Clear, sourced information about what happens after a Colorado crash
Three numbers decide most Colorado claims, and two useful coverages are already on your policy unless you turned them down.
The short answer
Every Colorado driver must carry at least $25,000 of bodily injury liability cover per person, $50,000 per crash, and $15,000 for property damage. Colorado Division of Insurance, auto insurance requirements verified 2026-09-11They are the floor, not a typical policy. A serious injury passes $25,000 quickly, and when it does, the at-fault driver’s cover simply stops.
| Cover | Minimum | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury, per person | $25,000 | One injured person’s losses |
| Bodily injury, per crash | $50,000 | Everyone injured in one crash, together |
| Property damage | $15,000 | The other vehicle and property |
Uninsured and underinsured motorist cover is added to every Colorado policy automatically, matched to your liability limits, unless you reject it in writing. C.R.S. § 10-4-609 verified 2026-09-11
This is the one that matters when the other driver has nothing, or has the minimum and your injuries do not. It sits on your policy and is claimed from your own insurer.
Medical payments cover of $5,000 is included in a Colorado policy unless you turn it down, and it pays your early treatment regardless of who caused the crash. C.R.S. § 10-4-635 verified 2026-09-11
Medical payments cover pays early treatment without waiting for anyone to be blamed, which is often the difference between getting seen and putting it off.
Ask your insurer for the declarations page. It lists your limits, your uninsured motorist cover and your medical payments cover on one sheet. People are routinely wrong about what they carry.
Every statement on this page traces to one of the sources below. Where the text was read somewhere other than the body that issued it, that is noted.
The questions that decide whether there is a claim worth making at all.
Often not. Uninsured and underinsured motorist cover is added to every Colorado policy automatically, matched to your liability limits, unless you rejected it in writing — C.R.S. § 10-4-609. If you never signed a rejection, it is probably on your policy, and it may be the claim.
Medical payments cover of $5,000 is included in a Colorado policy unless you turned it down, and it pays early treatment regardless of who caused the crash — C.R.S. § 10-4-635. It is meant for exactly this gap.
The liability cover simply stops at the limit — $25,000 per person is the floor, not a typical policy, and a serious injury passes it quickly. What is left is your own underinsured motorist cover, any other policy that applies, and in some cases the driver personally.
No. Colorado settles crash claims on fault, so the driver responsible pays through their insurer rather than each person turning first to their own policy. Your own cover matters when theirs is missing or too small.
A few questions about what happened, and you get the guidance that matches it. Free, no obligation, and you can stop at any point.