Connecticut Car Insurance

Connecticut Car Insurance: What Residents Need to Know

Like all other states in the United States, Connecticut also requires its drivers to carry an acceptable minimum insurance coverage of vehicle liability insurance.

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of the state requires all car owners to prove that they have adequate financial responsibility to cover all possible costs involved in an accident.

Unlike some other states that give you the choice to address the matter of financial responsibility, the state of Connecticut gives you only one option. You must purchase bodily injury and property damage liabilities.

Connecticut state law requires every driver in the state to have $25,000 worth of bodily injury coverage for injuries or death of one person in an accident, and up to a total of $40,000 for coverage of two people or more in the event injuries and death in an accident. In addition to this, coverage for $10,000 as property damage liability is also required.

These figures represent the minimum coverage required. This basic coverage plan, as required by the law, is often referred to as 25/40/10 coverage. Usually, insurance companies and brokers will recommend that you have more protection than this.

Buying uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage is not mandatory under in Connecticut. However, the insurance companies are required to offer these to all customers.

If you cancel your insurance policy or let it lapse, your insurance company will notify the Department of Motor Vehicles. You may be asked to present proof of insurance on certain occasions. Your insurance identification card or the declaration page of the policy can serve as legal proof.

If you have any doubts, you can log onto the official website of the Department of Motor Vehicles of the state for clarification

More detailed information on Connecticut auto insurance requirements is available by calling the Connecticut Insurance Department in Hartford on 1-860-297-3800 or by visiting their website athttp://www.ct.gov/cid/site/.

If you are caught without valid car insurance, the relevant authorities will send you a warning and you may end up paying a penalty of $200. You are given 30 days to get yourself an appropriate insurance cover. However, at the end of these 30 days, if you still don't have insurance, you may be summoned to court and your license could be suspended.

The average car insurance premium rate for residents of Connecticut in the year 2009 is $2,189. This is much higher than the national average of $1,807. The rates in 2009 are also 10% higher than that of 2008.