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Connecticut trucking

Connecticut trucking insurance requirements

What Connecticut requires in trucking insurance before it grants intrastate operating authority: the liability minimums the state publishes, the cargo coverage rules, and the forms your insurer files, shown next to the federal minimums so you can see where the state differs. Every figure carries its official source.

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 28, 2026

What Connecticut requires

These are the state-level rules attached to Connecticut intrastate operating authority. A field reading "Not confirmed" means the agency publishes no figure; the note explains what the agency does say.

Liability minimum
From $750,000; the operation-type table below lists each class
Cargo minimum
Regs., Conn. State Agencies 16-304-D5 expressly excludes cargo from its property damage minimum, and neither the DMV insurance page nor the CTDOT household goods pages state a cargo amount, so none is recorded.
Differs from federal
No

Minimum liability by operation type

General freight is not the floor for every carrier; buy against the row that matches what you haul.

Connecticut minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation typeMinimum liability
Freight vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more GVWR, non-hazardous$750,000
Freight vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more GVWR, hazardous materials (lower tier)$1,000,000
Freight vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more GVWR, certain hazardous materials (higher tier, per FMCSA)$5,000,000
Any vehicle with a seating capacity of more than 8 passengers$1,500,000
Any vehicle with a seating capacity of 16 passengers or more$5,000,000
Intrastate household goods carrier under CTDOT jurisdiction, bodily injury to or death of more than one person in any one accident (split limits: $200,000 per person, $100,000 property damage)$600,000

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Who files the proof of insurance

Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you. Ask for them by form name when you bind coverage.

Liability proof
Acord Certificate of Liability Insurance, sent to DMV once a year (DMV.CommercialAudit@ct.gov, or DMV Compliance Unit, 60 State Street, Room 305, Wethersfield, CT 06161). Household goods carriers under CTDOT file Form E, the Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance, named in Regs., Conn. State Agencies 16-304-D4.

Carriers below all four DMV reporting criteria submit a Commercial Affidavit with new registrations and renewals instead.

The federal minimums, for contrast

Cross a state line for hire and the federal financial-responsibility levels take over, filed with FMCSA by your insurer. The amounts below render from 49 CFR Part 387 (property carriers 387.303, brokers and freight forwarders 387.307, endorsements 387.15), as displayed on FMCSA's insurance filing requirements page; the filing mechanics live in our BMC-91 and BMC-34 insurance filings guide.

Federal minimum public liability levels by operation (49 CFR Part 387)
OperationVehicleLiability minimum
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardousGVWR under 10,001 lb$300,000
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardous (general freight)GVWR 10,001 lb or more$750,000
For-hire carrier of certain hazardous materialsAny$1,000,000
For-hire and private carriers of explosives, poison gas, or radioactive materialsAny$5,000,000
For-hire carrier of household goodsGVWR 10,001 lb or more$750,000
For-hire carrier of passengers15 or fewer passengers$1,500,000
For-hire carrier of passengers16 or more passengers$5,000,000
Broker of property or household goodsNoneNone
Freight forwarder of propertyNoneNone
Freight forwarder of household goodsNoneNone

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Where insurance fits in the Connecticut launch

Coverage sits early in the sequence: the federal filing sequence needs your insurer's proof of coverage on file before authority activates, and the state rules above attach to the credential covered on the Connecticut intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Connecticut.

Frequently asked questions

Does Connecticut set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Connecticut's published pages do not confirm a standalone intrastate minimum for every case. Where the state publishes no figure, this page says so instead of guessing, and the note beside each field explains what the state does require.

Do federal insurance minimums still apply to a Connecticut carrier?

Interstate operations file proof of coverage with FMCSA under 49 CFR Part 387 no matter which state the carrier is based in. The state rules on this page govern intrastate-only operations; the federal table shows the levels an interstate filing must meet.

What insurance does a new Connecticut carrier line up first?

Primary liability comes first: the state and federal filings both ride on an active liability policy. Cargo coverage follows where the state or your shippers require it, and physical damage on the truck is a lender requirement rather than a state rule.

Where do these figures come from?

Every dollar amount renders from the state agency publication or statute cited beside it, or from the federal regulation for the contrast table. When an agency publishes no figure, the field reads "Not confirmed" with a note on what the agency does say.

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.