You can not drive any automobile in the state of Connecticut without having auto insurance. Even if you have an old clunker that you use to get back and forth to work in West Hartford, you need to have automobile insurance.
Now, the type of coverage you must have to comply with the financial responsibility laws in Connecticut, is limited to liability coverage. The state requires you to carry bodily injury and property damage liability insurance in case you have an accident and are found to be responsible for causing injury or damage to another person or another person’s property.
Your old car, with a market value that is probably less than the monthly take-home pay of the average worker in West Hartford, Connecticut, is not required to have comprehensive and collision coverage. Comprehensive and collision auto insurance provides coverage for your vehicle, not for liability claims by other parties.
Many times it does not make sense to pay the extra premium to have full coverage on your 15 year old car that has a market value of maybe $1,000. Your car may be in perfect condition and very valuable to you, but it still is only worth a $1,000. If it costs you $200 extra to add collision and comprehensive to your auto insurance policy and you have a $500 deductible, you would be paying $200 to get up to a maximum of $500 of insurance. That is not too smart.
We often advise our clients to either avoid this coverage on vehicles with low market value or take out a policy with a very low deductible like $100 or $250. If you have an old car and are not sure what coverage you should have, give us a call. An independent agent will be happy to lay out the facts and recommend a good and affordable automobile policy for you.