Colorado writes one liability floor for the work truck. The PUC and the State Patrol decide when your business has outgrown it.

16,001 lb. The Colorado State Patrol applies commercial vehicle safety rules to intrastate vehicles with a GVWR or GCWR of 16,001 pounds or more, and to interstate vehicles from 10,001 pounds (Colorado State Patrol, Small Vehicle Combination Information, read on September 22, 2026).

What Colorado requires on a business vehicle

Colorado doesn't publish a separate liability minimum for business vehicles. The Colorado Division of Insurance states the floor as "$25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage to another." That's the 25/50/15 in C.R.S. 10-4-620 (Division of Insurance, Auto Insurance). The DMV's insurance database page gives the same figures and points to C.R.S. 42-4-1409 for insurance requirements and penalties.

Colorado's vehicle code does name the kind of vehicle this page is about. C.R.S. 42-1-102(17.5) defines a commercial vehicle as one "used to transport cargo or passengers for profit, hire, or otherwise to further the purposes of a business or commercial enterprise." A plumber's van fits that as squarely as a delivery box truck does. The test is what you use it for.

One practical difference shows up at the DMV. The state's Motorist Insurance Identification Database is built around privately registered vehicles. The DMV says "commercial vehicles are exempt from this specific type of tracking by state law," and that commercial vehicle insurance requirements "are tracked by other systems" (DMV, MIIDB). That doesn't relax the requirement. It just means the state usually finds out about a lapse on a work truck later, after a crash or a traffic stop.

Almost no Colorado business ends up buying 25/50/15. General contractors, property managers and cities write higher limits into their contracts, and one injury claim runs past $25,000 in a hurry. Our explainer on split limits versus a combined single limit covers how commercial limits are usually written.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist on a Colorado commercial policy

The Division of Insurance says "uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage will be included in your policy unless you reject it in writing." The Legislative Council's summary of C.R.S. 10-4-609 adds the size of the offer. Insurers must offer UM/UIM at an amount equal to your liability limits, and the coverage may be waived in writing (Legislative Council, Optional Automobile Insurance Coverage).

On a business policy, that rejection gets messier than it does on a personal one. The named insured is the company. Whoever signed for the company made the choice for every driver on the schedule. It's your employees who get hurt by an uninsured driver, and workers' compensation may pick up their injuries. How the two coordinate depends on the policy and the company, so ask before you sign a rejection to shave the premium.

When we pick up a Colorado policy, one of the first things we look for is a UM/UIM rejection form and whose name is on it. A rejection your old partner signed years ago can still be deciding what the policy pays. Our page on uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage explains what the coverage pays.

Medical payments on business vehicles

The Division of Insurance says "medical payments coverage of $5,000 will be included in your policy unless you reject it." It adds that you "may reject the coverage in writing or in the same method in which you applied for the policy." That's the rule in C.R.S. 10-4-635.

As enacted by Senate Bill 08-011, the section's exclusions are vehicle types: motorcycles, snowmobiles, vehicles built for off-road use. Nothing there turns on business use. The enacted text also makes the insurer keep proof of a rejection for at least three years. If it can't produce one, the policy is presumed to include $5,000 of benefits.

On a crew truck, MedPay can pay passengers' medical bills no matter who caused the crash, subject to the policy's terms. Whether it's worth keeping next to workers' comp and health coverage depends on who's riding in your trucks. Our comparison of medical payments and PIP goes further.

Where the Colorado PUC's jurisdiction starts

Look up Colorado commercial vehicle rules and you'll land on the Public Utilities Commission, and it's easy to assume you need a permit from it. Most small businesses don't. The PUC's transportation section lists the operations it regulates: towing carriers, household goods movers, passenger carriers (taxi, shuttle, charter, sightseeing, luxury limousine and similar), transportation network companies, and booting companies (PUC, Transportation). Hauling a mower and a crew to a job isn't on that list.

Once you're on it, the insurance floor jumps. PUC Rule 6008(a), in 4 CCR 723-6, sets these minimum liability amounts:

• Towing carriers, any GVWR: $750,000.
• Movers, 10,000 pounds GVWR or more: $750,000.
• Movers, under 10,000 pounds GVWR: $300,000.
• Passenger carriers: $500,000 for 8 seats or fewer, $1,500,000 for 9 to 15, $3,000,000 for 16 to 32, and $5,000,000 for 33 or more.

The same rule sets cargo requirements. Movers need at least $10,000 per vehicle or sixty cents per pound per article, whichever is greater. Towing carriers need coverage for physical damage to the vehicle on the hook and loss of its contents. Rule 6008 also calls for proof on a Form E certificate filed with the Commission. The PUC's copy of the rules requires 30 days' written notice before cancellation, on a Form K or an approved equivalent.

Here's the common version. A contractor with a flatbed starts moving vehicles for friends, then starts getting paid for it. Towing for compensation needs a PUC permit and a much larger policy, and he finds that out late. If transportation is what you sell, start at trucking insurance in Colorado instead.

Weight thresholds: when State Patrol safety rules reach the truck

The Colorado State Patrol enforces commercial vehicle safety standards under 8 CCR 1507-1, effective April 1, 2025. Its guide for smaller vehicles and combinations sets the lines by weight rating. Interstate vehicles are included at a GVWR or GCWR "of 10,001 pounds or more," and intrastate vehicles at "16,001 pounds or more" (CSP, Small Vehicle Combination Information).

The combination rating is what catches Colorado contractors. A heavy-duty pickup that's well under 16,001 pounds by itself can cross the line with a loaded equipment trailer hooked to it. Once it does, the guide describes company name markings on both sides, USDOT numbers, driver vehicle inspection reports for companies with two or more vehicles, and an annual inspection by a qualified mechanic.

The State Patrol rules also reach insurance. Section MCS 6.4 of 8 CCR 1507-1 says the financial responsibility provisions don't apply to vehicles regulated by the PUC. Otherwise, it adopts listed sections of 49 CFR Part 387, the federal minimum financial responsibility rules, for commercial vehicles operated in Colorado, with stated exceptions. Federally, 49 CFR 387.3 aims those rules at for-hire interstate property carriers and at hazardous materials carriers, and it excludes vehicles under 10,001 pounds GVWR. Before you set your limits around any of that, confirm with the State Patrol how it applies to your own intrastate operation. Heavier units are discussed on our heavy trucks and fleets page, and lighter ones on cars and light trucks.

Hail and theft: the physical damage side in Colorado

Liability is the part the law makes you carry. Physical damage is the part that fixes or replaces your own truck, and in Colorado there are two good reasons to look at it closely.

Hail. After a 2024 storm hit metro Denver, the Division of Insurance advised that "damage to your automobiles is covered under your comprehensive coverage and is also subject to your deductible." It also noted that the season for these storms "is stretching over longer periods." A work truck carrying liability only has no comprehensive on it, so the hail damage comes out of your pocket. Picking the deductible is a trade between what you pay every month and what you'd eat after a bad storm. Our page on comprehensive versus collision explains the split.

Theft. The State Patrol's Auto Theft Intelligence Coordination Center counted 16,291 stolen vehicles in Colorado in 2025, a 34% decline from 2024. It named the Chevrolet Silverado as the most stolen vehicle by make and model (CATPA, 2025 Auto Theft Annual Report). Theft of the vehicle usually falls under comprehensive as well. The tools and equipment inside it are a different matter. A business auto policy generally won't reach them. That's what inland marine insurance is for.

Contractors, landscapers and service businesses with pickups and vans

Most Colorado businesses in this situation are contractors, landscapers, cleaners, HVAC and plumbing shops, and property maintenance crews running one to a handful of pickups and vans. The truck gets the crew and the materials to the job, and half the time it's pulling a trailer.

Three things usually decide how these policies come out. First is whether the truck belongs on a commercial policy at all. A truck titled to an LLC, or run mostly on jobs, is outside what a personal auto policy was written for. Our page on landscaping work trucks on personal auto explains that one. Second is the driver list. One employee with a rough record can move the price on the whole policy, and our page on commercial auto when a driver has violations covers it. Third is the trailer and what's riding on it. See landscaping trailer coverage.

Employees running errands in their own cars are a separate problem. Hired and non-owned auto liability, which covers vehicles your business uses but doesn't own, is the usual answer. Our contractors' hired and non-owned auto page explains how it's priced. If the business is brand new or buying its first vehicle, see commercial auto for a new business.

What to compare on Colorado quotes

Start with the liability limit, because your contracts may require more than a quote comes in at by default. Then look at UM/UIM. Is it on, at what limit, and is there a rejection form stapled to the back? Do the same with MedPay. On the physical damage side, compare the comprehensive and collision deductibles and how each vehicle gets valued. See how the trailers are scheduled, and whether a general liability endorsement or hired and non-owned coverage is in there. Ask how drivers get listed and what happens when you add one mid-term. Payment terms count too: monthly, quarterly, or paid in full.

What to send us

• Every vehicle and trailer, with the VIN, the GVWR (and GCWR for combinations), and a line on what it's used for.
• The Colorado address where each vehicle is kept overnight.
• Every driver, with a date of birth and license number.
• Whether any vehicle ever tows, moves household goods, or carries passengers for pay.
• Your current declarations page and any UM/UIM or MedPay rejection forms in your file.
• Contract clauses that set limits or require additional insured or waiver of subrogation wording.
• Loss runs for as many years as your current insurer will provide.
• Whether employees drive their own cars for the business, and roughly how often.

With that, we can shop it to more than one company and show you where the answers differ. Start with the quote request.

Where we usually start

For Colorado service and contracting businesses, we often start with Kemper Auto, which writes commercial auto in Colorado. Kemper says it covers over 1,000 occupations, from one-person operations to small fleets, and it names pickups, vans and landscaping trucks among the vehicles. It offers a general liability endorsement for work outside the vehicle and roadside assistance, with monthly, quarterly or pay-in-full options. A Kemper distribution partner publishes a list of what the program will look at. It names landscaping, contractors and handymen, electricians and concrete, for vehicles 54,000 pounds GVW or less if not for hire. That same list treats towing and for-hire livery as ineligible. We quote Kemper alongside the other commercial companies we work with, and each one decides eligibility for itself.

Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, owner of Vantage Point Risk and an independent insurance advisor. Last reviewed September 24, 2026. How we review this.