Colorado wildfires are making it harder for homeowners and businesses to buy property insurance, and now the General Assembly is poised to create a public insurance plan to serve as a last resort for those who can’t find policies on the open market.

A bill introduced Thursday would create an insurance-of-last-resort plan — what’s being called a “fair plan” — that would protect Colorado property owners from losses due to wildfires, floods, hail, theft, vandalism and civil disturbances when no other options exist.

The bill is necessary because destructive wildfires, floods and hailstorms are increasing amid global climate change and the risks that come with those disasters are making property insurance companies skittish about doing business in Colorado, according to the state’s insurance commissioner and the bill’s sponsors.

In the 15 months since the Marshall fire caused $2 billion in damages in Boulder County, the Colorado Division of Insurance has heard from people who say their insurers were dropping them and their options for finding new policies were extremely limited and very expensive, Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway said.

So far, state officials are not aware of a homeowner being denied insurance coverage.

Read the full story at The Denver Post.