Committee advances grant enterprise to harden roofs and study wildfire insurance options

Senate Finance on Monday advanced SB 26‑155, the Strengthen Colorado Homes enterprise, after nearly four hours of testimony from insurers, local governments, consumer groups and industry stakeholders.

The bill establishes an insurer‑funded enterprise to provide grants for impact‑resistant, fortified roofing and related home hardening aimed at reducing hail and wind losses — which sponsors and the Division of Insurance say are major drivers of homeowners insurance premiums in Colorado. Senator Mullica, the lead sponsor, said the program draws on models from Alabama and other states and is structured so fees cannot be passed through as explicit surcharges to policyholders.

The committee adopted a package of sponsor and insurer‑negotiated amendments (L001–L006) that clarify board membership and expertise, limit board data authority in coordination with DOI, remove language permitting fines, allow flexible standards for resilient roofs, require the enterprise to publish the DOI study and, crucially, require an annual insurer filing to report the number of policies, number of hardened roofs, discounts applied and claims frequency and severity for homes with and without hardened roofs. Sponsors said that annual insurer reporting is the accountability mechanism that will measure whether mitigation savings are being passed to consumers.

The Division of Insurance (Commissioner Michael Conway) testified in strong support and said the enterprise is focused on the largest single premium driver in Colorado — hail — and that subsidized resilient roofs can reduce claim frequency and severity, stabilizing markets. Industry trade groups (APCIA, RMEA) supported the amended bill, as did counties, United Policyholders, Public Citizen and other advocacy organizations. Several county commissioners testified that mitigation grants would complement local efforts and that the wildfire study is essential to address insurance availability in high‑risk communities.

After amendment adoption and concluding remarks, the committee moved SB 155 to Appropriations by a 6–3 vote.

What happens next: Appropriations will review the proposed fee structure, enterprise administration and any necessary appropriations; the DOI will also develop rules to implement insurer reporting if the bill proceeds.