Colorado total-loss rules

Titling definition, not an insurance-code settlement threshold, and the two limbs are alternatives — the insurer's own determination is sufficient on its own, so the 100 percent comparison is not a floor the insurer must reach. The express carve-out for hail damage is unusual and worth knowing if your loss is hail.

Regulation 5-2-15 verbatim: the insurer must 'develop and maintain written procedures that will be consistently used when determining the value of a vehicle declared a total loss' (5.A.1), and the file must contain 'the credible source used for valuation by vendor name and the methodology for determining the amount of the loss' and document consideration of 'unique characteristics of a total loss vehicle, such as classic status, unique finishes, mileage and/or, special accessories' (5.A.2). These duties attach to the claim FILE, not to what is handed to you — which is what makes a written request for the file the operative step in Colorado.

The absence is the verified finding: Regulation 5-2-15 was read for a count, radius, recency window and mileage tolerance and contains none of them. Colorado's leverage is therefore documentary rather than numeric — the insurer must be able to show the credible source and methodology it used, so the argument is 'show me your basis', not 'that comparable is too far away'.

Recorded as an absence after reading both the statute and Regulation 5-2-15 for a valuation-disclosure duty. Practical consequence: in Colorado the material exists in the file by regulation but is not owed to you automatically, so request it in writing and date the request. C.R.S. § 10-3-1104(1)(h)(XIV) — failing to provide a reasonable explanation of the basis for a denial or compromise offer — was not read directly and may supply a further hook.

One of the strongest and plainest tax provisions in the ledger: a single sentence, framed as a duty on the insurer, covering tax and fees together with no conditions attached. An offer omitting sales tax in Colorado contradicts the statute on its face.

The bulletin narrowing matters: it means the registration component is small in dollar terms, and an argument pitched at the full amount collected at a Colorado registration counter overstates the entitlement.

Regulation 5-2-15 and C.R.S. § 10-4-639 were both read and neither mentions appraisal, an appraisal provision or an umpire. Title 10 was not retrieved section by section, so this is recorded as an absence found rather than an exhaustive search. Read your own policy for the procedure and its cost split.

The absence of day counts is verified, not unchecked: § 10-3-1104(1)(h) was read specifically for numbers and contains none, using only 'reasonably promptly' and 'reasonable time'. Secondary sources circulate a '15 days to acknowledge, 30 days to decide' rule for Colorado; NO primary source for those figures was located, and they are deliberately not encoded. What Colorado gives instead of a clock is a remedy: see “unfair claims practices law”.

This is the most consequential provision in Colorado's row and the reason the missing day counts matter less than they would elsewhere. Most states leave an unfair-practices statute to the regulator; § 10-3-1116 puts a doubling remedy plus fees in the claimant's own hands, and it does not require proving the insurer's conduct was a general business practice.

THREE years — the shortest general contract period in the ledger alongside North Carolina, and half of Arizona's and Washington's. The section does not name insurance policies expressly and § 13-80-103.5 carves out certain liquidated-debt actions at six years, so the applicable period in a particular dispute is worth confirming. Check the policy for a shorter suit-limitation clause as well.

Complaints go through the Division's Consumer Portal (account required; a Complaint ID is issued and documents are uploaded after submission). Consumer Services: 303-894-7490 / 800-930-3745. The Division asks that complaints be written in your own words and warns that AI-drafted complaints often misstate Colorado law — edit any draft into your own account before filing.

The regulator's name as it appears on its own complaint page.