Natural Disasters, Population Growth Push Insurance Rates Up In Colorado

Colorado insurance rates had been rising for years — by more than 67 percent for homeowners and 52 percent for vehicle owners — even before three hailstorms hit Colorado’s Front Range over the past two months, generating more than $500 million in insurance claims. State auto and homeowners insurance average rates rose at the third-fastest clip in the nation over two eight-year periods and now exceed the national average, reports show. Worse yet, consumers can expect this year’s storms to trigger more rate increases over the next few years, said Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, a Greenwood Village-based trade group that represents property and casualty insurers in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.