Colorado froze homeowners non-renewals in five ZIP codes after the Aspen Acres Fire
Colorado froze homeowners non-renewals in five ZIP codes after the Aspen Acres Fire
2026-09-10 · Colorado · Regulation
Colorado's insurance regulator has frozen certain homeowners cancellations and non-renewals in five ZIP codes after the Aspen Acres Fire — and boards in the affected counties should not assume the freeze covers the association's own policy. Emergency Regulation 26-E-04 took effect August 19, 2026, adopted without notice and comment under the emergency-rule authority in C.R.S. 24-4-103(6)(a).1
The facts the Commissioner relied on
“As of August 5, 2026, the Aspen Acres Fire has grown to almost 102,000 acres burned in Pueblo and Custer counties, with approximately 70% containment. It is estimated that over 200 homes have been damaged or destroyed.”
The legal predicate is Governor Jared Polis's verbal disaster declarations of June 28 and June 29, 2026, memorialised in Executive Order D 2026-009 on July 24, 2026. Together with the property damage, that makes the fire “a catastrophic disaster under section 10-2-103(1), C.R.S.”
Who it protects, and where
The applicability clause is the sentence to read carefully:
“This regulation shall apply to all carriers with existing homeowners insurance policies covering owner-occupied residences in the Affected Areas of the state.”
The Affected Areas are ZIP codes 81004, 81005, 81019, 81023 and 81253.
The purpose is to bar cancellations or non-renewals that would be “an unfairly discriminatory action by their insurance carrier,” and to identify practices that may constitute unfair discrimination — including reliance solely on a property's location within the Affected Areas, the fire perimeter, or an evacuation area.
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Related Colorado HOA Topics
- Emergency Regulation 26-E-04, 3 CCR 702-5, Colorado Division of Insurance (source of the quoted findings, applicability clause and ZIP codes) ↩
- Notice of Adoption — Emergency Regulation 26-E-04 and New Regulation 5-1-29 (August 20, 2026), Colorado Division of Insurance ↩
- HB25-1182 signed act text, C.R.S. 10-4-124 — scope clause covering residential condominium unit policies ↩
- Request for Comment on DRAFT Proposed Revised Bulletin B-5.57, Aerial Imagery by Insurers in Decision Making (August 18, 2026), Colorado Division of Insurance ↩
- Homeowners Insurance — Affordability & Availability, Colorado Division of Insurance (HB24-1315 draft study) ↩
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