The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Division of Insurance published a bulletin clarifying whether an insurer is responsible for the payment of registration fees for totaled motor vehicles.

CO Revised Statutes § 10-4-639 states that an insurer must pay title fees, sales tax, and any other transfer or registration fee following the total loss of a motor vehicle. The Division clarifies that, for this discussion, registration fees refer to registration fees for passenger vehicles where the fee is related to the vehicle's weight and ranges from $2 to $20. Insurers are not obligated to pay other amounts that may be collected during a vehicle’s registration.

Historically, some insurers have not paid the registration fee following a total loss when an insured kept the totaled vehicle instead of taking a cash payment. The Division previously agreed with insurers on this practice since the insured did not suffer a loss on the vehicle’s registration fees if they kept the vehicle and continued to use it.