WITH THE RECENT CLOSING OF THE 2023 Colorado Legislative Session on May 6, 2023, we will look back at this year’s session as one of the more active years that PIIAC has had in recent memory. We saw a bill this year on underinsurance (HB-1174); a bill to create a FAIR plan here in Colorado (HB-1288); and a bill on increasing caps on workers’ compensation was also discussed, but ultimately not introduced.
We talk with our members all over the state who are having trouble finding placement for a lot of different property risks. Colorado will be creating a FAIR Plan to help the marketplace with another option to protect consumers in harder-to-place areas of the state. The exact structure and operation of the plan are still to be determined. A board appointed by the Governor will create the plan. We are pleased to say that agents will be involved in the sale of this product. It was a key item from day one that PIIAC advocated for to be sure our members would have all the tools possible to meet the needs of their clients.
We do not think the FAIR plan will fix every issue; we are hopeful it will be a step in the right direction. During this session we had a property task force that met numerous times to try and identify all the different things that we should be thinking about as the bill moved through the process. We had great engagement from agents all over the state. We learned from one another, and we had some great discussions that really helped us in our efforts during the bill process.
We also recently attended the annual Big I Legislative Conference in Washington DC. We had the largest group we have had in years. We learned about some of the key issues and then spent a day on Capitol Hill meeting with our elected officials and their staff. We discussed some key issues such as crop insurance, flood insurance, small business tax issues, and for the first time we had some great discussions around wildfire issues. Currently, wildfire is a state issue, however our elected officials in DC are aware of the issue and it is of interest to them.
While in DC myself and two other agents were invited to speak to our Future One committee on the wildfire issue. We had the ability to talk to carriers and find that common ground that we as an industry need to work on and how we as agents, in collaboration with carriers, can become better equipped to meet the needs of our customers.
I know the legislative process isn’t for everyone. That said, the need to be engaged in the process is vital to being sure we have an environment where we can do what we are great at…protecting our insureds. Our government affairs meetings are all virtual, first thing in the morning during the session, and open to all. I would encourage you to dial in, get involved and help us out. We are just starting the journey on a lot of the issues that lie ahead. If you would like to be included in our government affairs distribution list and receive updates via email, email info@piiac.com.
We are just starting the journey on a lot of the issues that lie ahead.
View the Summer 2023 issue of COIN here.
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