Colorado Homeowners Can Now See Their Wildfire Risk Score. Here’s What That Actually Means.

By Prerna Kapoor, CLHMS | REAL Brokerage | July 24, 2026

A client outside Castle Rock called me in June holding an insurance renewal letter that had jumped almost $900 for the year, and buried in the fine print was a line about her home’s “wildfire risk score.” She’d never seen that number before, had no idea how it was calculated, and had no real way to push back on it. That’s about to change. Starting July 1, 2026, Colorado law requires insurers to actually show homeowners that score, explain what’s driving it, and give them a documented way to challenge it.

What House Bill 25-1182 Actually Requires

Colorado’s HB25-1182, signed into law in May 2025 and taking effect July 1, 2026, applies to any insurer that uses a wildfire risk model, a catastrophe model, or any scoring method to underwrite, price, non-renew, or surcharge a homeowners policy. Once it’s in effect, those insurers have to send every policyholder and applicant a written notice, at least once a year, spelling out the wildfire risk score itself, the risk classification driving it, and whatever mitigation discounts are actually available. If you’re the kind of homeowner who’s been quietly wondering why your premium keeps climbing without a clear explanation, this is the law that finally forces an answer.

Why This Matters More in Places Like Castle Pines and Monument Than It Sounds

Wildfire scoring isn’t new. Insurers in Colorado have been leaning on catastrophe models for years, and it’s a big part of why premiums have climbed so sharply in the foothills-adjacent parts of my service area, places like Castle Pines, Sedalia, the western edges of Castle Rock, and Monument outside Colorado Springs. What’s new is that the model itself has to become visible. The law requires insurers to either build documented mitigation work, defensible space, a Class A roof, ember-resistant vents, directly into the model, or provide a separate discount to homeowners who can show they’ve done that work. Either way, the days of a black-box number quietly reshaping your premium are numbered.

How to Actually Challenge a Score You Think Is Wrong

The act gives you the right to appeal your wildfire risk score or classification directly to your insurer, and it requires the insurer to post its appeal process on its website along with the premium savings available for mitigation work. The part most homeowners miss is that an appeal only holds up if you can back it with something concrete. A photo of cleared brush isn’t enough on its own. In Douglas County, you can request a free Wildfire Hazard Assessment through the county’s Wildfire Mitigation Cost-Share Program, and if the assessment turns up real work worth doing, the county will match up to $25,000 of it at fifty cents on the dollar. That paperwork, a real assessment plus documented mitigation, is exactly the kind of evidence an insurer now has to weigh. I’ve also put together a broader rundown on preparing your home and your insurance for wildfire season if you want the fuller picture.

What This Means If You’re Selling in a Wildfire-Exposed Area

I’ve had listings in Castle Pines and along Highlands Ranch’s western edge where a buyer’s financing nearly fell apart because their lender-required insurance quote came back double what the seller had been paying. If your home sits anywhere near open space, a ridge line, or heavy tree cover, I’d rather you request your own risk score and mitigation documentation before you list than have a buyer’s insurance shop surface a bad number three weeks before closing. I wrote more about what’s driving insurance non-renewals in Colorado deals if you want to see how often this catches sellers off guard. A fifteen-minute phone call now beats a scrambled closing timeline later.

Quick answers

When does this law actually take effect?
July 1, 2026. After that date, any Colorado insurer using a wildfire risk model or score to underwrite, price, non-renew, or surcharge a homeowners policy has to notify you in writing at least once a year.

Can I ask my insurer for my score before then?
Some carriers will share it if you ask, but they aren’t required to yet. If you’re not getting a straight answer, a documented Wildfire Hazard Assessment through your county is worth having on hand regardless of what your insurer discloses.

Does mitigation actually lower my premium?
Under the new law, an insurer either has to build your documented mitigation into its risk model or offer you a separate discount for it. Either path means the work you’ve done on defensible space and roofing is finally supposed to count for something concrete.

If you’re in a wildfire-exposed part of my service area and you’re not sure what your insurance situation looks like heading into a sale, I’m always happy to talk through it, no pressure, no pitch. I’d rather you find out now than have it show up as a surprise during someone else’s mortgage approval.

Prerna Kapoor | REALTOR® | Luxury Home Specialist
REAL Brokerage | 720-949-5450 | info@prernakapoor.com
CLHMS • RENE • PSA • ABR | International Sterling Society Award Winner

Prerna specializes in residential real estate across Parker, Aurora, Lone Tree, Castle Pines,
Highlands Ranch, Cherry Creek, Greenwood Village, and Centennial. She speaks English, Japanese,
and Hindi.