Does Connecticut Allow UM/UIM Stacking? What Section 38a-336 Says

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

No. General Statutes 38a-336(d) bars stacking in plain terms, and it ranks several policies as primary, secondary and excess, with the total capped at the highest single amount.

The statutory text

Section 38a-336(d) says that regardless of the number of policies issued, vehicles or premiums shown on a policy, premiums paid, persons covered, vehicles involved in an accident, or claims made, in no event shall the limit of liability for UM and UIM coverage applicable to two or more motor vehicles covered under the same or separate policies be added together to determine the limit available to an injured person for any one accident.

Which policy pays when you were in someone else's car

If you were an occupant of a vehicle you do not own that is covered by a policy with UM/UIM coverage, the occupied vehicle's coverage is primary and any coverage for which you are a named insured is secondary. All other applicable policies are excess. The total recoverable is limited to the highest amount recoverable under the primary policy, the secondary policy or any one of the excess policies, and amounts paid under excess policies are apportioned by their limits.

If you were in your own car

If you were an occupant of an owned vehicle, the UM/UIM coverage of the policy covering that vehicle is the only coverage available. That rule, together with the ban on adding limits, means a household with several cars does not combine them.

A related cap in subsection (b)

The insurer pays up to the policy's UM/UIM limit after the limits of all applicable bodily injury liability policies are exhausted by judgments or settlements, but the total recovery from all policies, including UM/UIM, may not exceed your UM/UIM limits. This cap does not apply to conversion coverage under 38a-336a. Social Security disability benefits do not reduce your UM/UIM benefits.

How to use this

Compare what a stacking state would pay with Connecticut's result in the Connecticut UM/UIM stacking calculator, start with the plain-English stacked versus unstacked explainer, and read how the underinsured test and conversion coverage work.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Connecticut's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Connecticut attorney.