Your Insurance Company Is About
to Show You a Number.
Here's What It Means.
A new Colorado law takes effect July 1, 2026. If you own a home in Black Forest, Monument, Woodland Park, or anywhere in the WUI, this directly affects your coverage. Most homeowners don't know it's coming.
The law your insurer hasn't told you about
Colorado HB25-1182 was signed into law in May 2025 and takes effect July 1, 2026. Two things change on that date:
Your insurance company is now required to disclose your wildfire risk score to you annually. This score has existed for years — they've just been using it without telling you.
If your insurer offers mitigation discounts, they must now tell you specifically what you need to do to qualify for them.
In plain terms: starting this month, a lot of homeowners are going to see a risk number they've never seen before. For many of them, it's going to be high — and now the disclosure is on record.
What goes into the number — and what you can change
Insurance companies use wildfire risk models to score your property. Models vary by carrier, but the factors that commonly appear across them are:
How close your home is to the WUI boundary. You can't change this.
Branches over or near the roofline. Among the improvable factors, this is one of the most directly actionable.
Standing dead timber — especially beetle-killed ponderosa — scores as high-intensity fuel. Removable.
Whether your 0–30 ft clearance zones meet Colorado state code. CSFS uses three zones (0–5 ft, 5–30 ft, 30–100 ft) with different requirements at each. Documented compliance improves this score.
Class A roof vs. wood shake. Hard to change without a major project.
Some models factor in neighborhood-level vegetation conditions, not just your parcel. You can't control this, but documenting your own compliance establishes a clear record.
The practical takeaway: Three of the six factors above are things you can actually change before your next renewal — and all three involve your trees. That's where the leverage is.
Why your trees may already be a liability you don't know about
In December 2025, Governor Polis signed an executive order creating a state pine beetle task force. In announcing it, he said that "most or nearly all mature Ponderosa pines will be killed by pine beetles in the western Front Range over the next several years" — and described the projections as alarming. The task force is co-chaired by the Colorado State Forester and the Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
The numbers behind that statement: pine beetle infestation in the nine Front Range counties surveyed by state forestry — including El Paso and Teller — grew 148% from 2024 to 2025, from 2,236 acres to 5,544 acres. CSFS notes the 2025 survey covered less ground than 2024 due to funding constraints, so the actual spread is likely larger than those numbers show.
Here's what makes this an insurance problem and not just a tree problem: beetle-killed ponderosa pines have roughly 10% moisture content. A living ponderosa runs closer to 100–110%. When a dead ponderosa burns, it burns with the intensity of a torch, not a log. CSFS published a report in May 2026 on beetle outbreaks and wildfire behavior in Front Range ponderosa forests — the science is nuanced, but the bottom line for homeowners is that standing dead timber increases surface fire intensity and community wildfire risk. Combined with one of the driest, warmest winters Colorado has seen in recent years, fire conditions in 2026 are elevated across the region.
Needles turning rust-orange or gray — the tree was already dead before this happened; you're seeing the last stage
Small holes in the bark about the size of a pencil tip, with fine sawdust at the base
Woodpeckers actively drilling a section of the trunk — they're eating the larvae
The tree looked completely healthy last year — pine beetle kill can progress invisibly for 6–12 months
I've walked properties in Black Forest this spring where the homeowner had no idea three of their ponderosas were already dead. The needles hadn't turned yet. It's not obvious until it is — and by then you've got a 60-foot torch 20 feet from your house.
What's actually happening with coverage in El Paso County
This isn't abstract. Colorado homeowners insurance premiums have risen significantly since 2018 — multiple sources cite increases ranging from 58% to over 100% statewide, with wildfire risk as the primary driver. In high-risk zip codes along the Front Range foothills, homeowners report premium increases well above the statewide average. In some areas of the Front Range, certain carriers have reduced or stopped writing new policies — availability varies by zip code, carrier, and underwriting cycle.
Colorado launched a FAIR Plan in April 2025 — the insurer of last resort for homeowners who've been declined everywhere else. By December 2025 it had sold only 140 policies statewide, concentrated along the I-25 corridor and mountain communities. If you end up there, coverage is capped at $750,000 on an actual cash value basis. It's a safety net, not a solution. coloradofairplan.com →
What changes the equation: documented mitigation work with a compliance letter gives your insurer something to work with at renewal. CSFS guidance emphasizes that insurer-accepted mitigation documentation is one of the most accessible property-level actions a homeowner can take to influence their risk profile. Whether and how much it moves the needle depends on your carrier — but it's a documented record of what you did, and some carriers will use it to reassess your premium at renewal.
What actually happens to everything you cut down
This is the part most people don't get a straight answer on, and it's one of the main reasons mitigation jobs don't get started. You want to do the work. You don't know what happens to the pile.
Free. Runs annually by neighborhood in a two-week window. Accepts branches and limbs up to 9 inches in diameter, stacked curbside. Useful for ongoing maintenance. Not sufficient for a full mitigation job with large trees.
Register at coswildfireready.org →El Paso County community site that accepts slash and woody debris. Cost: $10/load. Operates seasonally — check their website for current dates and size requirements before hauling. Good for smaller volumes you can transport yourself.
bfslash.org →Some contractors grind material and leave the mulch on site. This eliminates the haul-away problem — but mulch on the ground is still fuel. CSFS guidance favors removing debris over grinding in place, particularly within Zone 1 and Zone 2. Confirm with your insurer what they consider acceptable before choosing this option.
A contractor who handles the complete job — removal, chipping, and haul-away — leaves you with nothing to manage. The work is done, the documentation is done, and the property is clean. This is what we do.
If the slash site situation has been the reason you haven't started — that's a real barrier and a legitimate frustration. It's worth asking whoever you call whether removal and disposal are included in the job, not just the tree work.
Financial help that actually exists right now
Cost is the most common reason people delay mitigation work. Here's what's available in Colorado that most homeowners never hear about:
Colorado homeowners who complete qualifying wildfire mitigation work can claim up to $1,000 in state income tax credits (tax years 2023–2027, income limits apply — approximately $126,300 for 2025). The work must be documented by a licensed contractor — written scope and completion documentation required. We provide this automatically.
tax.colorado.gov/wildfire-tax-benefits →The Colorado State Forest Service funds neighborhood and community-scale mitigation projects through their local district offices. For Black Forest, Monument, and the surrounding area, contact the CSFS Pikes Peak District directly to ask what programs are currently open in El Paso and Teller Counties. Funding is limited and historically oversubscribed — the sooner you ask, the better.
Find your CSFS district office → csfs.colostate.edu/contact-usSome Colorado counties offer cost-share programs for beetle kill removal — Jefferson County's program, for example, reimburses 50% of contractor costs up to $7,500 for qualifying properties. El Paso County residents should contact CSFS directly to ask what's currently available in their area. These programs open and close; availability changes year to year.
Jefferson County MPB program (example) — check with CSFS for El Paso County programs →Handles brush and limbs up to 9 inches in diameter, curbside during your neighborhood's assigned two-week window. Register online or call (719) 385-7493.
coswildfireready.org/neighborhood-chipping-program →On a typical $3,000 mitigation job: The $1,000 state tax credit brings your out-of-pocket to $2,000. If your county or a grant program covers additional costs, that number drops further. And your insurer receives a compliance report — some carriers will use it to reassess your renewal premium.
If you get a bad score — step by step
When your insurer discloses your score, ask them to specify which factors are driving it. They're now required to tell you. Get it in writing if you can.
An assessment tells you what actually needs to go and in what order — so you don't spend money on the wrong trees or the wrong zones. It also gives you documentation your insurer accepts.
CSFS uses a three-zone model: Zone 1 (0–5 ft, noncombustible hardscape only), Zone 2 (5–30 ft, reduced fuels and spacing), Zone 3 (30–100 ft, extended fuel reduction). Insurers weight the first two zones most heavily — start there before anything else.
Before-and-after photos, a written completion scope from your contractor, and the contractor's license and insurance information. Your insurer may use this documentation to adjust your score and premium — check with your carrier on what format they accept.
Don't wait. If your renewal is in October, submit the completion documentation in August. Give them time to reassess before the renewal is processed.
You'll need your contractor's written scope and completion documentation. Keep everything. The $1,000 state credit (tax years 2023–2027, income limits apply) comes directly off what you owe — it's real money and most homeowners miss it.
Get the follow-up series — free
Over the next two weeks, I'll send you what I'm seeing on actual properties in Black Forest and Monument this season — beetle kill patterns, what recent fire seasons have taught us about defensible space, and the documentation steps that can help get insurance scores adjusted. No sales pitch. Just what I know.
The free on-site property assessment
I'll walk your property, document every identified hazard with photos, check your defensible space against Colorado state standards, and give you a written report — including an insurance documentation letter. $650 in deliverables at no cost. If there's nothing worth addressing, I'll tell you straight.
No commitment. No sales pressure. Just an honest walkthrough.