If you are a Connecticut resident you are probably aware that Connecticut state law requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability coverage of $20,000 per injured person up to a total of $40,000 per accident, and Property Damage Liability coverage with a minimum limit of $10,000. This basic coverage is often referred to as 20/40/10 coverage.
Connecticut state law requires a minimum Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist coverage of $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident for any bodily injury caused by the uninsured driver.
The General Statutes of Connecticut (GSC 14-112) requires that all registered motor vehicles have liability insurance maintained at all times. When you register or renew a vehicle registration, you must certify insurance coverage. Your signature attests that minimum vehicle liability insurance will be maintained throughout the registration period and the vehicle will not be driven without insurance. Action must be taken by the DMV if this statement is not honored.
Whenever insurance coverage is cancelled, the CT DMV is notified by the insurance company due to the mandatory insurance reporting laws and the registrant with the insurance lapse is mailed a Warning Notice offering the opportunity to enter into a consent agreement, obtain insurance, and pay a fine of $200. If you follow this request by the DMV no further action is supposed to be brought against you if insurance is maintained on the vehicle as required by CT law.
If you do not respond to the notification by the CT DMV about your lapse in insurance coverage then they should send you a suspension notice and a hearing can be set up to discuss your penalties which typically include suspension of the vehicles registration and/or your driver's license. Also you will normally lose all privileges to renew or register any motor vehicle.
Beyond these penalties that the CT DMV can impose there are penalties in court you can receive for being caught driving without insurance, this includes impoundment of the vehicle and a fine of at least $100.
Connecticut law (CGS 14-213b) notes that a vehicle owner who violates the required security requirements of CT law is subject to a fine of at least $100 but no more than $1,000. However, an owner of a vehicle with a commercial registration who knowingly operates or permits the operation of the vehicle without the required insurance is guilty of a class D felony (a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment up to five years, or both). In addition, the person is subject to a registration and license suspension of one month for a first conviction and six months for subsequent convictions.
A person who violates CGS 38a-371 which states that the owner of a private passenger motor vehicle required to be registered in this state shall provide and continuously maintain throughout the registration period security (in accordance with sections 38a-334 to 38a-343 that require minimum auto insurance coverages) is guilty of a class C misdemeanor which comes with a fine of up to $ 500, imprisonment up to three months, or both.
So there are a variety of penalties you could receive if found without the required insurance on a first or second offense in Connecticut since you can be cited for operating a vehicle without insurance as well as failure to maintain insurance on your vehicle. The penalties include fines, possible imprisonment, license and registration suspension as well as impoundment of your vehicle.
If you are only cited for failure to carry proof of insurance on your vehicle it is a less serious offense since you could show to the court that there was in effect at the time of the citation if you did have proper insurance. Failure to carry a vehicle's automobile insurance identification or other proof of financial responsibility in the vehicle is subject to a $35 fine for the first offense and up to a $50 fine for subsequent offenses (per CGS 14-13).
Keep in mind that many infractions and other types of violations in CT and other states are subject to one or more surcharges, fees, or assessments based on, or added to, the actual fine, and thus the total amount due is often higher than the base fine amount.
For free auto insurance quotes for Connecticut, click here so that you will not be found driving as an uninsured motorist.
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