Ten insurance companies doing business in Colorado agreed this week to extend coverage another year for Marshall fire victims who need temporary living expenses while they rebuild homes.
The agreement provides another year of benefits for 49 homeowners, according to a news release from the Colorado Division of Insurance. Additional living expenses are used to pay rent, utilities and other costs of a home while a person waits for their former residence to be repaired or rebuilt. Typically, it takes longer than one year for a person to rebuild a home from the ground up.
Insurance commissioner Michael Conway in December asked insurance companies who only provide one year of additional living expenses in their policies to grant a second year to customers who lost their homes in the December 2021 Marshall fire. Most insurance companies provide two years of coverage. Conway did not have the authority to force the expanded coverage but he did have the platform to use public pressure, saying he would publish a list of insurance companies who failed to meet his request.
“I am relieved to see these insurance companies giving their policyholders up to 24 months of ALE coverage,” Conways said in the news release. “For the homeowners that only had 12 months of coverage, I know that these extensions will be a small bit of relief in what continues to be a trying time.”
The Marshall fire exposed problems with homeowners insurance in Colorado.
Not only did some people only have one year of additional living expenses built into their policies, hundreds of homeowners learned they were vastly underinsured, meaning they will not have enough money from insurance settlements to pay the total cost of rebuilding their former homes.
Conway has been working with insurance companies to resolve gaps in coverage for homeowners so they will be better insured for the next wildfire.
Insurance companies that agreed to provide additional living expenses to Marshall Fire victims
American Modern Property & Casualty Insurance Co.
American Strategic Insurance Corporation
Colorado Farm Bureau Insurance Company
Hartford Financial Services
Homesite Indemnity Company
Homesite Insurance Company
Standard Fire Insurance Company
State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Company
Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company
Travelers Personal Insurance Company
Marshall Fire survivors who have not received an extension should contact their insurance company, agent or adjuster immediately to request the extension. If people experience any problems or resistance, they should contact the Division of Insurance‘s consumer services team at (303) 894-7490.
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