Rising Medical Costs: Is Connecticut’s Minimum Insurance Coverage Enough For Today’s Auto Accident Injuries?

Posted on 10/26/12
The legal minimum for auto liability insurance for Connecticut residents is $20,000 per person injured in an accident and $40,000 total for all injuries and payments sustained in a single accident. This limit has not changed since the 1990s. As anyone who reads this knows, the cost of medication, hospital visits, x-rays, MRIs, physical therapy and routine evaluations has skyrocketed. So what does Connecticut’s minimum insurance requirements mean. Basically, if you are injured in an auto accident in Connecticut, the driver who caused the accident is required to have insurance. But only up to $20,000 coverage to pay for all of your medical bills and pain and suffering. If there is more than one person who is injured in this accident, the insurance coverage for all injuries combined, whether two people are hurt or five people are hurt, is a maximum of $40,000. With the rising costs of medical bills, one must ask if Connecticut should amend this minimum requirement to increase the minimum amount of insurance coverage that is required for auto accident policies in Connecticut. Otherwise, injured people could risk going without medical treatment that is needed for the injuries sustained, or else paying themselves for their bills if they do not have sufficient underinsured motorist coverage in Connecticut.