very High” for hail, in the top 1% of U.S. counties. Colorado Springs and El Paso County are rated “Relatively High.” In Colorado, about 83% of residents live in counties rated high or very high.

Liability-only coverage pays nothing for a hail-damaged car, even a car you own outright. If you park outside and your car is worth more than your deductible plus a year of comprehensive premium, think hard before dropping it. If your car is paid off and worth little, skipping it can be reasonable. A lender will almost always require it.

The Division of Insurance says climate-related losses such as hail, wind and flood push up premiums for cars with comprehensive coverage. Ask your agent how a hail claim is handled on your policy and whether it carries a separate deductible. We have not verified that for individual insurers.

How much does car insurance cost in Colorado?

Published figures are statewide or profile-based, and neither is a quote. The most reliable is the NAIC’s, which divides premiums by insured vehicles for all drivers.

Colorado’s figure rose from $1,172 in 2020, up roughly 37%, so recent quotes may be higher than this lagging average. The NAIC data lag the market by well over a year. Treat these numbers as context only, because your price depends on your age, record, car, address and insurer.

The state does not set rates. The Division of Insurance reviews filings but applies no cap on an increase, and a general rate increase can hit every policyholder in an insurer’s group, including drivers with no claims. It lists address, mileage and credit-based insurance score among the factors that move your price. We have not found city-level figures we can stand behind, so we publish none.

Read how prices work in how much car insurance costs.

Which Colorado city guides do we have?

We have local pages for Denver and Colorado Springs. Pages on Colorado minimums, SR-22, DUI, uninsured driving and cost are not published yet, so this page and our SR-22 guide are the best places to start. For homeowners cover, see our Colorado home insurance page.

What if a claim goes wrong or no insurer will cover you?

Start with the insurer, then the Division of Insurance. The Division cannot decide who caused a crash or order a specific payout. It can check that the insurer investigated properly and followed Colorado law. You file through its online Consumer Portal, which needs an account, or you can call 303-894-7490. Describe the problem in your own words and attach documents.

You choose your repair shop. The insurer can suggest one but cannot require it. It pays reasonable market prices, so excessive storage or labor charges may not be paid in full. The Division also says no Colorado insurance law addresses diminished value.

If insurers decline you, state law lets the insurance commissioner approve an assigned-risk plan for drivers who cannot get cover the normal way. A licensed agent can tell you how to apply. We could not confirm the plan’s current name or administrator, so ask the agent.

What to do next

1. Find your declarations page and check your three limits. If it says 25/50/15, ask for quotes at higher limits, especially property damage.
2. Check whether you rejected uninsured-driver coverage or medical payments. If so, ask what adding them costs.
3. Decide on comprehensive on purpose: your car’s value, where you park, and what a hail repair would cost you.
4. Keep proof of insurance on your phone or in the car.
5. After any crash, report it to your insurer right away, and note the three-year lawsuit deadline.
6. Compare at least three quotes with the same limits and deductibles.
7. If you got a no-insurance ticket, buy a policy now and bring proof to court. Confirm your penalty with the court clerk.

Common mistakes

• Treating minimum coverage as protection for your own car.
• Admitting fault at the scene. Fault percentages decide your payout, and 50% means zero.
• Letting a policy lapse for a few days. It can raise your price and, if you are caught, count as a violation.
• Assuming the state caps rate increases. It does not.

Bottom line

If you drive an older car you own outright and park in a garage, liability with uninsured-driver coverage may be enough. If you have a loan, park outside, or have savings to protect, move above 25/50/15 and keep comprehensive. Either way, keep uninsured-driver coverage, since about one in five drivers may have none.