Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Coverage in Georgia is a complex area of the law and you have to tread very carefully with these policies after a Georgia Car Wreck. Uninsured Motorist Insurance is primarily governed through O.C.G.A. 33-7-11 and Georgia law changed on January 1, 2009. There will now be three choices for Uninsured Motorist Coverages in Georgia and we will explore those differences below. Watch this Georgia Uninsured Motorist video first and then go on to read the article below. The key thing to know is for crashes occurring after July 2009, you will have one of the three types of UM coverage listed below.
In order to examine your situation, the first step is get the insurance policy declarations page the company mails you every six months or pull it up online.
Click Here to See What a Declarations Page Looks Like for a Georgia Car Insurance Policy
In this example there is Stacking Coverage. The section I circled in Orange tells you how much liability coverage you have. Remember that liability coverage is the coverage protecting you if you hurt someone else. The section marked in blue tells you how much uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage you have. In this policy I have $300,000.00 available. Now, let's discuss the differences between the types of coverage.
Stackable Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage.
This is the best type and if you can afford it, buy at least $100,000.00 of this coverage. When you own this type of coverage it sits on top of any insurance the at fault driver has. For example if you broke both of the bones in your lower leg and had a surgery with permanent consequences, then your case will arguably have a value of $250,000.00. If you were hit by a driver insured by Chubb Insurance for $100,000.00 and you have the new stackable coverage for $100,000.00, then you can recover $200,000.00 (stack them on top of each other)
Non-Stacking Uninsured/Underinsured Insurance Coverage
This coverage is a distant second. It will not stack on top of the at fault driver's coverage. For example, if you are hit by a Farm Bureau insured driver with $25,000.00 in coverage and you have $25,000.00 of this type of coverage, then your insurance company is in the shadow of the at fault driver's coverage and $25,000.00 is the maximum insurance money available. (Your policy minus at fault policy yields coverage available)
No Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Many people choose to save themselves money and it is only after they are seriously injured in Georgia in a car wreck that they discovery that "full coverage" does not include Uninsured Motorist Coverage. Review your policy and make sure you have it.
Read these examples of how Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance works.
Key Points With Uninsured and Underinsured Insurance
1) You must put your Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance Company on notice as soon as is possible after the crash. If you don't, you may be failing to comply with the insurance contract and void your own coverage. When I worked for Liberty Mutual, we successfully argued in Burkett v. Liberty Mutual that failing to tell the insurer for 2 years voided coverage. Other cases have held that failing to give notice in as little as 60 days is enough. See Manzi v. Cotton States Mutual Insurance Company., 243 Ga. App. 277, 531 S.E.2d 164 (2000). One of the key reasons to hire a lawyer in a complex case is that the lawyer knows where to look for other potential policies that can be stacked.
2) You do need to comply with their requests for cooperation and recorded statements. (Only for your insurer, not the other guy's insurance company)
3) Are there other relatives you live with that have their own insurance policies? If so, you may be covered under them.
4) You are covered under the Uninsured Motorist coverage for the vehicle you are riding in. This is in addition to other coverage that you pay for.
5) If you plan to settle with the at fault driver, make sure you execute a Georgia Limited Liability Release, not a General Release.
6) No, the insurance company cannot cancel your policy or non-renew you unless you have three or more not at fault accidents or Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage claims in the preceding 36 months. O.C.G.A. § 33-24-45(c)
7) If you are struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian, your Uninsured Motorist Coverage will apply if the other driver hits and runs or if they had no coverage.
8) Go to my blog article for coverage analysis examples under the old Georgia Uninsured Motorist law. As an Atlanta injury lawyer, I can lead you through the complex layers of coverage involved.
In order to examine your situation, the first step is get the insurance policy declarations page the company mails you every six months or pull it up online.
Click Here to See What a Declarations Page Looks Like for a Georgia Car Insurance Policy
In this example there is Stacking Coverage. The section I circled in Orange tells you how much liability coverage you have. Remember that liability coverage is the coverage protecting you if you hurt someone else. The section marked in blue tells you how much uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage you have. In this policy I have $300,000.00 available. Now, let's discuss the differences between the types of coverage.
Stackable Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage.
This is the best type and if you can afford it, buy at least $100,000.00 of this coverage. When you own this type of coverage it sits on top of any insurance the at fault driver has. For example if you broke both of the bones in your lower leg and had a surgery with permanent consequences, then your case will arguably have a value of $250,000.00. If you were hit by a driver insured by Chubb Insurance for $100,000.00 and you have the new stackable coverage for $100,000.00, then you can recover $200,000.00 (stack them on top of each other)
Non-Stacking Uninsured/Underinsured Insurance Coverage
This coverage is a distant second. It will not stack on top of the at fault driver's coverage. For example, if you are hit by a Farm Bureau insured driver with $25,000.00 in coverage and you have $25,000.00 of this type of coverage, then your insurance company is in the shadow of the at fault driver's coverage and $25,000.00 is the maximum insurance money available. (Your policy minus at fault policy yields coverage available)
No Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Many people choose to save themselves money and it is only after they are seriously injured in Georgia in a car wreck that they discovery that "full coverage" does not include Uninsured Motorist Coverage. Review your policy and make sure you have it.
Read these examples of how Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance works.
Key Points With Uninsured and Underinsured Insurance
1) You must put your Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance Company on notice as soon as is possible after the crash. If you don't, you may be failing to comply with the insurance contract and void your own coverage. When I worked for Liberty Mutual, we successfully argued in Burkett v. Liberty Mutual that failing to tell the insurer for 2 years voided coverage. Other cases have held that failing to give notice in as little as 60 days is enough. See Manzi v. Cotton States Mutual Insurance Company., 243 Ga. App. 277, 531 S.E.2d 164 (2000). One of the key reasons to hire a lawyer in a complex case is that the lawyer knows where to look for other potential policies that can be stacked.
2) You do need to comply with their requests for cooperation and recorded statements. (Only for your insurer, not the other guy's insurance company)
3) Are there other relatives you live with that have their own insurance policies? If so, you may be covered under them.
4) You are covered under the Uninsured Motorist coverage for the vehicle you are riding in. This is in addition to other coverage that you pay for.
5) If you plan to settle with the at fault driver, make sure you execute a Georgia Limited Liability Release, not a General Release.
6) No, the insurance company cannot cancel your policy or non-renew you unless you have three or more not at fault accidents or Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage claims in the preceding 36 months. O.C.G.A. § 33-24-45(c)
7) If you are struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian, your Uninsured Motorist Coverage will apply if the other driver hits and runs or if they had no coverage.
8) Go to my blog article for coverage analysis examples under the old Georgia Uninsured Motorist law. As an Atlanta injury lawyer, I can lead you through the complex layers of coverage involved.