Can I stack liability car insurance in Connecticut?

In Connecticut, motorists must have liability car insurance satisfying the following minimum limits:

• – At least $25,000.00 for bodily injury per person per accident;
• – At least $50,000.00 for bodily injury total per accident; and
• – At least $25,000.00 for property damage per accident.

Despite these minimum state requirements, not every motorist obtains liability coverage. In fact, according to a study by the Insurance Research Council, approximately one out of every eight drivers does not have a current insurance policy. Moreover, the Insurance Services Office, Inc. states that more than 20% of insured drivers purchase only the minimum coverage required by state law. Thus, despite having a current insurance policy, an at-fault motorist may still be underinsured to fully compensate an injured party in the event of an accident.

To safeguard against the risk of injured motorists being under-compensated by uninsured or underinsured at-fault motorists, Connecticut requires all drivers to have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM coverage). This coverage helps pay for your losses when you are involved in an accident and the at-fault party does not have insurance or has inadequate insurance to compensate for your loss. When you are involved in an accident with another at-fault vehicle that does not have insurance or that has inadequate insurance, then your own insurance policy or policies kick in to help pay for your losses.

Stacking Generally

Stacking refers to an option available in some states whereby an insured can elect to increase the limits selected for UM/UIM coverage by the number of vehicles under coverage. For example, say you have limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (written as 25/50) and you insure two vehicles under the policy. If you leave the coverage unstacked, then your limits remain 25/50. If, however, you opt to stack the UM/UIM coverage, then the limits double to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident (50/100). By stacking your coverage, you simply increase the limits by the number of cars under coverage.

Stacking in Connecticut

Connecticut is an anti-stacking state. This means you cannot stack coverage within a single policy. For example, if you have two vehicles covered under a 25/50 policy, you will be unable to stack the coverage for the two vehicles to obtain $50,000 for a single accident. Rather, you would be limited to the $25,000 per vehicle limit.

If, however, the insured has two separate uninsured motorist insurance policies that cover the same vehicle for uninsured motorist benefits, the motorist can collect the policy limits of both policies combined. This is permitted under the presumption that when the named insured purchases separate uninsured motorist insurance policies for the same vehicle, the insured intends to buy extra protection for themselves and their family.