Unreasonable Delay Or Denial Of Benefits In Colorado

By Taylor Grant, licensed public adjuster · Published February 7, 2023 · Updated September 24, 2026

C.R.S. 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116 give a Colorado policyholder a remedy that most people have never heard of - two times the covered benefit plus attorney fees. Here is what it covers and what it does not.

This one is worth knowing about even if you never use it, because knowing it exists changes how a claim is handled.

This is not legal advice. We are public adjusters, not attorneys, and this is a general description of a statute that applies differently to every set of facts. If you think it applies to you, talk to a Colorado insurance attorney.

What the statute says

Colorado Revised Statutes section 10-3-1115 says that an insurer shall not unreasonably delay or deny payment of a claim for benefits owed to a first-party claimant. A delay or denial is unreasonable if the insurer delayed or denied without a reasonable basis for its action.

Section 10-3-1116 provides the remedy: a first-party claimant whose benefits have been unreasonably delayed or denied may bring an action to recover two times the covered benefit, plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs.

Read that again, because it is unusual. Not just the benefit - two times the covered benefit, on top of the benefit itself, plus fees.

Why this matters even in a claim that never goes to court

Carriers know this statute. It is the reason a well-documented, dated, written record of delay tends to get a different response than a series of phone calls.

The statutory question is whether the carrier had a reasonable basis for what it did. That is answered from the claim file: what they investigated, what they asked for, what they were told, when, and what they did with it. Which means the file you build shapes the answer:

• Every request in writing, dated.
• Every follow-up in writing, dated.
• Every piece of evidence sent, with proof of delivery.
• Every promise they made, recorded with the date and the name.

A carrier looking at a file full of dated unanswered submissions is in a different position from one looking at a file with three voicemails in it.

What it covers

• Delay in paying benefits that are owed, not just outright denial.
• Partial denial - the denied portion counts.
• First-party claims, meaning your own claim on your own policy. It does not apply to a claim you make against somebody else's insurer.

What it does not do

• It does not create coverage. If the peril is excluded, there is no benefit owed and therefore nothing unreasonably denied.
• It does not make every denial actionable. A carrier with a genuine, documented, reasonable basis is allowed to be wrong. The question is whether the basis was reasonable, not whether the outcome was correct.
• It does not wait for you. Deadlines apply, and they are shorter than people expect. So is your policy's own suit limitation, which is commonly one or two years from the date of loss.

Practically, what to do

1. Build the record from day one as if somebody will read it later, because they might. How to document a claim.

2. Put every request in writing. Policy copy, claim file, reserve, expert reports, the adjuster's CV. In Colorado we cite C.R.S. section 10-4-110.8 for the policy itself - digital copy promptly and a certified copy within thirty days.

3. Set your own follow-up dates and record when they pass.

4. Escalate visibly - supervisor, then manager, then a complaint to the Division of Insurance at DORA. Each step is free and each step is a dated document.

5. Talk to an attorney before the clock runs, not after. This is the specific point where a public adjuster hands the file over: we handle the scope, the valuation and the negotiation; the statutory claim is a lawyer's work.

The honest summary

Most claims do not need any of this. They need a complete scope, evidence, and somebody who follows up. But if your file has gone quiet for months, if benefits that were agreed have not arrived, or if a denial was issued without anybody investigating properly, Colorado gives you more leverage than almost any other state - and the leverage lives in the documentation you have been keeping all along.

If you are sitting in that situation, send us the file. We will tell you whether this is a scope problem we can fix or a legal problem you need a lawyer for, and we know good ones.

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