Policy Limits Demand Letters in Georgia: Strategy for Maximum Recovery

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A policy limits demand is an offer to settle a motor vehicle injury claim for the amount of the at-fault driver’s insurance. In Georgia, OCGA 9-11-67.1 governs the content and timing of such an offer and gives the recipient a way to answer it that ends any later civil action for failing to settle.

What the Statute Covers

“Any offer to settle a tort claim for personal injury, bodily injury, or death arising from a motor vehicle collision shall be an offer to enter into a bilateral contract” (OCGA 9-11-67.1(a)). For an offer prepared by or with the assistance of an attorney on behalf of a claimant, made from the time the cause of action accrues until the named defendants have answered or defaulted, the statute requires a writing with stated terms (OCGA 9-11-67.1(b)).

The Material Terms

The offer “[s]hall contain the following material terms, which shall be the only material terms” (OCGA 9-11-67.1(b)(1)):

  • a date by which the offer must be accepted, “not less than 30 days from receipt of the offer sent by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested”;
  • the amount of monetary payment;
  • the party or parties the claimant will release if the offer is accepted;
  • for any type of release, whether it is full or limited, and an itemization of what the claimant will provide to each releasee;
  • the claims to be released;
  • a date by which payment shall be delivered, a date that “shall not be less than 40 days from receipt of the offer”; and
  • a requirement that the recipient provide a sworn statement “regarding whether all liability and casualty insurance issued by the recipient that provides coverage or that may provide coverage for the claim at issue has been disclosed to the offeror,” by a date not less than 40 days from receipt, a requirement the offeror may waive.

Any term outside the listed material terms “shall be construed as an immaterial term that may be mutually agreed to, in writing, by both the offeror and the recipient,” and a recipient’s variance from an immaterial term does not subject the recipient to a civil action for failing to accept “if such recipient otherwise complies with subsection (i)” (OCGA 9-11-67.1(c)). The offer must be sent by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, must “specifically reference this Code section,” and must include an address and either a facsimile number or an email address for written acceptance (OCGA 9-11-67.1(g)). Payment may be made by cash, money order, wire transfer, cashier’s check, an insurance company draft or bank check, or electronic payment (OCGA 9-11-67.1(h)).

For example, imagine an offer sent by certified mail and received on March 1, 2027. The acceptance date cannot be earlier than March 31, 2027, 30 days from receipt. The payment date and the sworn-statement date cannot be earlier than April 10, 2027, 40 days from receipt.

Acceptance and Clarification

The recipients “may accept the same by providing written acceptance of the material terms outlined in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section in their entirety” (OCGA 9-11-67.1(d)). On receipt, the recipients “shall have the right to seek clarification regarding the terms, the terms of the release, liens, subrogation claims, standing to release claims, medical bills, medical records, and other relevant facts”; an attempt at clarification must be in writing and is not a counteroffer, but “seeking to modify the terms under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section shall not be deemed a clarification” (OCGA 9-11-67.1(f)).

The Recipient’s Response

“There shall be no civil action arising from an alleged failure by the recipient to settle a tort claim for personal injury, bodily injury, or death arising from a motor vehicle collision, where the recipient provides the offeror on or before the dates specified in the offer”: a writing that purports to accept the material terms in their entirety except the amount of payment; a sworn statement about insurance coverage, if required as a material term; and payment of “the lesser of” the amount demanded or “[t]he available bodily injury liability limits of the applicable insurance policy or policies issued by the recipient” (OCGA 9-11-67.1(i)(1)).

When the Statute Applies

The Code section was enacted in 2013 and amended in 2021 and 2024. The 2021 amendment applies to causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 2021. The 2024 Act, SB 83, makes the section applicable to offers made on or after April 22, 2024, the day the Governor approved it, but the Code Commission notes that the Act did not become effective until July 1, 2024, and refer to Op. Att’y Gen. No. 76-76 for the construction of conflicting date provisions. An offer made between those two dates is where the difference matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Must the offer include medical records?
Yes. An offer under subsection (b) must include “medical or other records in the offeror’s possession incurred as a result of the subject claim that are sufficient to allow the recipient to evaluate the claim” (OCGA 9-11-67.1(b)(2)).

Does the protection in subsection (i) reach an offer that does not follow subsection (b)?
Yes. Subsection (i) applies to any offer to settle a motor vehicle injury or death claim, “even where such offer expressly provides that any or all of this Code section does not apply,” and is not limited to offers made under subsection (b) (OCGA 9-11-67.1(i)(2)). The exception: once a recipient fails to comply with subsection (i)(1) in response to an offer that complies with subsection (b), the protection does not apply to any later offer on the claim (OCGA 9-11-67.1(i)(3)).

What if the insurer lets a policy limits offer expire?
Apart from the statute, the Supreme Court of Georgia held in Southern General Insurance Co. v. Holt, 262 Ga. 267 (1992), that an insurer can be liable to its own insured for failing to settle an injured person’s claim within the policy limits where the insurer is guilty of negligence, fraud, or bad faith in failing to compromise it.

Does the statute apply to a claim against a vehicle manufacturer?
Not to an offer to settle a product liability claim, including a failure-to-warn claim arising under product liability (OCGA 9-11-67.1(j)).

  • OCGA 9-11-67.1(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), with its history, Code Commission Notes, and Editor’s Notes
  • Southern General Insurance Co. v. Holt, 262 Ga. 267 (1992)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about settlement offers in motor vehicle injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether an offer complies with the statute depends on its terms and how it was sent. A person considering a settlement offer should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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