Public Adjusters in Colorado
What a public adjuster costs, how licensing works, and who is verified to work in Colorado.
TL;DRColorado does not cap a public adjuster’s percentage fee for an ordinary claim. Once the governor or the president declares a catastrophic disaster, that fee is capped at 10% of the settlement. In every claim, cap or no cap, a Colorado public adjuster is legally barred from collecting any fee, retainer, or deposit before the claim actually settles. That combination matters most after the state’s frequent hail outbreaks and wildfire events, when the pressure to sign something fast is highest.
Colorado sits inside "Hail Alley," the stretch of the northeastern plains where Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming meet and where hail frequency is among the highest in North America. The Front Range corridor running through Boulder, Denver, and Aurora absorbs the brunt of it, and roofs, siding, and vehicles along that corridor take a beating most years, particularly between mid-May and late June, when the bulk of significant hail activity in the state occurs. That exposure is why Colorado homeowners file property claims at a volume most states never see, and why the state legislature built specific guardrails around the people paid to fight those claims on a homeowner's behalf.
Colorado is also wildland-urban interface territory. Front Range and foothills communities sit hard against grass and timber that burns, and a fire year can turn a normal claims season into a catastrophe-level event overnight. When damage from a hailstorm, wildfire, or any other disaster is severe and widespread enough that the governor, the president, or both formally declare it a "catastrophic disaster," Colorado law changes the economics of hiring a public adjuster. Under that declaration, a public adjuster cannot charge, agree to, or accept more than 10 percent of the insurance settlement or proceeds as compensation, full stop. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(4) states it in blunt terms: no adjuster may take a payment, commission, fee, or other thing of value in excess of ten percent of any insurance settlement or proceeds once that declaration is in effect.
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More licensed firms in Colorado
Showing 17 of 17 firms in Colorado. Free listings, ordered alphabetically. They never receive routed leads.
Bellator Claims Resolution, LLC & Commercial Claims Assistance4.9 (39)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDFort Collins · Property insurance claims
Capital Claims Public Adjusters Colorado5.0 (2)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claims
Claims Pro Public Adjusters4.7 (23)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claims
Colorado Public Adjusters - Commercial & Residential Insurance ClaimsCO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claims
Compass Adjusting5.0 (4)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDColorado Springs · Property insurance claims
Gavnat Public Insurance AdjustersCO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDAurora · Property insurance claims
Leo Henderson Catastrophic Public Insurance AdjusterCO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claims
Nick Busnardo Public AdjusterCO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claims
Prime Adjustments Public Adjusters4.8 (21)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claims
Public Insurance Adjusters of Colorado4.3 (12)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claims
Supreme Claim Adjusters Inc5.0 (5)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDAurora · Property insurance claims
TCC Public Adjusting4.9 (36)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDDenver · Property insurance claimsThe Claims Group, LLC5.0 (7)CO · SELF-REPORTED · NOT YET VERIFIEDNorthglenn · Property insurance claimsTremaine Enterprises, Inc.5.0 (2)LA · VERIFIED SEP 2026Evergreen · Property insurance claimsOutside a declared catastrophe, Colorado does not set a statutory percentage ceiling on what a public adjuster can charge. Fees are negotiated between the adjuster and the homeowner, which means the contract itself is where a homeowner's real protection lives. Reading the contract before signing is not optional.
What is not negotiable, in a catastrophe or not, is the timing of payment. Colorado law flatly prohibits a public adjuster from requiring, demanding, or accepting any fee, retainer, compensation, deposit, or other thing of value before the claim settles. That rule exists because the moment right after a disaster, with a family standing in a hail-battered living room or watching a wildfire evacuation zone on the news, is exactly when a bad actor wants a signature and a deposit check. Colorado closed that door for every public adjuster license in the state, not just the ones working catastrophe claims.
None of this changes the deadline pressure homeowners are under separately. A property owner suing an insurer over a denied or underpaid claim in Colorado generally has three years from when the damage and its cause were known or should have been known, under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-101, and state law specifically bars insurers from shortening that three-year window for homeowners' claims. A public adjuster's fee structure is one piece of the puzzle. The clock on your right to sue is a separate, harder deadline that runs regardless of who you hire.
Public adjuster fees in Colorado
“In the event of a catastrophic disaster, no public adjuster shall charge, agree to, or accept as compensation or reimbursement any payment, commission, fee, or other thing of value in excess of ten percent of any insurance settlement or proceeds.”
Applies to claims arising from a governor-declared catastrophic disaster. Colorado also bars a public adjuster from requiring or accepting any fee, retainer, or deposit before a claim settles, in every circumstance.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(4)·Sources checked August 28, 2026
This is not legal advice. Fee rules change; confirm current rules with Colorado Division of Insurance at 1-800-930-3745.
Licensing in Colorado
Becoming a licensed public adjuster in Colorado starts with the state's insurance producer licensing exam track, which requires a passing score on the public adjuster examination, covering Colorado-specific licensing law, claims handling, policy interpretation, and standards of conduct (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(1)). Every applicant also goes through a background check as part of licensure under the Colorado Division of Insurance's producer licensing process.
Before that license is issued, the applicant must obtain and file a surety bond of at least $20,000, which stays on file with the Division of Insurance as financial protection for the public in case the adjuster mishandles funds or breaches its duties (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(2)(a)(I)). The bond is a continuing requirement, not a one-time filing, and a lapse can put the license at risk.
Once licensed, a Colorado public adjuster's license runs on a two-year cycle, expiring on the last day of the adjuster's birth month, and renewal requires completing 24 hours of continuing education during that period. Consumers can and should verify an adjuster's license status and any disciplinary history directly through the Division of Insurance before signing a contract.
Solicitation rules in Colorado
Colorado law regulates how a public adjuster is allowed to get paid, not just how much. Under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(4), a public adjuster may not require, demand, or accept any fee, retainer, compensation, deposit, or other thing of value prior to settlement of a claim. In practice, that means no signing bonus, no upfront inspection fee, no deposit against future work, and no retainer of any kind before the insurer actually pays out. The adjuster's compensation has to wait until the claim resolves, which aligns the adjuster's financial interest with actually getting the homeowner a settlement rather than just getting a signature.
The same statute layers in the standards-of-conduct authority the Division of Insurance uses to police misrepresentation, conflicts of interest, and improper inducements in how a public adjuster solicits business. A homeowner approached door-to-door after a hailstorm or a wildfire evacuation is protected by that same no-advance-payment rule regardless of how the adjuster found them. If anyone asks for money, a card number, or a signature committing a deposit before your insurer has paid a claim, that is a statutory violation worth reporting to the Division of Insurance.
Filing a complaint in Colorado
Colorado Division of Insurance regulates public adjusters and insurance companies in Colorado. Call 1-800-930-3745 or file a complaint online at https://doi.colorado.gov/for-consumers/file-a-complaint.
Colorado public adjuster FAQ
Is there a cap on what a Colorado public adjuster can charge me?
Not for an ordinary claim. Colorado does not set a statutory percentage ceiling on public adjuster fees outside a declared catastrophe, so the fee is whatever you and the adjuster agree to in the contract. That only changes when the governor or the president formally declares a catastrophic disaster. Once that declaration is in effect, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(4) caps the fee at 10% of the insurance settlement or proceeds, no matter what the contract says.
Can a Colorado public adjuster ask me for money before my claim settles?
No, never, and this rule has nothing to do with whether a catastrophe has been declared. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(4) bars a public adjuster from requiring, demanding, or accepting any fee, retainer, deposit, or other thing of value before the claim actually settles. If someone asks for a deposit, a signing fee, or payment upfront, they are violating state law, and you should report it to the Colorado Division of Insurance.
How soon do I need to act on a hail or wildfire claim in Colorado?
File the claim with your insurer as soon as damage is discovered, since most policies have their own notice deadlines separate from state law. If you end up needing to sue your insurer over a denied or underpaid claim, Colorado generally gives you three years from when the damage and its cause were known or reasonably should have been known, under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-101.
How do I check if a public adjuster is actually licensed in Colorado?
Every public adjuster operating in Colorado must hold a license from the Colorado Division of Insurance under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-2-417(1)(a), which requires passing the state exam, filing a $20,000 surety bond, and clearing a background check. You can verify license status, license number, and any disciplinary actions directly through the Division of Insurance before signing anything.
When does it actually make sense to hire a public adjuster in Colorado?
A public adjuster is worth considering when the damage is significant, the claim is complex, or your insurer’s estimate feels low relative to the actual scope of repair, which is common after Front Range hailstorms or wildfire-adjacent losses. Because Colorado bans any upfront payment to the adjuster, you have nothing to lose financially by getting a second opinion before accepting your insurer’s number.