3.1 Connecticut Auto Insurance Requirements

Minimum Liability Coverage: 25/50/25

Connecticut General Statutes (CGS) 14-112 and 38a-335 require every registered private passenger vehicle to carry liability insurance written through an authorized insurer. The financial-responsibility minimums, in effect since January 1, 2018, are commonly written as 25/50/25.

The per-person limit (the first number) caps what the insurer pays for any one injured claimant; the per-accident limit (the second) caps the total for all bodily-injury claimants in one occurrence. Property damage (the third) is a single per-accident limit. A driver who injures three people in one crash is still subject to the $50,000 aggregate even though three separate $25,000 claims would total $75,000.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)

Mandatory Coverage

Under CGS 38a-336, Connecticut requires UM/UIM on every auto policy at limits equal to the policy's bodily-injury liability limits, with a statutory minimum of:

Key Points

• UM/UIM is mandatory and matches BI liability limits unless the insured signs a written election for lower (down to the 25/50 floor).
• UM responds when the at-fault driver has no insurance; UIM responds when the at-fault driver's limits are less than the insured's damages.
• Connecticut uses an offset (reduction) approach: standard UIM pays the gap between the tortfeasor's limit and the insured's UIM limit.
• Conversion coverage (CGS 38a-336a) lets an insured buy non-reduced UIM that pays the full UIM limit on top of the tortfeasor's payment — insurers must offer it in writing.
• Covers hit-and-run (phantom-vehicle) accidents; physical contact is generally required for UM hit-and-run unless corroborated.

Worked UIM Example

An insured carries 100/300 UIM and suffers $90,000 in damages. The at-fault driver has only 25/50 liability. Standard reduced UIM pays $100,000 − $25,000 = $75,000, plus the tortfeasor's $25,000 = $100,000 total (capping recovery at the $90,000 of actual damages, so the insured nets $90,000). With conversion UIM, the insured collects the tortfeasor's $25,000 plus up to the full $100,000 UIM limit.

Connecticut's At-Fault (Tort) System

Connecticut is an at-fault (tort) state. It briefly operated a no-fault system but repealed it effective January 1, 1994 (CGS 38a-365 et seq. repealed).

• The driver who caused the accident is liable for damages; claimants sue the at-fault driver's insurer.
• Connecticut applies modified comparative negligence under CGS 52-572h with a 51% bar: a claimant who is 51% or more at fault recovers nothing.
• A claimant 40% at fault with $100,000 in damages recovers $60,000 (damages reduced by their fault percentage).

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) vs. MedPay

• PIP is optional in Connecticut (it was mandatory only under the repealed no-fault law).
• Insurers commonly offer Medical Payments (MedPay), which pays medical and funeral expenses for the insured and passengers regardless of fault.
• MedPay does not pay lost wages or pain and suffering, distinguishing it from traditional PIP.

UM vs. UIM vs. Conversion Coverage

Connecticut also addresses stacking: an insured with coverage on multiple owned vehicles may, depending on policy language and the limits elected, combine (stack) UM/UIM limits across vehicles. Anti-stacking provisions in the policy are enforceable only if they comply with CGS 38a-336.

Optional and Required Auto Coverages in Connecticut

Beyond the mandatory liability and UM/UIM, Connecticut drivers commonly add coverages that are optional but important. Collision and comprehensive (other-than-collision) physical-damage coverages are not state-mandated but are typically required by a lender while a vehicle is financed or leased. Medical Payments (MedPay) is offered as the optional first-party medical coverage in place of the no-fault PIP the state retired.

Connecticut also requires insurers to offer these coverages and to obtain a written rejection when an insured declines higher UM/UIM limits, which protects the consumer and creates the documentation a producer relies on to defend against an E&O claim.

A Connecticut Claim Walkthrough

Consider an insured with 100/300/100 liability, matching UM/UIM, and collision who is rear-ended by an uninsured driver, suffering $40,000 in injuries and $9,000 in vehicle damage. Because the at-fault driver is uninsured, the insured's UM coverage pays the $40,000 bodily-injury loss (within the $100,000 per-person limit), and collision pays the $9,000 vehicle damage minus the deductible, after which the insurer subrogates against the uninsured driver. Had the at-fault driver carried only 25/50, the insured's UIM would have bridged the gap between that limit and the $40,000 loss.

Working the mandatory and optional coverages together in a fact pattern is precisely what the Connecticut auto questions test.

Exam Tip: Mandatory in Connecticut = 25/50/25 liability plus matching UM/UIM (25/50 floor); optional = collision, comprehensive, and MedPay; insurers must offer coverages and obtain written rejection of higher UM/UIM limits.

Financial Responsibility, SR-22, and the Assigned-Risk Plan

• Proof of insurance must be carried and shown to law enforcement on request; electronic (smartphone) proof is accepted.
• After certain violations the DMV requires an SR-22 (insurer-filed certificate of financial responsibility).
• Drivers rejected by the voluntary market obtain coverage through the Connecticut Automobile Insurance Assignment Plan (CAIP), the state's residual-market mechanism.

Penalties for No Insurance

Exam Tip: Memorize 25/50/25 liability and matching UM/UIM at a 25/50 floor (CGS 38a-336). Connecticut is at-fault, not no-fault; PIP is optional; the 51% comparative-negligence bar and conversion UIM are favorite test items.