2026-09-10 · Colorado · Legislation

Colorado has created a government-owned business inside its insurance regulator, funded by a levy on homeowners insurers, to pay for hail-resistant roofs — and nothing in the act says whether an association-owned roof qualifies. SB26-155 was signed by Governor Jared Polis on June 4, 2026 and took effect August 12, 2026, creating the Strengthen Colorado Homes Enterprise at C.R.S. 10-4-2001 through 10-4-2005.¹

The state's reasoning is blunt and, on its own numbers, correct. Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway: “Hail is the number one cost driver of homeowners insurance premiums in our state, and this legislation will ensure that more Coloradans can afford to upgrade their roofs, thereby reducing claims and risk across the state.”²

The fee, and the line that says who pays it

Beginning January 1, 2027, an admitted insurer offering multiperil homeowner's insurance in Colorado pays an annual fee equal to one-half of one percent of the total premium it collected on those policies in the preceding calendar year. The FAIR Plan is excluded.

And C.R.S. 10-4-2003(4)(b) is worth quoting for owners who will assume otherwise: “each insurer shall pay the fee to the enterprise and shall not surcharge the fee amount to policyholders.”

What the grants buy, and what they will not

Under C.R.S. 10-4-2004 the enterprise makes grants to Colorado homeowners to retrofit residential property against hail and windstorm loss, and board rules must allocate at least eighty-five percent of fee revenue to those homeowner grants.

A grantee must, as applicable, have insurable Colorado residential property covered by a homeowner's policy, obtain permits, comply with building codes, arrange and pay for inspections, construct a roof meeting resilient roof system standards, and select a Colorado-licensed contractor that belongs to a professional roofing association and “attests that the contractor does not waive deductibles and agrees to repair, rather than replace, roofs when appropriate.” A contractor receiving grant money is prohibited from waiving deductibles. Grant money may not be used for general roof maintenance or repair, and nothing creates an entitlement to a grant.

“Resilient roof system” at C.R.S. 10-4-2002(6) means a roof carrying “a verified wind and hail certification from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety ‘Fortified’ program or a similar science-based, verifiable certification, as determined by the board by rule.”

1. SB26-155 final act text, new C.R.S. 10-4-2001 through 10-4-2005 and 10-4-405(1.2) (source of the quoted language) ↩
2. "Colorado Takes Further Action to Lower Homeowners Insurance Rates" (June 4, 2026), Colorado Division of Insurance — source of the Conway quotation ↩
3. "Hail is the Number One Cost Driver of Insurance in Colorado" — Colorado Division of Insurance (premium shares and mitigation savings) ↩
4. SB26-155 summary, Colorado Division of Real Estate, HOA Information and Resource Center ↩