03/09/2026
Colorado payment bond claims just got bigger, and most of the commentary missed it.
SB 26-074 took effect August 12, 2026. The headlines focused on the private mechanics' lien changes, but the real target was Colorado's Little Miller Act. Verified statements of claim on public works can now include disputed amounts, delay costs, lost productivity and disruption damages, and the excessive claim penalty that once kept claimants conservative has been replaced with a good faith safe harbor.
For sureties and the reinsurers behind them, that means three things: claim severity rises, claim frequency rises, and the threshold defense weakens. It also means the principal's subcontract delay clause has become an underwriting document, not a drafting footnote.
The new essay from Janus Assurance Re walks through the statute, the Wadsworth decision that prompted it, and what sureties, ceding companies and treaty reinsurers should be doing now on their Colorado public works book.
Colorado SB 26-074 allows payment bond claims to include disputed and delay costs with a good-faith safe harbor. What surety companies must know.
