Trucking insurance in Connecticut

Connecticut intrastate trucking insurance requirements

If your vehicle picks up and delivers only within Connecticut borders, that's intrastate trucking. Federal financial responsibility rules apply to in-state trucks whose gross vehicle weight rating exceeds 18,000 pounds because the Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner adopted them under Connecticut law. The manufacturer sets the most a loaded truck can safely weigh, shown on your door-jamb label; that figure is the gross vehicle weight rating. Depending on vehicle type and cargo, a truck over 18,000 pounds must hold liability coverage of $750,000 to $5,000,000.

An intrastate Connecticut DOT number is also required for any vehicle used within the state at 18,001 pounds or more, by weight or rating. Hauling hazardous materials in amounts that call for placards triggers the same requirement at any weight. A placard is a diamond-shaped warning sign mounted outside the truck. In Connecticut, carriers running intrastate or interstate must obey the federal rules on motor carrier safety and on hazardous materials. Before you apply for your state number, an insurance agent who handles commercial trucks helps you choose the right limit.

Minimum limits for Connecticut commercial truck insurance

In Connecticut, a vehicle built or used to move merchandise, freight, or people for a business must be registered commercially. Because a personal auto policy usually leaves out business activities, even a light work truck has to be insured commercially. Say your vehicle stays in Connecticut and is rated no higher than 18,000 pounds. Then state auto statute requires bodily injury liability of at least $25,000 for each person and $50,000 for each accident. Property damage coverage of $25,000 per accident is required too.

A $50,000 combined single limit is also accepted by the Connecticut Insurance Department: 1 pool of money covering crash injuries and property damage. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is required in every policy, with minimums of $25,000 for each person and $50,000 for each accident.

What shippers demand is often more than the legal minimums. Even with the state allowing $50,000 or $750,000, big brokers such as C.H. Robinson ask carriers to carry $1,000,000 of auto liability plus $100,000 of cargo liability, in our experience. A conversation with an agent familiar with freight contracts ensures the policy you buy won't be one brokers reject.

Filing Connecticut trucking insurance and state tax permits

Every year, carriers holding a DOT number must get their insurance proof to the DMV Insurance Compliance Unit. Your DOT number registration must also be updated every 24 months, and any change in your company details calls for an immediate update. Insurers in Connecticut don't have to alert the DMV after canceling a commercial auto liability policy. That means keeping your yearly proof up to date is your job.

Heavy multi-unit trucks with a gross weight at or above 26,000 pounds, in federal Classes 8 through 13, also need a Highway Use Fee Permit. That rule took effect January 1, 2023. A truck insurance agent can get the annual proof of coverage ready for the DMV while you set up your tax account.

• Per-mile rates: Weight and distance traveled in Connecticut set the fee. At 26,000 to 28,000 pounds the rate is 2.5 cents per mile, rising to 17.5 cents per mile above 80,000 pounds.
• Quarterly returns: By the last day of the month that follows a quarter, carriers need to submit and pay electronically via Department of Revenue Services myconneCT (even with 0 Connecticut miles).
• Late penalties: A late or incomplete return triggers a charge of 10% of the unpaid tax, or $50 if that's more. There's also 1% interest for each month or part of one.

Are federal filings required when you cross state lines?

Once a truck's weight rating, or the truck-and-trailer combination rating, goes past 10,000 pounds, crossing into another state brings federal rules into play. An interstate DOT number and a passed safety audit become mandatory at 10,001 pounds or more, or whenever you carry a placarded hazardous load. Federal liability rules set a $750,000 minimum for carriers hauling non-hazardous property between states for hire once weight reaches 10,001 pounds or higher.

A fleet made up entirely of vehicles below 10,001 pounds means a for-hire property carrier must hold $300,000 at minimum. Activating interstate authority requires your insurer to file Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X (a BMC-82 bond also works) with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. An insurance agent who files federal truck paperwork every day keeps your authority on track, because you cannot submit a BMC-91X on your own.

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