Most insurance contracts contain provisions stating how long you have to file a claim or suit against the company. This is known as a Contractual statute of limitations. If you do not file a claim or a lawsuit within this time period, you may lose all rights to recover for your claim.

For example, your policy may state that you have one year from the date the claim arose (the date the injury or accident occurred), or from the date the claim was filed, or from the date the claim was denied, to file suit.

If no time period is mentioned in the policy, you will need to research your state's laws concerning any applicable legal statutes of limitations.

According to the Colorado statute of limitation information we found it appears for a property damage claim you normally have 2 years in which to make a claim or sue the at fault party.

If this was an accident with bodily injury coverages or uninsured motorist coverages being used then Colorado allows 3 years in which to make a claim or submit a lawsuit against the at fault party.

To find out specific CO laws regarding how long one has to make an insurance claim for property damage and/or bodily injuries check with the Colorado Division of Insurance.

Even if Colorado law allows you to wait to make a claim it is usually in your best interest to make your claim as soon as possible so that the claims process can be started and so your car's damages can be repaired. Also if you wait to make a claim then you will need to explain to the insurance company why you waited to file a claim with them.