IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
You reported the loss, sent what they asked for, and then heard nothing, or heard no. Colorado holds insurers to a standard of reasonable conduct toward their policyholders. Call (303) 209-9395 and let’s look at what your insurer has done with your claim.
No fee unless we winMontrose, Montrose County
CGH Injury Lawyers represents Montrose 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 Montrose bad faith insurance lawyer can compare what your insurer did with what your policy and Colorado law require of it.
CGH Injury Lawyers handles Montrose bad faith matters from our Denver office. You can call (303) 209-9395 today, or fill in the form on our contact page with a few lines about the claim.
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.
Your pickup is stolen from outside the house, and the insurer keeps reopening questions it already asked. A long-term disability carrier stops payments after a file review, without a new exam or new records. A health plan refuses a procedure and quotes a policy exclusion that, read closely, doesn’t cover your situation.
Under the statute, the issue in each case is whether the company had a reasonable basis for its actions. Our job is to read the claim file, set it against the policy, and give you a straight answer.
If the wait has worn you down, a clear view of where the claim stands can help you decide what to do next.
The two claims come from different places and require different proof. Colorado’s jury instructions describe the statutory one as “in addition to and separate from” the common-law claim. Our Colorado bad faith insurance lawyer page goes further into how each claim works.
| Feature | Statutory claim | Common-law claim |
|---|---|---|
| Found in | 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116 | Travelers Insurance Co. v. Savio, a 1985 Colorado Supreme Court opinion |
| Core proof | No reasonable basis for the delay or denial | Unreasonable conduct plus knowledge of it, or reckless disregard |
| Relative difficulty | Only unreasonable conduct is required. | The knowledge element makes it harder |
| Recovery | Twice the covered benefit, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs | Damages caused by the insurer’s conduct |
A person in the business of insurance is barred from unreasonably delaying or denying payment of a claim for benefits owed to a first-party claimant (10-3-1115(1)(a)). Conduct is unreasonable if it happens without a reasonable basis (10-3-1115(2)).
Only claimants seeking benefits under their policy are covered. Claims against an insured under a liability policy are carved out, so the statute generally won’t reach a claim against another driver’s carrier. Our Montrose car accident lawyer page covers the claim against a driver who caused a crash.
To prove the common-law claim, you have to show the insurer’s conduct was unreasonable and also that the insurer knew it or acted with reckless disregard for whether it was. That added proof of knowledge is the difference between the two claims.
Montrose County’s courts are located in Montrose. The right place to file a suit against your insurer depends on your case, for instance, your county of residence and where the insurer operates.
The Justice Center
The Montrose County Justice Center, 1200 North Grand Avenue, Montrose, CO 81401, houses the Montrose Combined (District and County) Courts. Montrose County is part of the 7th Judicial District, together with Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Ouray and San Miguel counties, and the Judicial Branch also lists the Nucla Montrose Associate Court at 300 Main Street in Nucla.
The hospital
If an injury is part of your claim, the hospital’s records can help show what treatment was needed and what it cost. Montrose Regional Health, at 800 S. 3rd Street in Montrose, is a Level III facility on the Colorado health department’s trauma facility list.
Starting points. Montrose bad faith disputes can begin with:
We prepare each case as if it will be tried, and Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
We go through your policy, the correspondence, and the timeline of the claim.
Our office is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver.
CGH Injury Lawyers, formerly Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, was founded in Denver in 2016.
(303) 835-9177 connects you with us in Spanish.
The policy, the letters and emails, and the claim’s timeline tell us what really happened.
We decide whether the facts support the common-law claim, a claim under 10-3-1116, or both.
The insurer receives a formal demand.
We pull together claims-file materials and documentation, adding outside expert input where it adds value.
We file where the case belongs, and for a Montrose policyholder, that may be the district court for Montrose County, at the Montrose County Justice Center, depending on the facts.
That covers the underlying benefit, statutory damages, and attorney fees where applicable.
How much a claim is worth depends on the coverage, the losses, and the insurer’s conduct. We’ll talk figures after the file review. What we can do early is identify which losses are documented and which still need proof.
A first-party claimant whose benefits were unreasonably delayed or denied can sue in district court to recover twice the covered benefit, plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs. The jury instruction notes say an unreasonably delayed benefit paid before judgment can’t be used to reduce the two-times award.
The jury may consider:
Punitive damages. These are possible in some cases, but the instructions note that proof of bad faith doesn’t alone establish a punitive damages claim.
Insurers may challenge fairly debatable claims, even if a denial later proves to be mistaken. The instructions say that’s a factor weighing against bad faith, not one that is outcome-determinative without more. If the insurer lacked a reasonable basis, the claim isn’t fairly debatable.
A court looks at the insurer’s decision in light of what it knew at the moment of the decision. The jury instructions cite Schultz v. GEICO Casualty Co. for that.
Once the insurer has what it asked for, we document any verification period that stretches on without explanation, date by date.
On a stolen vehicle claim, an insurer may closely examine the circumstances before paying. The statute asks whether that scrutiny had a reasonable basis, and a missing basis can support a bad faith claim.
Where an insurer claims you held things up, look to your own record of calls, uploads and letters. That record shows what you sent and when, so keep adding to it while the claim is open.
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The jury instructions classify common-law bad faith as a tort, subject to the two-year period in 13-80-102. That period starts when both the injury and its cause are known or should have been known through reasonable diligence.
On the statutory side, the Colorado Supreme Court held in Rooftop Restoration, Inc. v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co. that the one-year limit for penalties in 13-80-103(1)(d) does not apply to claims under 10-3-1116(1). Confirm your deadline with a lawyer rather than guessing.
For underinsured motorist benefits, a bad faith claim for nonpayment can’t accrue until you’ve obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver. Our Montrose uninsured motorist lawyer page covers how those benefits work.
If you aren’t sure when the insurer first denied your claim, the date on its letter or email is a good starting point. A lawyer can then work out your deadline from the full set of dates, because the starting point can be a genuine question.
It can be. A delay supports a bad faith insurance claim in Colorado under the statute when the insurer had no reasonable basis for it (10-3-1115).
Generally not under the statute. It excludes anyone asserting a claim against an insured under a liability policy. Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is a different matter, because that policy is yours.
The statute covers first-party claims for disability benefits. It also voids any provision in a health or disability policy issued in Colorado reserving discretion to the insurer to interpret terms or determine eligibility (10-3-1116(2)). After exhausting administrative remedies, a disability claimant denied under a policy issued in Colorado is entitled to de novo review and a jury trial (10-3-1116(3)).
Partial payment doesn’t end the analysis. Under the statute, the question is still whether the insurer had a reasonable basis for what it held back, and we compare the payment with your policy and your documented loss.
It can. The jury instruction notes say an unreasonably delayed benefit paid before judgment can’t be used to reduce the statutory two-times award, so the timeline still counts.
Bring the policy or its declarations page, every letter and email from the insurer, and your notes of calls and dates. Photos, estimates, police or theft reports, and medical records help too, depending on the claim.
That depends on the facts, such as where the insurer does business and where you live. For a Montrose policyholder, one option is the district court for Montrose County, at the Montrose County Justice Center.
No. We work from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, and serve Montrose clients from there. Call (303) 209-9395.
It's More Than Money.
If your claim has gone quiet or come back denied, a bad-faith insurance attorney can sort through it with you. Call (303) 209-9395 or write to us through the contact page.
For other injuries, see what our Montrose personal injury lawyers handle.
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.
