On the Colorado Property & Casualty exam, the Personal Automobile Policy appears both as a standard ISO-style contract and as a set of Colorado auto statutes you must apply. This standalone guide reviews the policy's coverage parts, then drills into the Colorado overlay: the 25/50/15 financial-responsibility minimums, the at-fault (tort) system Colorado returned to after repealing no-fault, modified comparative negligence, uninsured- and underinsured-motorist rules, and cancellation/nonrenewal notice. The Colorado-specific material is where most state credit is earned.

Policy structure (the national base)

The Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is a packaged contract organized into lettered parts:

• Part A — Liability: pays bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) the insured is legally liable for; the insurer provides a defense, and certain supplementary payments (defense costs, bail bonds, court costs) are paid in addition to the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays reasonable medical and funeral costs for the insured and occupants regardless of fault.
• Part C — Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists: pays the insured's injuries when the at-fault party is uninsured or underinsured.
• Part D — Coverage for Damage to Your Auto: Collision and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive), each with a deductible, settled at the lesser of Actual Cash Value (ACV) or cost to repair.
• Part E — Duties After an Accident or Loss and Part F — General Provisions.

Limits may be written as split limits (e.g., 25/50/15) or as a Combined Single Limit (CSL)—one total amount for BI and PD per accident. Insureds include the named insured, resident family members, and permissive users. Your covered auto includes vehicles on the declarations, certain newly acquired autos, owned trailers, and temporary substitute vehicles. That framework is national; Colorado governs the limits and the liability environment around it.

Colorado uses a tort (at-fault) liability system

Colorado is an at-fault / tort state. It is important for the exam to know that Colorado repealed its no-fault auto law (the change is commonly dated to 2003—verify), so the state no longer mandates PIP. Under the tort system, the driver who causes a crash is financially responsible, and the injured party collects from that driver's liability coverage or by filing suit. This is why liability coverage and financial responsibility dominate Colorado auto law.

Colorado applies modified comparative negligence. The rule to remember: a claimant who is 50% or more at fault is generally barred from recovering. If the claimant is less than 50% at fault, they may recover, but the award is reduced by their own percentage of fault. (Treat the exact threshold as one to verify; contrast it with pure comparative states, where even a heavily at-fault claimant recovers a sliver.)

Financial responsibility: 25/50/15

Every Colorado driver must show financial responsibility, usually by carrying liability insurance at or above the minimum split limits, commonly cited as:

• $25,000 bodily injury per person
• $50,000 bodily injury per accident
• $15,000 property damage per accident

Shorthand: "25/50/15." These are statutory floors; producers routinely recommend higher limits. A driver who must prove financial responsibility after certain violations may be required to file an SR-22, a certificate filed with the state showing the required liability coverage is in force. Drivers unable to obtain coverage in the standard market may use the Colorado automobile insurance plan (assigned-risk plan) as a market of last resort.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist rules

This is a heavily tested area:

• Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage pays the insured's damages when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance (and typically responds to hit-and-run drivers).
• Underinsured Motorist (UIM) pays the gap when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover the insured's injuries.
• The other driver must generally be legally at fault for UM/UIM to respond. In Colorado these coverages must generally be offered, and an insured who wants to reject or reduce them typically must do so as the law and policy provide—verify the current offer/rejection rules.

Memorize the headline: UM answers "no insurance," UIM answers "not enough insurance."

Optional and physical-damage coverages

• Medical Payments (Med Pay) is a first-party coverage paying medical/funeral costs regardless of fault. Because Colorado is now at-fault, Med Pay is not the old no-fault PIP—verify how Med Pay must be offered.
• Collision and Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) are optional but typically required by a lender. Hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision; racing/speed-contest losses are excluded; the deductible is subtracted from the loss before payment.
• The out-of-state provision raises coverage to meet a visited state's higher compulsory limits, and the policy territory is generally the U.S., its territories, and Canada.

Cancellation and nonrenewal

Colorado regulates how an insurer may end a personal auto policy. An insurer that intends to cancel or nonrenew generally must give the insured advance written notice as required by law so they can find replacement coverage. The exact notice periods are best treated as figures to verify; expect a shorter window for nonpayment of premium and a longer window for other cancellations and for nonrenewal. When the insurer cancels mid-term, unearned premium is typically refunded on a pro rata basis.

Required vs. optional coverages

Key Colorado numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Colorado is at-fault (tort), not no-fault. It repealed no-fault, so there is no mandatory PIP.
• 25/50/15—the $15k is property damage; don't slide it into a BI slot, and don't reuse Illinois's $20k figure.
• Modified comparative negligence: ~50% or more at fault = barred (verify the exact threshold and watch the wording).
• UM vs. UIM: UM = the other driver has no insurance; UIM = the other driver has too little.
• SR-22 is a certificate, not a policy or an endorsement—it proves coverage exists.
• Hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision (national rule still applies).
• Supplementary/defense costs are paid on top of the liability limit (national rule that still applies in Colorado).

Quick recap

• The PAP's Parts A–F structure is national; Colorado sets the limits and legal framework.
• Colorado repealed no-fault and is a tort/at-fault state using modified comparative negligence—a claimant about 50% or more at fault generally recovers nothing (verify).
• Minimum liability is commonly cited as 25/50/15, with an SR-22 used to prove responsibility and the Colorado automobile insurance plan as the residual market.
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverages address "no insurance" and "not enough insurance," and are generally offered (verify rejection rules).
• Colorado has no mandatory PIP; Med Pay and physical damage round out the policy.
• Cancellation and nonrenewal require advance written notice—verify the exact timelines.