When the Other Driver Has No Insurance
Someone runs a red light and hits your car. You call the police, exchange information, and file a claim. Then you find out the other driver has no insurance. Your collision coverage handles the vehicle damage if you carry it, but what about your medical bills, your spouse's injuries, and the two weeks of work you both missed? That's where uninsured motorist coverage steps in.
Connecticut requires uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage on every auto policy. It's not optional. The state mandates it because 11.8% of Connecticut drivers have no insurance, and when one of them causes a crash, your own policy becomes the only source of compensation for injuries. Most households with multiple cars assume the coverage works the same way across every vehicle on the policy, but the structure creates a gap that shows up only after a crash.
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Get Your Free QuoteConnecticut Uninsured Drivers
11.8%
More than one in ten drivers on Connecticut roads carries no insurance. When an uninsured driver causes a crash, your uninsured motorist coverage is the only way to recover medical costs and lost income without filing a lawsuit.
Insurance Research Council, 2023
What Uninsured Motorist Coverage Actually Pays
Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage pays your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering when an at-fault driver has no insurance. It covers you, your passengers, and any household member driving your car. The coverage applies per person and per accident, with limits you select when you buy the policy.
Connecticut law requires you to carry uninsured motorist coverage with limits at least equal to your liability limits. If you carry the state minimum liability of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, your uninsured motorist coverage must match those amounts.
The coverage does not pay for vehicle damage. That's a separate product called uninsured motorist property damage, which Connecticut does not require. If the at-fault driver has no insurance and you want your car repaired without paying out of pocket, you need collision coverage on your own policy.
Uninsured motorist coverage on a multi-car policy applies per vehicle, not per policy. If two household members are injured in the same crash, each person's claim draws from the limits on the vehicle that was hit.
How the Coverage Stacks Across Multiple Vehicles
Most households assume uninsured motorist coverage works like a shared pool: if the policy carries $50,000 per accident, that $50,000 is available no matter which car was hit or how many people were injured. That's not how it works. Each vehicle on the policy has its own per-person and per-accident limit. If your spouse is driving Car A and you're a passenger, both of your injury claims draw from Car A's uninsured motorist limit. Car B's limit does not apply unless Car B was also involved in the crash.
This structure creates a coverage gap when a single crash injures multiple household members. If Car A carries $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, and both you and your spouse sustain serious injuries, the most the policy will pay is $50,000 total, split between the two claims. If your medical bills alone exceed $25,000, the per-person cap applies, and the excess is your responsibility unless you carry higher limits.
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Underinsured Motorist Coverage Fills the Gap
Connecticut also requires underinsured motorist coverage, which pays when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover your injuries.
Underinsured motorist coverage works the same way as uninsured motorist coverage: it applies per vehicle, stacks the same way across a multi-car policy, and must match your liability limits unless you reject it in writing. Most carriers bundle uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage into a single line item on the declarations page, labeled UM/UIM.
The coverage does not apply if the at-fault driver's liability limit equals or exceeds your underinsured motorist limit. If you carry $50,000 per person in underinsured motorist coverage and the other driver carries $50,000 or more, your underinsured motorist coverage does not trigger. You recover only what the other driver's policy pays.
Connecticut Minimum UM Limits
$25,000 / $50,000
Connecticut requires uninsured motorist coverage with limits at least equal to your liability coverage. The state minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, but you can buy higher limits to close the gap when multiple household members are injured.
Connecticut General Statutes § 38a-336
Raising Limits on a Multi-Car Policy
When you add a second or third vehicle to your Connecticut policy, the carrier applies the same uninsured motorist limit to every car unless you specify otherwise. You can request different limits for each vehicle, but most households keep limits consistent to avoid confusion at claim time.
Raising your uninsured motorist limits costs less than raising liability limits because the coverage pays only when the other driver has no insurance or insufficient insurance. Compare quotes from carriers that write multi-car policies in Connecticut to see how limit increases affect your total premium.
What to Do When You Add a Vehicle
Call your carrier or log in to your account and confirm the uninsured motorist limit on the new vehicle matches the limits on your existing cars. If you've raised limits on your older vehicles over time, the new car may default to the state minimum unless you specify otherwise. Review the declarations page after the vehicle is added to verify every car on the policy carries the coverage level you expect. If one car has lower limits, a crash involving that vehicle leaves your household underprotected even though the policy as a whole looks adequate.