Auto Insurance
Connecticut requires every driver to carry liability and uninsured-motorist coverage. Here is what that actually means, what to add on top of it, and where most policies leave you exposed.
What it is.
Auto insurance is not one thing. It is a stack of separate coverages bundled into one policy. Each piece pays for a different kind of damage or injury, and each comes with its own limit, deductible, and exclusions.
Connecticut state minimums are 25/50/25 in bodily-injury and property-damage liability, plus matching uninsured-motorist limits. Carriers will happily sell you exactly that. We almost never recommend it. State minimum is barely enough to cover the first ambulance ride after a real accident.
Below is what each layer of an auto policy actually does, why most clients carry more than the law requires, and where the small print usually bites.
Anyone who drives in one of the 11+ states we're licensed in and wants more than the bare-minimum protection the state requires. Coverage examples below use Connecticut limits as a baseline; we'll quote you on your home-state minimums.
What it covers.
Each policy is a stack of named coverages. Required parts are mandated by state law. Recommended parts are what we put on most policies. Optional parts depend on your situation.
Bodily-Injury Liability
Pays the other party's medical bills if you cause an accident. CT minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. We typically recommend at least $100,000 / $300,000 because hospital bills routinely exceed the minimum on a single ambulance ride.
Property-Damage Liability
Pays for the other vehicle, fence, mailbox, or guardrail if you cause an accident. CT minimum is $25,000. With cars regularly costing more than that today, $50,000 to $100,000 is the safer floor.
Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist
Pays YOU when the other driver caused the accident and either has no insurance or not enough of it. CT requires this for a reason. About one in eight drivers in the state carries no auto insurance at all.
Collision
Pays for damage to YOUR car when you hit something or something hits you. Includes hit-and-run, hitting a guardrail, backing into your own garage door, and most rollovers. Optional in CT but required by every lender.
Comprehensive
Pays for damage to your car from things that are NOT a collision. Theft, vandalism, fire, hail, falling tree limbs, flood, hitting an animal (deer strikes are a top-five claim type in CT), and most glass damage.
Medical Payments (MedPay) and PIP
Pays the medical bills for you and your passengers regardless of who caused the accident. Useful even if you have health insurance because there is no deductible and it pays first.
Rental Reimbursement
Pays for a rental car while yours is in the shop after a covered claim. Usually $30 to $50 a day for up to 30 days. Rarely costs more than $30 to $40 a year to add.
Roadside Assistance
Towing, lockout, flat-tire change, jump-start, fuel delivery. Often cheaper to add to your policy than to keep an AAA membership.
Gap Insurance
If your car is totaled and you owe more on the loan than the car is worth, gap pays the difference. Critical for new cars in the first three years and for anyone who put little or nothing down at purchase.
New Car Replacement
Replaces a totaled new car with a brand-new equivalent instead of the depreciated value. Only available in the first one to three model years, depending on carrier.
When it kicks in.
Real situations we see in the agency. The point is to show how each layer of coverage maps to actual life, not to scare you.
Black ice on Route 25
Single-car accident, you slide into a guardrail. Liability does not apply (no other party). Collision pays for your car repair, minus your deductible. Medical bills for you and any passengers run through MedPay or your health insurance.
Hit by an uninsured driver
Other driver runs a red light, totals your car, and turns out to have no insurance. This is exactly what Uninsured-Motorist is for. It pays your medical bills and your vehicle damage as if the at-fault driver had been insured.
Catalytic-converter theft overnight
Wake up to find your converter stolen. Comprehensive pays the repair (typically $1,500 to $3,000) minus your Comp deductible. No effect on liability rates because it was not your fault.
Deer strike on the Merritt
Wildlife collisions are categorized as Comprehensive, not Collision, because the impact is with an animal rather than a vehicle or stationary object. Important distinction because Comp deductibles are usually lower than Collision.
Backing into your own garage door
Yes, this is covered. Damage to YOUR car runs through Collision. Damage to your own garage door is not covered by your auto policy. That is a homeowners claim if you decide to file one.
Key terms.
Plain-English definitions. The vocabulary insurance carriers assume you already know.
- 01Deductible
- What you pay out of pocket before insurance pays anything on a claim. Higher deductibles mean lower premiums and vice versa. Most clients in CT run $500 or $1,000 on Collision and $250 to $500 on Comprehensive.
- 02Premium
- What you pay the carrier, usually every six months. Half the year's coverage paid up front.
- 03Limit
- The maximum amount the policy will pay on a single claim. Liability limits are written like 100/300/100, meaning $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, $100,000 property damage.
- 04Actual Cash Value (ACV)
- What the carrier says your car is worth at the moment of loss. NOT what you paid for it, and NOT the loan balance. This is why gap insurance exists.
- 05Stacked Uninsured Motorist
- If you have multiple vehicles on the same policy, stacked UM lets you combine the per-vehicle limits on a single claim. Usually a small price difference. Worth asking about.
- 06Surcharge
- A premium increase after an at-fault accident or moving violation, usually applied for three to five years. Some carriers offer accident forgiveness as an add-on.
Common questions.
Questions clients ask before they get on the phone with AJ. If yours isn’t here, just call.
Two questions decide it. (1) Is the car financed or leased? If yes, the lender requires Collision and Comprehensive. (2) If you total it tomorrow, can you replace it out of pocket without it being a real hardship? If no, keep both. The phrase "full coverage" is a sales term, not a policy type.
Get a quote that takes minutes,
not days.
Tell us a bit about what you need to insure. We’ll come back with a real recommendation. No junk mail. No auto-dialer. No commitment.