A Colorado Division of Insurance report released this month shows home insurance carriers target specific high-risk areas when pricing for wildfire dangers in Colorado, and those higher wildfire premiums are increasing Routt County home insurance rates.
In Routt County, wildfire represents 21.9% of homeowner insurance premium costs, according to the report. In a sampling of 11 both high-risk and low-risk Colorado counties with insurance rates averaged across 20 insurance carriers, La Plata County, home to Durango, also stood out in wildfire risk cost percentages, reaching 24.6%.
Despite the fact that hail storms are not as prevalent in Routt County as in other parts of Colorado, the report showed insurance carriers are distributing hail damage costs across the state. The new report names hail as the No. 1 cost driver of insurance in Colorado, and in Routt County the average hail portion of premiums reached 30.6%.
“Based on the statewide average hail premium data collected by the division, insurers are spreading the cost of hail risk across the state,” according to the report. “Conversely, the wildfire premium by county shows that carriers are targeting high-risk areas when pricing for wildfire risk.”
According to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, Colorado’s damaging hail season is considered from mid-April to mid-September, and the Front Range is located in the heart of “Hail Alley,” which receives the highest frequency of large hail in North America.
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