Stacking UM/UIM Coverage in Georgia: Maximizing Your Protection

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When a Georgia driver carrying low liability limits causes a serious crash, the at-fault policy can run out long before the injured person’s losses do. Uninsured motorist coverage is Georgia’s answer, and OCGA 33-7-11 decides the questions that come before any talk of combining policies: which vehicles count as uninsured, whether the insured’s coverage is the add-on form or the reduced-by form, and how far the combined payments can reach. Whether coverages from more than one policy combine then turns on the policy language read against that statute.

Who Is Insured and What Counts as Uninsured

The protection follows the insured person. The named insured and resident relatives are insured whether or not they are in a motor vehicle, and so are people using the insured vehicle with consent and guests in it (OCGA 33-7-11(b)(1)(B)). A vehicle counts as uninsured in several situations, including when it has no liability insurance, when its insurer has legally denied coverage, when its insurer is insolvent (to the extent of the shortfall), and, for the add-on form described below, even when it carries liability insurance; a vehicle whose owner and operator are unknown also counts, but only with actual physical contact or an eyewitness other than the claimant who corroborates the claimant’s account (OCGA 33-7-11(b)(1)(D), (b)(2)).

Add-On and Reduced-By Coverage

For a vehicle with liability insurance, OCGA 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)(I) provides that the vehicle is “considered uninsured to the full extent of the limits of the uninsured motorist coverage provided under the insured’s motor vehicle insurance policies,” and that the coverage applies “in addition to the amounts payable under any available bodily injury liability and property damage liability insurance coverages.” The insured’s uninsured motorist coverage “shall not be used to duplicate payments” but “shall be available as additional insurance coverage in excess of” the liability coverages, and the insured’s combined recovery “shall not exceed the sum of all economic and noneconomic losses sustained by the insured.” “Available” liability coverage is the limit less amounts by which the maximum payable “have, by reason of payment of other claims or otherwise, been reduced below the limits of coverage.”

Subdivision (II) offers an alternative. An insured “may reject the coverage referenced in subdivision (I) of this division and select in writing” coverage under which the other vehicle is uninsured “only for the amount of the difference between the available coverages under the bodily injury liability insurance and property damage liability insurance coverages on such motor vehicle and the limits of the uninsured motorist coverages.” Subdivision (III) adds that neither applies if the insured rejects uninsured motorist coverage under OCGA 33-7-11(a)(3).

For example, imagine an insured with $100,000 in uninsured motorist limits and an at-fault driver whose available liability limit is $50,000. Under subdivision (I), the uninsured motorist coverage applies in addition to the $50,000, so up to $100,000 more can be reached, for a combined $150,000, subject to the ceiling of the insured’s total losses. Under the written selection in subdivision (II), the vehicle is uninsured for the difference between $50,000 and $100,000, so the uninsured motorist coverage pays up to $50,000, for a combined $100,000.

Combining Coverages

Subdivision (I) measures the add-on coverage by the uninsured motorist coverage provided under “the insured’s motor vehicle insurance policies,” in the plural. The statute also excludes umbrella and excess liability policies from the required coverage unless the policy or an endorsement affirmatively provides it (OCGA 33-7-11(a)(3)). Whether coverage from two policies, or on several vehicles under one policy, combines in a given case turns on the policy language, including any other-insurance or anti-stacking clause, read against the statute.

The Court of Appeals has allowed coverage from more than one source to be combined. In Merchant v. Canal Insurance Co., No. A99A0699 (Ga. Ct. App. June 28, 1999), the injured plaintiffs had uninsured motorist coverage from two insurers, and the at-fault driver carried minimum liability limits. The court stated that when more than one source of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is available, claimants may stack the policies, with the priority among the carriers to be determined, and it reversed a ruling that had given the secondary carrier a complete set-off, because a set-off reaches only the liability coverage actually available and not already paid out on other claims. The decision applied the statute as it read in 1999, so its set-off calculation reflects that version; its statements on stacking and priority are the part that bears on combining coverages.

Serving the Uninsured Motorist Carrier

Where the owner or operator is known and named as a defendant and there is a reasonable belief that the vehicle is uninsured, the action and all pleadings must be served on the uninsured motorist carrier as though it were a named defendant, and the carrier may take discovery for at least 120 days after service before any hearing on the merits (OCGA 33-7-11(d)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the policy require arbitration of an uninsured motorist claim?
No. The endorsement may not contain a provision “requiring arbitration of any claim,” and nothing may be required of the insured “except the establishment of legal liability” (OCGA 33-7-11(g)).

Do medical payments or workers’ compensation benefits reduce the coverage?
They can. A policy may exclude liability for bodily injury or death “for which the insured has been compensated pursuant to ‘medical payments coverage'” or under workers’ compensation (OCGA 33-7-11(i)).

When must the uninsured motorist carrier be served?
In Mote v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., No. A25A0651 (Ga. Ct. App. May 13, 2025), the Court of Appeals applied the general rule that the carrier must be served within the same limitation period that applies to the claim against the uninsured motorist, and it affirmed a dismissal for lack of diligence in perfecting service on the carrier.

What if the carrier refuses to pay in bad faith?
After a judgment against the uninsured motorist, the insured may bring a separate action in which the carrier can be held liable for up to 25 percent of the recovery or $25,000, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees, if it refused to pay within 60 days after demand and the refusal is found to be in bad faith (OCGA 33-7-11(j)).

  • OCGA 33-7-11(a)(3), (b)(1)(B), (b)(1)(D), (b)(2), (d), (g), (i), (j)
  • Merchant v. Canal Insurance Co., No. A99A0699 (Ga. Ct. App. June 28, 1999)
  • Mote v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., No. A25A0651 (Ga. Ct. App. May 13, 2025)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Coverage in a particular case depends on the policy language and the specific facts. A person evaluating uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage after a Georgia accident should consult a licensed Georgia attorney about the particular situation.

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