IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Water in the basement, a driver with too little coverage, and a disability benefit that ended without warning. If your insurance company is holding back money the policy owes, dial (303) 209-9395 and walk us through the claim.
No fee unless we winHighlands Ranch, Douglas County
CGH Injury Lawyers represents Highlands Ranch residents against insurers that deny, delay, or underpay claims without a reasonable basis. Your first conversation with us is free, and we do not get paid unless we win.
A pipe burst while you were away, the basement flooded, and weeks later your insurer is still debating whether the loss is covered. A Highlands Ranch bad faith insurance lawyer can check whether that delay has a reasonable basis or whether Colorado law gives you a claim against the company.
For Highlands Ranch families, CGH Injury Lawyers handles these cases from Denver, where the firm started in 2016 as Cheney Galluzzi & Howard. Ring (303) 209-9395 or use the contact page to get started.
This page provides content for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always consult a licensed attorney for advice specific to your situation.
A homeowner’s claim can drift for months with no clear answer. The insurer sends an adjuster, then a second one, and then asks for plumbing invoices from years back. Each new request pushes the repair further out while the damage sits there.
Auto and benefit claims can stall too. You might be waiting on your own underinsured motorist coverage after a crash, or trying to find out why a disability insurer ended payments your doctor says you still need.
Under the statute, each situation turns on whether the insurer had a reasonable basis for what it did. We read the file, the estimates, and the letters to find out, and we explain what we see in plain terms.
Colorado recognizes a statutory claim and a common-law claim, and they aren’t mutually exclusive. In the words of the pattern jury instructions, the statutory claim is “separate from” its common-law counterpart, so bringing one doesn’t rule out the other.
| Issue | Statute | Common law |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Colorado’s insurance code, sections 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116 | Travelers v. Savio, a 1985 Colorado Supreme Court case |
| The test | No reasonable basis for delaying or denying a covered benefit | Unreasonable conduct, with knowledge of it or reckless disregard for it |
| Proof required | Unreasonable conduct only | Unreasonable conduct plus the knowledge element |
| Remedy | A suit for two times the covered benefit, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs | Actual damages the conduct caused |
Colorado’s statute forbids an insurer to unreasonably hold up or turn down benefits it owes a first-party claimant (C.R.S. 10-3-1115(1)(a)). The insurer’s action is unreasonable when it has no reasonable basis for it.
The first-party claimant is the person claiming benefits under the policy. A claimant going after someone else’s liability coverage isn’t included, which generally keeps claims against the other driver’s insurer outside the statute.
Among its limits, subsections (5) and (6) keep the statute from reaching workers’ compensation, title insurance, or life insurance issued under Article 7 of Title 10.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s Savio decision requires unreasonable conduct and, beyond that, knowledge that the conduct was unreasonable or reckless disregard of it. That extra element is what makes this claim the harder one to prove.
Highlands Ranch isn’t a city. Douglas County describes the Highlands Ranch Metro District as the local government serving the unincorporated community of Highlands Ranch, in northern Douglas County.
The courthouse
Douglas County belongs to the 23rd Judicial District, which the Colorado Judicial Branch says was established on January 14, 2025. Its court location is the Douglas County Courthouse, 4000 Justice Way, Ste. 2009, Castle Rock, CO 80109.
Where a case goes
A lawsuit’s venue depends on the facts, such as where the insurer does business and where you live. We confirm that before anything is filed.
Hospital records
UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital, at 1500 Park Central Drive, is listed as Level III on the state’s designated trauma facility list. If a health or auto insurer questions your treatment, those hospital records can help show what care you needed.
Fire records
South Metro Fire Rescue lists Highlands Ranch among the unincorporated communities it serves. Its records request page offers a non-medical open records request, one way to ask for documents about a fire or water call at your home.
Highlands Ranch claims that can become bad faith disputes:
Every case gets prepared as though it will be tried.
Kevin Cheney, our managing partner, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
For help in Spanish, call (303) 835-9177.
We’re at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205.
We go through the policy, the insurer’s correspondence, and the claim timeline.
We determine whether the facts support common-law bad faith, the statutory claim, or both.
A formal written demand goes to the insurer.
We gather claims-file materials and documentation, adding outside expert input where it helps.
The case is filed where it belongs, which may be the district court for Douglas County, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Castle Rock.
We pursue the underlying benefit, statutory damages, and attorney fees where applicable.
Your case’s value depends on the policy, the losses, and the insurer’s handling of the claim, and we look at all three before any numbers come up.
Section 10-3-1116(1) lets a first-party claimant whose claim was unreasonably delayed or denied sue in district court for “two times the covered benefit,” plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs. A note in the jury instructions adds that an unreasonably delayed benefit the insurer paid before judgment doesn’t reduce that two-times amount.
The actual damages instruction lets a jury consider:
Punitive damages. They may be available in some cases, though the instructions say proof of bad faith “does not alone establish” a punitive damages claim.
If your claim is under a health or disability policy issued in Colorado, a clause reserving discretion to the insurer is void (C.R.S. 10-3-1116(2)).
Colorado evaluates an insurer’s decision based on the information it had at the time. The jury instructions cite Schultz v. GEICO Casualty Co., so what the insurer had in hand on the day it acted can matter.
Your insurer can raise a real question about what caused the water damage. An insurer may challenge a “fairly debatable” claim even if the decision to deny coverage “ultimately turns out to be mistaken,” but the jury instructions say that, without more, that factor isn’t outcome-determinative or necessarily sufficient to defeat a bad faith claim as a matter of law, and a claim without a reasonable basis for denial isn’t fairly debatable.
Your insurer can ask for a record it needs, and we can help you track it down. A dated list of each document you sent can help show when a request covers paperwork already provided.
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The jury instructions classify common-law bad faith as a tort. Under C.R.S. 13-80-102, it’s barred unless brought within two years after you knew, or reasonably should have known, of both the injury and its cause.
The statutory claim came before the Colorado Supreme Court in Rooftop Restoration. The justices ruled that C.R.S. 13-80-103(1)(d), a one-year limit on penalty actions, doesn’t govern a 10-3-1116(1) claim.
On an underinsured motorist claim, the bad faith claim for nonpayment can’t accrue until you’ve obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver. Please have a lawyer confirm your deadline.
It can be. A bad faith insurance claim in Colorado under C.R.S. 10-3-1115 requires that your insurer delayed or denied a covered benefit without a reasonable basis. A delay tied to a genuine coverage question is different from one with no reasonable basis, and the claim file can help show which one you’re dealing with.
The timing rules for underinsured motorist bad faith are specific. A bad faith claim for unpaid UIM benefits can’t accrue until you’ve obtained a judgment against the underinsured driver or settled with that driver, so we look at both claims together.
Not for the law that applies. Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, and Colorado’s bad faith statute and common law apply there as they do anywhere in the state.
The right venue turns on facts like your county of residence and the places the insurer operates. For a Highlands Ranch resident, one possible court is the district court for Douglas County, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Castle Rock, part of the 23rd Judicial District.
Not in a health or disability policy issued in Colorado. A clause letting the insurer decide for itself what the policy means or who is eligible is void (C.R.S. 10-3-1116(2)), and after exhausting administrative remedies, you’re entitled to de novo court review and a jury trial (C.R.S. 10-3-1116(3)).
Generally not under the statute. It leaves out anyone claiming against an insured’s liability policy, so a statutory claim is about coverage you hold, like your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
Answer the insurer’s requests in writing when you can, and keep copies of what you send. Photos of the damage, repair invoices, and notes from each phone call give us a timeline to work from.
No. Our office is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, and you can call us at (303) 209-9395.
It's More Than Money.
If your claim is stuck, denied, or underpaid, a bad-faith insurance attorney can review it with you. Call (303) 209-9395 or write to us through our contact page.
Our Colorado bad faith insurance lawyer and Denver bad faith insurance lawyer pages go into more detail. If a crash is part of the story, visit our Highlands Ranch uninsured motorist lawyer and Highlands Ranch car accident lawyer pages, and see Highlands Ranch personal injury lawyers for everything else we handle.
Written by CGH Injury Lawyers.
Last reviewed: September 21, 2026.
Prefer to read first? See how Colorado bad faith law works.
CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, LLC, d/b/a CGH Injury Lawyers. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts, injuries, and available insurance coverage. This site is for general information and is not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
