A few days after the most devastating wildfire in Colorado’s history, Colorado Insurance Director Michael Conway summoned a virtual city hall for hundreds of victims who lost their homes in Boulder County.
The Marshall fire burned more than 6,000 acres between Lewisville and Superior on December 30, destroying nearly 1,100 homes and businesses in Boulder County and damaging many others. One died.
Conway wanted to guide residents through a long and complex claim process and reassure them that the state would do everything it could to negotiate with an insurance company.
He did not give them false hopes about the tough process in front of them.
“You are working on an incredible tragedy,” Conway said in a video conference attended by more than 800 people. You lost your home, but in your home you lost everything. … You will be incredibly difficult to get it back. “
On the wall of Conway’s office, I could clearly see a picture of a lion drawn by a child.
Within three and a half months of the fire, Conway attended at least 12 hearings, city council meetings, or panel discussions, providing complex insurance information and explaining what the victim was experiencing. bottom. Many face the problem of under-insurance and are repaid for much less than the value of the home. Most of them are worth over $ 1 million.
Conway, who has been a commissioner since 2018, answered some questions from the Denver Gazette on Monday.
The answers below have been edited for length.
Q: Why is it important to personally attend all meetings held since the Marshall Fire?
A: A: There are several different reasons, but at the top of the list, it’s important for people to know that government officials are there and they care. That they are working to find a solution to the problem they are facing. That’s the idea we took for the specific questions we asked insurance companies to help people recover from the fire. That was our main driving force. To understand how we thought we could ask the insurance company to work with the insured to make insurance recovery a little easier.
Q: I would like to ask about the picture of a lion on your wall and its importance. You mentioned it at the first meeting with the victims of the fire.
A: A: A few days after the fire, we were preparing for the city hall. … I really made the lion a joke. Above all, it’s a kind of conversation. So many of these zoom conferences had an elaborate background and I just had this lion behind me. It is clearly depicted by a child. So when I entered the city hall, I pondered the fact that something was sitting behind me on the wall. It will remind people quite a bit of what they lost. I had a hard time leaving it there. But basically, I landed on the spot where I thought I should stop. I wanted to leave it as our constant memory. Every day the insurance sector has more to do for the people of Lewisville and Superior and the unincorporated Boulder County, and the people of the eastern nasty fire (the second largest wildfire in Colorado history). Reminds me. In 2020, the suburban Grand Lake community was destroyed, 193,182 acres were swallowed in three days, and 370 homes and 188 annexes were destroyed. And just as important, for future fire victims. There is still a lot of work to be done.
Q: What is the latest information about Marshall Fire insurance investigations? I think the insurance companies involved have asked for a lot of information.
A: A: The data received from the insurance company is still being analyzed. We have some about what the average homeowner had there, at least initially, and specifically about the lack of insurance when the cost of reconstruction is $ 200 or $ 300 per square foot. We are working to build baseline data. For long-term solutions, discuss future solutions. We are scrutinizing the underlying data to see if there is any help to homeowners affected by the Marshall fire. , that too. Finding a (long-term) solution will be difficult. Completely frankly, it may lack the full ability to perfect a homeowner.
Q: Why didn’t the insurance department address this issue after a major wildfire in California and a nasty eastern fire? At that time, I saw the exact same problem of insurance shortage.
A: A: We have been discussing the issue with (legislative) representatives. House Bill 22-11 (Insurance coverage for losses due to fire accident declaration. “Insurance coverage for insurance damages resulting from a fire accident declaration … This bill is for homeowners insurance contracts issued or renewed in Colorado. It sets out new indemnity requirements. This requirement applies. If a home is lost as a result of a fire disaster being declared. The bill also has new requirements for insurers issuing or renewing homeowners insurance policies. This requirement relates to the processing of insurers’ claims after such losses have occurred. “) This has been heard about most outbreaks from Marshall fires related to inventory issues. It was actually designed to deal with that, and the timing of the rebuild. … These complement the problem of insurance shortages in the western United States. We are trying to find the right solution and provide homeowners with as much information as possible to make informed decisions. I couldn’t find any magical solution there … I’m also looking at potential availability issues (for example, certain insurance companies that don’t provide insurance in certain states that are prone to wildfires and hurricanes). ) Colorado didn’t have it so far, but I’m afraid it might come, and it would obviously exacerbate the problem of lack of insurance.
Q: What is the status of HB22-11?
A: A: I was just witnessing it at the Capitol. It came out of the Senate Committee with a unanimous vote in favor. We are in the process. Insurance companies aren’t fighting it, and obviously supporters and owners line up very strongly behind it, and we support it too.
Q: Will the price increase?
A: A: Congressmen have expressed concern about it … There are two reasons I don’t think it will happen. It’s very narrow. This applies only to wildfires, and to make it even narrower, only to wildfires declared disaster by the governor. Also, it applies only to total losses. … It’s a very small subset of the homeowners out there, I basically don’t see it increase rates.
Q: Moving on to other insurance issues, why is there no short-term health insurance in Colorado?
A: A: That is the question you need to ask the insurance company. We would appreciate it if you could make a short-term plan that complies with the law. The short-term carriers there do not offer compensation here simply because they do not want to comply with Colorado’s statutory requirements.
Q: Last week, the department fined Bright Health at least $ 500,000 and resolved more than 100 complaints that customers weren’t paying for the care they received. Bright Health had a major layoff last year as well, as clients have heard from agents included in the collection for this issue. Was it fine? Has the cease and desist order been considered?
A: A: This was essentially a cease and desist order review analysis. To do so, Bright Health had to stop working as an insurance company in Colorado altogether. That would have been very detrimental to those who are currently insured for Bright Health. I pay through their deductions and think about all the people their doctors line up through Bright Health. It will have an incredibly harmful effect on those people. … I was really responsible for the mistakes they made, but then they introduced an incentive (a fairly large incentive) to undo everything and make sure there was a solution. (To avoid Bright Health paying the other half of the $ 1 million fine, Bright will process and pay all old claims from Peak providers by April 7th and by April 22nd. Pay 95% of the correct bill to the rest of the year.)
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