Benchmark $557/mo · +21.2% approved · Connect for Health Colorado
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old insurance agent in Colorado faces a benchmark premium of $557/month for 2026, up from $463 in 2025. That is 11% below the national benchmark of $625. Carriers were approved for an average increase of +21.2%.
There is no CMS plan-level file for Colorado, because Colorado operates Connect for Health Colorado instead of healthcare.gov and its issuers file with the state rather than through the federal platform. That is a real gap in the public data, and it is the reason this page leads with approved rate changes and market concentration rather than a county premium grid.
Colorado is the only state here with a public-option-style standardized plan. Every carrier must offer “Colorado Option” versions alongside its own designs, with $0 copays for primary care, mental health visits, diabetic supplies and prenatal/postnatal care. That makes cross-carrier comparison unusually clean.
| Colorado — 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2026) | $557 |
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2025) | $463 |
| Year-over-year change | +20.3% |
| Approved average rate increase | +21.2% |
| Versus the national benchmark ($625) | -11% |
| Rank among your 21 licensed states | 7 of 21 |
| Counties | 64 |
| Carriers on the exchange | 6 |
| Exchange | Connect for Health Colorado (state-run since 2014) |
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Denver Health Medical Plan, Kaiser Permanente, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, SelectHealth.
Carrier availability varies sharply by region — Denver metro has all six, while some mountain and Western Slope counties have one or two.
Sources: Colorado Division of Insurance final 2026 rate filings; Connect for Health Colorado. KFF, “Marketplace Average Benchmark Premiums,” 2026. Benchmark is the second-lowest-cost Silver plan for a 40-year-old, weighted by plan selections.
Work that crosses county lines makes network geography the binding constraint, not monthly cost.
Occupational context: Sedentary strain; driving exposure on client visits.
To be clear about what this does and does not affect: a Colorado carrier cannot ask your occupation, cannot charge a insurance agent more than anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP, and cannot exclude a condition you already have. Occupation only tells you which plan structure to shop for.
Ranked on the benchmark premium, the one measure published on the same basis for every state. Cheaper: Nevada ($497), Ohio ($513), Michigan ($523). More expensive: South Carolina ($564), Oklahoma ($604), Wisconsin ($611).
You buy where you live, not where you work, so treat this as context rather than a shopping list. A genuine move does open a special enrollment period.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Licensing, E&O insurance, CRM, continuing education. Health premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or a spouse. The deduction lowers your AGI, and AGI sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other — worth raising with your CPA before you enroll rather than after.
6 carriers offer individual plans on Connect for Health Colorado for 2026: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Denver Health Medical Plan, Kaiser Permanente, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, SelectHealth. Availability varies by county.
The 2026 benchmark premium in Colorado is $557 per month for a 40-year-old, up from $463 in 2025. That is full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
Carriers in Colorado were approved for an average increase of 21.2%. Filings across the country cited the expiry of the enhanced federal premium tax credits at the end of 2025, rising medical and drug costs, and expectations that healthier people would drop coverage.
No. Exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated. Price varies only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size. Occupation is not a rating factor.
No. Colorado runs its own exchange, Connect for Health Colorado, state-operated since 2014. You enrolll there rather than on healthcare.gov.
This page compares states. For Colorado specifically — county-level carriers and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Insurance Agents in Colorado and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.