In Connecticut, the $1 million period starts when the driver accepts the ride, not when you get in the car
Connecticut has an enacted rideshare insurance schedule, section 13b-120 of the General Statutes, in force since January 1, 2018. It sets two liability floors. While a driver is connected to the app and available for requests, the floor is $50,000 for one person’s injury or death, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. From the moment the driver accepts a request until the last rider exits, the floor is $1,000,000 per accident for injury, death, or property damage.
Uninsured motorist coverage is a separate statute, section 38a-336. It covers bodily injury and death only. Both companies’ current Connecticut certificates print uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, including on the $1,000,000 liability policy. Connecticut is not a no-fault state, and there is no required personal injury protection dollar.
Statute text comes from the General Assembly’s official pages: Chapter 244c, current and the 2026 Supplement. The 2025 and 2026 changes amend registration, records, and driver disclosures. They do not amend section 13b-120 or the definition of a prearranged ride.
Connecticut & the Northeast
Acceptance starts the prearranged ride, and the last rider’s exit ends it
Connecticut defines a prearranged ride as transport of a rider that begins when the driver accepts a request through the digital network, continues while the driver transports the rider, and ends when the last rider exits the vehicle. CGS § 13b-116(6).
That definition decides the higher limit. The drive to the pickup, with nobody in the car yet, is already inside the prearranged ride. A person who has requested a ride but has not entered the vehicle is a “potential rider” under § 13b-116(4), but that label does not delay the start of the ride. On a shared trip, the ride does not end when the first rider gets out. It ends when the last rider exits, not when the app marks the trip complete.
| App status | What the statute calls it | Liability required | Uninsured motorist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logged off, no prearranged ride | Outside § 13b-120(a) | The ordinary personal floor: $25,000 one person, $50,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage. CGS §§ 38a-335(a), 14-112(a). Not a rideshare figure. | Equal to the policy’s liability limits unless a named insured signed down, never below $25,000 / $50,000. § 38a-336(a)(2). |
| Connected and available, no request accepted | § 13b-120(a)(1) | Primary liability of at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage. | “In accordance with” § 38a-336. The statute prints no separate rideshare dollar. |
| Request accepted, driving to the pickup | Prearranged ride, § 13b-116(6)(A) | At least $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury, death, or property damage. § 13b-120(a)(2). | Same incorporation of § 38a-336. It does not step up to $1,000,000 at acceptance. |
| Rider in the car, until the last rider exits | Prearranged ride, § 13b-116(6)(B) and (C) | The same $1,000,000 per accident. There is no separate passenger-in-car tier. | Same incorporation of § 38a-336. |
| Last rider has exited, driver still connected and available | Back to § 13b-120(a)(1) | Back to $50,000, $100,000, and $25,000. | Back to § 38a-336 as incorporated. |
A driver who is connected to the app but not available, and not on a ride, is not named in § 13b-120(a). Which floor applies to that status is unsettled, and no floor is assigned.
The statute sets $50,000, $100,000, and $25,000, then one $1,000,000 figure
Section 13b-120(a) requires the driver, or the company on the driver’s behalf, to maintain primary automobile liability insurance that recognizes the driver is a rideshare driver or otherwise carries passengers for compensation. While connected and available, the floor is $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. During a prearranged ride, it is at least $1,000,000 for bodily injury, death, or property damage per accident.
The $1,000,000 is one per-accident amount covering injury, death, and property damage together. It is not $1,000,000 of bodily injury plus a separate property limit, and it is not $1,000,000 of uninsured motorist coverage.
The driver, the company, or a combination may provide the coverage. § 13b-120(b). The company may buy it from an insurer authorized in Connecticut or from a qualifying surplus-lines insurer rated at least A-minus by A.M. Best, or an equivalent approved rating. § 13b-120(e).
If the driver’s policy lapsed or falls short, the company policy pays from the first dollar
If the driver’s own policy has lapsed or does not provide the coverage § 13b-120(a) requires, the company’s policy must provide that coverage beginning with the first dollar of a claim, and the company’s insurer has the duty to defend a claim that arises while the driver is connected or on a prearranged ride. § 13b-120(c).
The company’s coverage is not contingent on another insurer first denying the claim, and the other insurer is not required to deny first. § 13b-120(d).
That first-dollar rule is triggered by a lapse or a shortfall. When the driver’s policy is in force and already meets the floor, the statute does not choose primary, excess, or a pro rata split. It leaves that order to the policies. § 13b-120(b). The first-dollar sentence also does not address physical-damage deductibles.
$1,000,000 of liability is not $1,000,000 of uninsured motorist coverage
Connecticut uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage covers bodily injury and death, not property damage. CGS § 38a-336(a)(1)(A). For a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 1994, the limits must equal the liability limits purchased, unless a named insured requests a lower amount in writing on the statutory informed-consent form. The lower amount cannot go below $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. § 38a-336(a)(2). Coverage cannot be rejected entirely.
Section 13b-120 requires uninsured motorist coverage “in accordance with” § 38a-336 in both periods. It does not print a separate dollar. Both current company certificates print $25,000 / $50,000, even next to the $1,000,000 liability limit. Whether either company’s named insured signed a valid lower-limit form, and whether the equal-limits default applies to these particular policies, is unsettled. The certificates do not attach that form, and the printed figures are not called either compliant or a violation.
- Underinsured is limits to limits. A vehicle is underinsured when its total liability limits are less than the uninsured motorist limits of the policy being claimed against, not when its limits are less than your damages. § 38a-336(e).
- Conversion coverage is different. Insurers must offer conversion coverage, which compares the at-fault driver’s payment to your fair damages. § 38a-336a. Neither certificate says it is included.
- No stacking. A passenger in a vehicle that is not their own looks first to that vehicle’s coverage. Their own policy is secondary, and the total is capped at the highest single available limit. § 38a-336(d).
Source: Chapter 700, §§ 38a-336 and 38a-336a.
A personal policy may exclude both rideshare periods
A Connecticut auto insurer may sell personal policies that exclude any or all coverage while the driver is connected and available or engaged in a prearranged ride. The exclusion can reach liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments, collision, and comprehensive. § 13b-120(g). An insurer using such an exclusion has no duty to defend or indemnify the excluded claim. § 13b-120(h)(1).
Because the prearranged ride starts at acceptance, that exclusion can reach the drive to the pickup. The statute permits the exclusion. It does not say every personal policy uses it. An older “for a fee” or “available for hire” exclusion can also survive. § 13b-120(h)(2).
Before a driver accepts a first request, the company must disclose in writing the coverage and limits it provides, that the driver’s own policy might not cover these periods, and that a lienholder’s contract may require physical damage coverage. § 13b-120(i).
Uber prints 50/100/25, then $1,000,000, with 25/50 uninsured coverage on both
Certificate date on each Uber form: February 25, 2026. Policy period printed on each form: March 1, 2026 through March 1, 2027. The file linked from “Connecticut” on Uber’s certificates list is issued by Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation, NAIC 10725, produced by Aon. The form itself does not print the word Connecticut. The state label comes from Uber’s index. Uber certificate PDF. Uber certificates list.
| What the form describes | Policy and certificate | Liability printed | Uninsured motorist printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logged in and available, no request accepted | ASE-665-067247-226, certificate 570118117778 | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident |
| Acceptance recorded, en route to pickup or traveling to the destination (labeled “Period 2 & Period 3,” not defined) | ASE-665-067247-236, certificate 570118117779 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident |
| Physical damage on the accepted-trip policy | ASE-665-067247-236, certificate 570118117780 | Comprehensive $2,500 deductible, collision $2,500 deductible | Not repeated on this form |
The certificate does not say physical damage coverage depends on the driver carrying personal comprehensive and collision. It prints no personal injury protection or medical payments dollar. A missing printed dollar establishes only that this certificate does not state that amount. This page does not fill in a number the form left off. Whether Uber’s “traveling to the final destination” wording covers a stopped car before the last rider exits is unsettled. The statute covers that moment. The certificate does not use the statute’s words.
Lyft prints three periods, and the Period 3 liability cell is blank
Certificate date: August 13, 2026. Policy period printed on every row: October 1, 2026 through October 1, 2027. Lyft’s certificate says “Evidence of Insurance Only” and “For the State of CT.” The insurer is Mobilitas General Insurance Company, NAIC 10675. The form labels the rows Period 1, 2, and 3 but does not define those periods. Lyft certificate PDF.
| Row label | Policy | Liability printed | Other printed terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | CTBA1T6624548271 | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage | Uninsured motorist $25,000 / $50,000 |
| Period 2 | CTBA2T6624548271 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | Remarks: uninsured motorist $25,000 / $50,000; physical damage with a $2,500 deductible |
| Period 3 | CTBA3T6624548271 | No liability dollar is printed. The cell is blank. | $2,500 physical damage deductible; remarks: uninsured motorist $25,000 / $50,000 |
The blank liability cell on Period 3 establishes only that this certificate does not print a liability dollar for that row. It does not establish a coverage amount. It does not establish that the policy pays nothing. It is not a zero, and it is not the $1,000,000 floor in § 13b-120(a)(2). That floor is the statute. It is not a number printed in this cell. The form does not define Period 3, so the blank cell also does not say which part of a trip the row covers. The uninsured motorist remark of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident is not a liability limit. What liability limit, if any, the Period 3 policy actually carries is unsettled. The form prints no personal injury protection or medical payments dollar. That missing dollar establishes the same limit: the certificate does not print it. This page does not supply one.
Connecticut is not a no-fault state
Connecticut’s basic reparations, or no-fault, statutes, §§ 38a-365 to 38a-369, were repealed effective January 1, 1994. There is no required personal injury protection dollar for a rideshare trip. Medical payments coverage is optional, and the regulations set no minimum dollar. CGS § 38a-334(a). Neither certificate prints a personal injury protection or medical payments limit. Injury claims run on fault and liability insurance.
Recovery is barred only if your share of fault is greater, and the injury deadline is two years
Connecticut uses modified comparative negligence. Recovery is not barred if your negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the people you seek recovery from, including people who settled. Your damages are reduced by your percentage. In a case with two people, 50 percent is not a bar. More than 50 percent is. Liability among defendants is several, in proportion to fault, with a reallocation rule. CGS § 52-572h(b), (c), (g).
- Injury: two years from when the injury is sustained or reasonably discovered, and no more than three years from the act. § 52-584.
- Wrongful death: two years from the date of death, and no more than five years from the act. § 52-555(a).
- Uninsured motorist claim: a policy cannot set a deadline shorter than three years from the accident, with tolling rules for underinsured claims. § 38a-336(g).
Sources: Chapter 925 and Chapter 926.
Road-defect claims need written notice within 90 days
- State highway defect: written notice to the Transportation Commissioner within 90 days, and suit within two years. § 13a-144.
- Town or city road defect: written notice to a selectman or the clerk within 90 days, and suit within two years. § 13a-149.
- State-owned vehicle driven negligently by a state employee: a direct right of action against the state. § 52-556.
- Other claims against the state: filed with the Claims Commissioner within one year after the claim accrues, and no more than three years from the event. § 4-148.
Sources: Chapter 238 and Chapter 053.
Stop, give aid, and exchange information, or report to police
A driver knowingly involved in an accident that causes death, injury, or property damage must stop at once, render any assistance needed, and give their name, address, operator’s license number, and registration number to the injured person, the owner, an officer, or a witness. If that is not possible, the driver must report the accident to police immediately. CGS § 14-224. Chapter 248.
The older written accident-report statute, § 14-108, has been repealed, so no written-report deadline is stated.
Under § 13b-120(f), the rideshare driver must carry proof of coverage and give it to directly interested parties, insurers, and investigating officers after an accident. On request, the driver must also say whether they were connected or on a prearranged ride at the time.
Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford follow the state statute
Rideshare companies register with the Connecticut Commissioner of Transportation, not with each city. § 13b-117. No city rideshare insurance ordinance with a different dollar was found, so section 13b-120 controls. That was not a survey of every Connecticut town.
Bradley International Airport’s ride-app page says Uber and Lyft are authorized there and gives the pickup location. It states no insurance dollar. Bradley ride apps. Tweed-New Haven Airport’s rules require vehicles to carry the liability insurance the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Authority requires and print no separate rideshare figure.
What proves which period applied
The certificate proves a company bought a policy. It does not prove which period this driver was in. The statute gives you tools to find out.
- Whether the driver was logged off, connected and available, had already accepted a request, was carrying a rider, or was past the last rider’s exit.
- The company’s record of the precise connect and disconnect times in the twelve hours before and after the accident. The company must provide it immediately on request from a directly involved party or the driver’s insurer. § 13b-120(f).
- The trip record. Companies must keep each prearranged ride record for at least three years. § 13b-118(e).
- The driver’s personal policy, including any rideshare exclusion under § 13b-120(g), and whether it had lapsed or fell short of the statutory floor.
- Each policy’s declarations and any signed uninsured motorist lower-limit form under § 38a-336(a)(2). A certificate is not that form.
- Fault allocations among everyone involved, because recovery is barred only if your share is greater than the combined share of the others.
- The date of injury, for the two-year deadline, and the date of any government involvement, for the 90-day road-defect notice.
Latest from Connecticut
Pin down whether the driver had accepted the ride, then separate liability from uninsured coverage
In Connecticut, acceptance is the switch to $1,000,000 of liability, even before you are in the car. Uninsured motorist coverage follows its own statute, and both certificates print $25,000 / $50,000. A free review can sort out which policies apply to your accident.