Screen the neighborhood
The state forest service map shows broad neighborhood risk. It is a useful first look, not a parcel inspection or the score an insurance company uses.
Open the CSFS mapColorado Wildfire and Home Insurance
Get a real insurance quote for the exact address before your contract deadlines. Wildfire risk can change the price, deductible, required yard work, and coverage. It can also decide whether a company will insure the home.
Get a quote early
Do this while you can still inspect, object, or make a financing decision. An online estimate is not the same as a policy the company will bind.
Read the company's score
If the company uses a wildfire score, read the reasons, property features, mitigation effects, available discounts, and appeal steps.
Bring these questions to the insurance agent
- Can this policy be bound for this address now?
- What is the dwelling limit, and is it replacement cost or actual cash value?
- Are wildfire, wind, hail, roof, or cosmetic-damage deductibles separate?
- What is excluded, and what extra living expenses or liability coverage is included?
- Does the company expect any work before it will bind or renew the policy?
- What wildfire score or class did the company use, and how can you appeal it?
The Colorado Division of Insurance is the state consumer office for home insurance questions. Its homeowner toolkit explains policy parts, shopping questions, rebuilding cost, and mitigation.
If the wildfire score does not make sense
Colorado's score-disclosure rules cover homeowners, condo-unit, and multifamily residential policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2026. They matter when an insurer uses a wildfire model, score, or class to decide whether to insure a home, what to charge, whether to add a surcharge, or whether to renew.
- Read the full notice. It should show the score or class, the range it sits in, the main reasons for it, property features that affected it, available discounts, and how mitigation may change it. A new applicant's score or class is due within 15 days after a completed application under HB25-1182.
- Send proof of new work. If the property or community completed new mitigation, send the records and ask for a new score. The insurer has 30 days to provide the revised score or class.
- Appeal in writing. The law sets 10 calendar days for the insurer to acknowledge the appeal and 30 calendar days for a written decision.
- Keep the file. Save the notice, photos, receipts, reports, emails, and appeal decision. If the required process is not followed, ask the Colorado Division of Insurance about its complaint options.
Walk the home ignition zones
The Colorado State Forest Service breaks the area around a home into three working zones: zero to five feet, five to 30 feet, and 30 to 100 feet. Start against the house. Look for leaves in gutters, wood mulch, firewood, plants under windows, open vents, and fences or decks that can carry flame to the structure. Then work outward through trees, brush, sheds, propane, and access for fire crews.
If the regular market says no
Keep shopping with a licensed agent, including any standard or surplus-lines options the agent can explain. A licensed agent can apply to the Colorado FAIR Plan after three different insurance companies decline the property. Current residential coverage is capped at $750,000 combined for property and contents and pays actual cash value, which accounts for age and wear.
The base FAIR Plan covers fire, lightning, and smoke. Limited extended coverage can add wind, hail, and certain other listed perils. This is not the same package as a typical homeowners policy. Ask the agent what liability, temporary living costs, water damage, building-code costs, and other gaps would need separate or companion coverage.
Why the exact address matters
A city lot and a forest-edge lot can sit in the same county but face different brush, slope, road, water, roof, and fire-response questions. Use the state map for the neighborhood, ask the local fire district about the property, and quote the house itself, not just the ZIP code.
FAQ
Quick answers
Should I wait until after inspection to shop insurance?
No. In fire-prone areas, shop for insurance early. If a home turns out to be hard or costly to insure, you want to know before your deadlines to inspect the house, raise concerns, and lock in your loan.
Is wildfire only a mountain issue?
No. Foothills, grassland edges, canyons, and wind-driven fire corridors can matter too.
Does mitigation guarantee lower premiums?
Not always. Clearing brush and hardening your home can lower the risk, and it may help you get covered. But every company sets its own rules for who it will insure and what it charges.
Does the Colorado wildfire map tell me whether a home is insurable?
No. The Colorado State Forest Service map is a neighborhood-level screen. It can show the broader wildfire setting, but it does not inspect the parcel or replace an insurer's own score and bindable quote for the exact address.
Can I see or challenge an insurer's wildfire score?
Yes, when the insurer uses a wildfire model or score for a homeowners, condo-unit, or multifamily residential policy issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2026. Under HB25-1182, a new applicant receives the score or class within 15 days after a completed application. You may send mitigation evidence, ask for a revised score, and appeal the insurer's score or class. The law sets 10 calendar days for the insurer to acknowledge the appeal and 30 calendar days for a written decision.
What if no insurer will write the policy at all?
The Colorado FAIR Plan is a last-resort property policy, not a normal homeowners-policy replacement. A licensed agent applies after three different insurance companies decline the property. Current residential coverage is limited to $750,000 combined for property and contents and pays actual cash value, not full replacement cost. Its base coverage includes fire, lightning, and smoke. Wind and hail are among the perils that may be added through limited extended coverage.
Sources and review
Where this information comes from
For current requirements, exceptions, forms, and deadlines, use the linked official source.
- Data used
- Colorado wildfire mitigation, insurance scoring, and FAIR Plan guidance
- Last reviewed
- July 2026
- Colorado State Forest Service wildfire mitigation for home ignition zone and defensible-space guidance.
- Colorado State Forest Service neighborhood wildfire map for an educational neighborhood-level screen, not a property-specific assessment.
- Colorado Division of Insurance homeowner toolkit for coverage, rebuilding-cost, shopping, and mitigation questions.
- Colorado HB25-1182 for score disclosures, mitigation updates, and the 15-day, 30-day, and appeal timelines effective July 1, 2026.
- Colorado FAIR Plan eligibility for three standard-market declinations, agent access, and last-resort eligibility.
- Colorado FAIR Plan coverage for current residential limit, covered perils, exclusions, and actual-cash-value terms.
Use this carefully: The state map is a neighborhood screen, not a parcel decision or insurance quote. Get a bindable quote for the exact address before contract deadlines, then read the policy, exclusions, deductible, and required mitigation.
Next steps
Pair wildfire with the rest of the Colorado picture
Risk, water, and where you'd actually live all connect. Check them together, then go wander a little.
Water
Water and wells
Rural and mountain homes often combine fire access and water questions.
Read water guide ->Go local
Boulder County
A foothills county where city, mountain, and wildfire rules all meet in one place.
See Boulder County ->Wander
Wildfire and wildlife notes
Short Colorado reads on fire, smoke, and living at the forest edge.
Browse the notes ->