Colorado Public Legal Library · Citizen Guide
Policy Disclosure & Liability Limits After a Colorado Crash
How to identify the actual insurance company, route a Colorado policy-information request correctly, distinguish minimum insurance from the insurance actually available, and preserve the record if the response is incomplete.
Start with the right insurance company
A brand name, adjuster, broker, or claims office is not necessarily the legal insurance company that issued the policy. Colorado's statutory disclosure process depends on identifying the actual insurer and routing the written request to that insurer's registered agent.
Identify the underwriting insurer
Use the exact legal company name shown on reliable policy, claim, coverage, or regulatory records. Preserve the NAIC number when available.
Identify the current registered agent
Confirm the insurer's current Colorado registered agent before sending the statutory request. Do not assume an adjuster or ordinary claims address is the registered agent.
C.R.S. § 10-3-1117
The statute governs automobile liability policy-information disclosure for a pending or prospective claim and sets the statutory response framework.
Regulation 5-1-27
The current DOI regulation implements the automobile policy-information request process, including registered-agent routing and insurer response procedures.
The policy-information request workflow
Treat the request as a controlled evidence process. The important facts are who the insurer is, where the request was sent, when it was received, what was produced, and what remains missing.
Identify the exact insurer
Record the legal company name and NAIC number if available. Do not rely only on the insurance-group or trade name.
Confirm the registered agent
Use current Colorado regulatory information to identify the insurer's registered agent and service address.
Prepare the written § 10-3-1117 request
Identify the pending or prospective claim clearly enough for the insurer to route the request, and ask for the policy information required by the statute.
Send it to the registered agent
Use a delivery method that creates reliable proof of transmission and receipt. Preserve the exact version sent.
Calendar thirty calendar days from receipt
The statutory period runs from receipt of the written request by the registered agent. Preserve the receipt date rather than relying on the date the letter was drafted or mailed.
Audit the response
Compare what was produced against the current statute and regulation, including insurer identification, insured-party information, liability limits, the policy, and known excess or umbrella coverage that is or may be relevant.
Read the actual policy and endorsements
A limits statement is not a complete coverage analysis. Review forms, endorsements, exclusions, definitions, covered autos, insured status, and other potentially applicable insurance.
Preserve omissions and discrepancies
Keep the request, proof of receipt, insurer response, claim correspondence, policy forms, endorsements, and a chronology of any follow-up.
Minimum insurance is not the same as available insurance
| Issue | What controls | Citizen action | Preserve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory minimum | C.R.S. § 10-4-620 | Use only to understand Colorado's minimum required liability coverage. | Current statutory source. |
| Actual liability limits | Policy, declarations information, endorsements, and § 10-3-1117 response. | Obtain and compare the actual policy materials. | Complete response and policy. |
| Excess or umbrella coverage | Actual additional policies and the disclosure statute. | Do not stop the inquiry merely because a primary-limit figure has been provided. | Any excess/umbrella identification or policy produced. |
| Coverage application | Policy language plus governing law. | Separate the amount of limits from whether a particular person, vehicle, occurrence, or loss is covered. | Forms, endorsements, reservation-of-rights or coverage correspondence. |
What should the response contain?
For a current request, compare the response to the operative statutory text rather than an old form letter or checklist. The statute addresses the insurer's name, insured parties identified through the declarations information, liability limits, the policy itself, and known relevant excess or umbrella insurance.
Evidence checklist
Before sending
- Exact insurer legal name
- NAIC number if available
- Registered-agent name
- Registered-agent address
- Claimant and crash identifiers
Proof of request
- Final signed request
- Transmission record
- Delivery confirmation
- Date received
- Thirty-day calendar entry
Response package
- Insurer correspondence
- Named insured information disclosed
- Liability limits
- Policy forms
- Endorsements
- Excess or umbrella material
Audit record
- Missing documents
- Late response
- Partial response
- Conflicting limit information
- Follow-up correspondence
Three distinctions that prevent common mistakes
1. Adjuster ≠ registered agent
Ordinary claim communications may go to an adjuster. The statutory policy-information request has its own routing requirement. Keep those processes separate.
2. Limits ≠ coverage
A stated limit does not decide who is insured, whether an exclusion applies, whether another policy exists, or whether excess insurance is implicated.
3. Regulation ≠ statute
C.R.S. § 10-3-1117 supplies the statutory disclosure right. DOI regulations implement administrative requirements. A DOI bulletin is guidance and should be labeled accordingly.
4. Historical rule ≠ current rule
Former Regulation 5-2-03 belongs in the provenance record. It should not be used as the operative 2026 request rule.
Authority behind this guide
Current official sources control. Library source records preserve provenance, corrections, and explanatory analysis separately.
Use as agency guidance concerning the registered-agent transition and routing practice; do not present the bulletin as binding law.
Retained for history only. Current official sources mark this rule repealed; do not use it as the operative 2026 implementation rule.
Frequently asked questions
Is Colorado's $25,000 bodily-injury minimum the most insurance I can recover?
No. It is a statutory minimum requirement, not proof of the limits or all insurance actually available in a particular claim.
Can I just ask the adjuster for the policy?
You can ask an adjuster for information, but do not confuse ordinary claim correspondence with the statutory routing requirements for a § 10-3-1117 request.
Does receiving a policy mean coverage is established?
No. Policy production and coverage analysis are separate. The policy must still be read together with endorsements, facts, and governing law.
Why preserve proof of receipt?
Because the statutory response period is tied to receipt of the written request by the registered agent. The chronology is part of the evidence.
Build the coverage record before settlement pressure takes over
Identify the insurer, use the registered-agent route, preserve receipt, obtain the policy, and distinguish the minimum required insurance from the coverage actually available.