Garbo: Colorado Democrats set the house on fire, then send you the insurance bill

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

If you’re a Colorado homeowner staring down another massive insurance premium hike – welcome to the consequences of single-party rule. For over a decade, Democrats have run this state. For the last four years, they’ve enjoyed unchecked supermajorities. And yet, while your coverage hasn’t improved, your bill has exploded.

In just two years, my own homeowners insurance jumped 190%:

– 2023–24: $3,029

– 2024–25: $5,230 (+72.66%)

– 2025–26: $8,768 (+67.65%)

I’ve filed zero claims. My house hasn’t changed. But the policies passed under Democratic control have made everything worse. This is what happens when public policy is written by unskilled, untalented, uninformed people who face no meaningful opposition or accountability.

The Blueprint for Failure

Here’s a sample of what Democrats in the Colorado legislature have passed or proposed, and how it’s driven up costs:

1. FAIR Plan (HB 23‑1174)

• Created a state-run insurer of last resort for wildfire-risk areas.
• Funded by a $51 million surcharge on private insurers. Guess who paid – yes, policyholders.
• Market access improved. Costs increased. That’s Colorado Democrats at work.

2. Insurance Study (also HB 23‑1174)

• Commissioned a study on underinsurance and rising rates.
• Lesson revealed: wildfires and hail cost a lot. Shock.
• No solutions. Just another report that spooked insurers into raising premiums preemptively.

3. HB 25‑1182 – Wildfire Risk Transparency

• Democrats passed this one. It requires insurers to disclose wildfire risk scores, scoring models, rate impacts, and mitigation discounts to both the Insurance Commissioner and policyholders.
• Insurers must account for individual mitigation efforts like defensible space or fire-resistant materials, and offer discounts if they don’t.
• Insurers must post this information publicly and provide appeals processes.

The result?

More regulatory burden. More uncertainty. Less competition. In short, more reasons for insurers to hike rates. That spike you’re paying? It reflects insurers hedging against mandates they don’t trust.

4. HB 25‑1302 – The Failed Fix

• Democrats pitched a 1% policy surcharge to fund a reinsurance and hail-mitigation program.
• Rejected – even by Democrats themselves.
• Result: no market stabilizer, no rate relief, just continued unchecked hikes.

Climate Isn’t the Culprit – Policy Is

Yes, Colorado has hail. Yes, wildfires are real. But those things haven’t suddenly changed in two years. What has changed is the structure of the insurance market – warped by overregulation, cost shifting, and legislative flailing.

Insurers are raising premiums preemptively because:

• New disclosure obligations.
• Higher reinsurance costs.
• Greater compliance risk.
• No options to absorb risk via state-backed mitigators.
• Democrats have no idea how insurance markets work.
• The legislature keeps signaling it’ll mandate disclosures, fees, and new compliance burdens.
• Reinsurance markets are more expensive, and Colorado policymakers have done nothing to offset them.

If You Voted for This – You Built This

The worst part? This is democracy working exactly as designed. You get the government you deserve.

If you voted Democrat because you liked their climate rhetoric, or their “affordability” messaging, or their nice smiles during campaign season, this spike in your insurance premium is your doing.

You elected the people who turned Colorado into a regulatory chokehold for insurers. You trusted them to “solve” problems they clearly don’t understand. Now you’re paying for their mistakes – literally.

Final Word

Elections have consequences. In Colorado, those consequences are unaffordable insurance premiums, a shrinking number of coverage providers, and policy-by-press-release governance from legislators who can’t distinguish economic reality from campaign slogans.

If you’re struggling year after year and you continue to vote for the same people, don’t look for sympathy. You’re not a victim, you’re the architect.

Time to stop lighting matches and blaming the fire.

C. J. Garbo is an executive for a global technology solutions company. He is a former law enforcement officer with 15 years of service and currently serves as a Douglas County Planning Commissioner. Garbo has worked as a political strategist and campaign manager for candidates at the local, state, and federal levels, including multiple high-profile campaigns in Colorado. He holds deep expertise in risk management, regulatory policy, and public sector accountability. Garbo is a homeowner in Castle Rock and a consistent critic of poorly informed legislation that burdens working families under the guise of public service.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.