10-3-1117. Required disclosures - liability - definition.

Statute text

(1) Not more than thirty calendar days after receiving a written request from an insured party, an insurer that issues a commercial automobile or personal automobile policy of insurance for delivery in this state shall provide to the insured party a copy of the complete policy of insurance, including any endorsements.

(2) (a) Each insurer that provides or may provide commercial automobile or personal automobile liability insurance coverage to pay all or a portion of a pending or prospective claim shall provide to the claimant or the claimant's attorney via mail, facsimile, or electronic delivery, within thirty calendar days after receiving a written request from the claimant or the claimant's attorney, which request is sent to the insurer's registered agent, a statement setting forth the following information with regard to each known policy of insurance of the named insured, including excess or umbrella insurance, that is or may be relevant to the claim:

(I) The name of the insurer;

(II) The name of each insured party, as the name appears on the declarations page of the policy;

(III) The limits of the liability coverage; and

(IV) A copy of the policy.

(b) An insured party, upon written request of a claimant or a claimant's attorney, shall disclose to the claimant or claimant's attorney the name and coverage of each known insurer of the insured party.

(3) An insurer that violates this section is liable to the requesting claimant for damages in an amount of one hundred dollars per day, beginning on and including the thirty-first day following the receipt of the claimant's written request. The penalty accrues until the insurer provides the information required by this section. An insurer that fails to make a disclosure required by this section is also responsible for attorney fees and costs incurred by a claimant in enforcing the penalty.

(4) The claimant and any attorney of the claimant shall not disclose to any party the information described in subsection (2)(a) of this section; except that the claimant and an attorney of the claimant may discuss the information with the claimant's insurer.

(5) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "claimant" means a person that has provided notice to an insurer of a potential claim.

History

Source: L. 2019: Entire section added, (HB 19-1283), ch. 250, p. 2427, 2, effective January 1, 2020.

Annotations

 

ANNOTATION

Annotations

This section requires the disclosure of policies that have, or may have, a significant and demonstrable bearing on the claim at hand. Fogel v. Shelter Mut. Ins. Co., 728 F. Supp. 3d 1171 (D. Colo. 2024).

As indicated in 10-3-1101 (2), the intent of this act is to protect citizens, encourage settlements, and prevent unnecessary litigation, all by requiring insurance companies to be transparent. Fogel v. Shelter Mut. Ins. Co., 728 F. Supp. 3d 1171 (D. Colo. 2024).

The plain language of subsection (2)(a) expressly requires disclosure of "excess or umbrella insurance" but does not limit disclosure to only excess and umbrella insurance. Instead, it requires disclosure of "each known policy of insurance of the named insured, including excess or umbrella insurance". The word "include" does not ordinarily introduce an exhaustive list, but rather connotes simply an illustrative application of the general principle. In other words, by using the non-exhaustive word, "including", the general assembly necessarily intended to incorporate more than what is expressly stated in the statute. Fogel v. Shelter Mut. Ins. Co., 728 F. Supp. 3d 1171 (D. Colo. 2024).

Therefore, the refusal of the insurance company's registered agent to disclose three automobile policies on which the driver was the named insured and one on which he was an additional driver violates this section. Fogel v. Shelter Mut. Ins. Co., 728 F. Supp. 3d 1171 (D. Colo. 2024).

Because this section imposes a penalty, it is subject to the one-year statute of limitations under 13-80-103 (1)(d). Reynolds v. Great N. Ins. Co., 2023 COA 77, 539 P.3d 930.

A cause of action for the penalty imposed under subsection (3) of this section accrues on the thirty-first day after an insurer receives a claimant's written request for the insured's policy information and not the day after an insurer complies with a request. Reynolds v. Great N. Ins. Co., 2023 COA 77, 539 P.3d 930.