Hampton & Hampton helps people injured by Georgia drivers who had no insurance, or not enough, recover under their own auto policy. Nearly 1 in 5 Georgia drivers (19%) was uninsured in 2023, according to the Insurance Information Institute, and a driver who carries only the state minimum has $25,000 per person to pay for their injuries. When the other driver can’t cover your losses, uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is the part of your own policy that can.
UM is typically a default in most Georgia policies unless you opted out in writing (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11). How much it pays, and whether you can use it at all, comes down to the type of UM on your policy, your proof that the other driver fled, and how quickly you act.
What to do after a crash with an uninsured or underinsured driver:
- Report the crash to police right away: local police inside a city, or the county sheriff or nearest state patrol office outside one. Georgia law requires an immediate report when anyone is hurt or killed or there’s apparent property damage of $500 or more. For a hit-and-run, UM won’t pay without that report.
- Find the declarations page for your policy. It lists your UM limits and whether your UM is “added on” or “reduced by.” Ask your agent for a copy of any UM rejection or selection form you signed.
- Tell your own insurance company about the crash promptly. Many policies set their own notice deadlines, and Georgia courts have enforced them.
- Write down the name and phone number of anyone who saw the crash.
- Don’t sign a release from the at-fault driver’s insurer until a lawyer has reviewed it. Georgia courts have held that a general release can bar a later UM claim; a limited release under O.C.G.A. § 33-24-41.1 can preserve it.
- Speak with an Alpharetta car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
| Rule | What Georgia law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum liability insurance a vehicle owner must carry | $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury; $25,000 for property damage | Georgia Office of Insurance, O.C.G.A. § 33-34-4, O.C.G.A. § 40-9-37 |
| Minimum UM limits, unless rejected in writing | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage | O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a)(1)(A) |
| When a crash must be reported to police | Injury, death, or apparent property damage of $500 or more; report immediately | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273 |
| UM deductible options | $250, $500, or $1,000, at the named insured's option; higher amounts only with the Insurance Commissioner's approval | O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a)(2) |
| Deadline to sue for personal injury | Generally 2 years after the claim accrues | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 |
| Deadline to sue for vehicle damage | Generally 4 years | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-31 |
| Time your insurer has after a demand before a bad-faith penalty can be considered | 60 days | O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(j) |
| Georgia motorists estimated to be uninsured (2023) | 19.0%, nearly 1 in 5 | Insurance Information Institute, citing the Insurance Research Council |
Is uninsured motorist coverage required in Georgia?
Georgia doesn’t make you keep it, but your insurer has to include it. It’s typically a default in most policies unless you opted out. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a), you lose UM only if an insured named on the policy rejects it in writing.
If you didn’t opt out, your UM limits match your liability limits. You may have chosen lower limits instead, but they can’t go below $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, the same minimums Georgia requires for liability insurance.
Check your declarations page to see what UM coverage you have. If you rejected UM or chose lower limits when you first bought the policy, that choice carries over when the policy renews, and your insurer doesn’t have to raise your limits. If you aren’t sure, ask your agent for a copy of any UM form you signed.
What’s the difference between added-on and reduced-by UM coverage?
Added-on UM pays on top of the at-fault driver’s insurance. Reduced-by UM subtracts that driver’s insurance from your UM limit and pays only what’s left.
For example, say a driver with the $25,000 minimum hits you, you carry $100,000 in UM, and your injuries cost more than $125,000. With added-on UM, you can collect up to $125,000: the other driver’s $25,000 plus your full $100,000. With reduced-by UM, your insurer subtracts the other driver’s $25,000 first, so you can collect up to $100,000.
Added-on UM coverage has been the default for Georgia policies issued, delivered, or renewed on or after January 1, 2009. You have reduced by only if someone on the policy chose it in writing.
When does UM apply in Georgia?
Your UM coverage can pay even when the driver who hit you had insurance. If that driver carried only the $25,000 minimum and your medical bills and lost wages add up to more, UM can cover the rest, up to your limits. In Georgia, UM covers underinsured drivers as well as uninsured ones.
Under § 33-7-11(b), Georgia treats the other vehicle as uninsured when:
- The driver had no liability insurance, and no bond or cash deposit in its place.
- The driver had insurance, but not enough to cover your losses.
- The driver’s insurer legally denied coverage.
- The driver’s insurer is insolvent and can’t pay in full.
- The driver fled and couldn’t be identified, and the hit-and-run proof rules below are met.
Hit-and-run claims: the proof Georgia requires
If the driver who hit you drove off and was never identified, you can still make a UM claim under § 33-7-11(b)(2). You’ll need one of two kinds of proof:
- ☐ Contact. The other vehicle physically hit you or your property, such as your car.
- ☐ An eyewitness. If the other vehicle never touched you, someone else has to back up your account of what happened. Georgia courts have accepted a spouse riding in the same car.
Either way, report the crash to police immediately, as Georgia law requires. Courts hold people to this. A motorcyclist who waited 29 days to report a hit-and-run lost the UM claim in Pender v. Doe (2005), and in Navarro v. Atlanta Casualty Co. (2001), a report made four or five days after the crash was too late.
What does UM pay for, and who is covered?
UM can pay for bodily injury, death, loss of consortium (a spouse’s claim for lost companionship when the other spouse is hurt), and damage to the insured vehicle and personal property you own inside it. Payment is subject to your policy limits and any deductible you selected (§ 33-7-11(a)(1)).
It also covers more people than the policyholder. Under § 33-7-11(b)(1)(B), coverage includes:
- The named insured
- A spouse and relatives of either who live in the same household, whether they’re in a vehicle or on foot
- Foster children or wards placed in the household
- Anyone driving the covered vehicle with the named insured’s consent, and passengers riding in it, but only when that vehicle is involved
Georgia courts have held punitive damages can’t be recovered from a UM carrier. A policy can also leave out amounts you’ve already received from medical payments coverage, workers’ compensation, or other property or physical damage insurance (§ 33-7-11(i)), though courts have held the UM insurer must still pay losses nobody else covered, up to your limits. For other damages you can claim, see our guide to what you can claim after a Georgia car accident.
Deadlines for a Georgia UM claim
You file a UM claim against your own insurer, but it runs on the same clock as a lawsuit against the driver who hit you. UM pays only if the other driver is legally liable, so if you miss the deadline to sue that driver, the UM claim can fail too.
| Issue | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Injury lawsuit, including one against a hit-and-run driver filed as "John Doe" | Generally 2 years after the claim accrues |
| Vehicle and personal property damage lawsuit | Generally 4 years |
| Serving your UM insurer | With the lawsuit, when there is reason to believe the other vehicle is uninsured or underinsured |
| Uninsured status discovered after filing | The longer of the remaining service time or 90 days after discovery |
If you only find out after filing that the other driver was uninsured or underinsured, you get extra time to serve your insurer: at least 90 days after you found out (or should have), as long as you served the other driver on time.
What if your own insurance company refuses to pay your UM claim?
An insurer that refuses to pay in bad faith can owe a penalty, but Georgia sets out a process first (§ 33-7-11(j)):
- You make a demand for payment of a covered loss.
- The insurer doesn’t pay within 60 days.
- You win a judgment against the uninsured driver in the injury case.
- A separate action decides whether the refusal was in bad faith.
- If it was, the insurer can owe up to 25% of the recovery or $25,000, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees. The $25,000 option applies to causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 2021.
Georgia also bars UM policies from forcing you into arbitration, requiring more than proof that the other driver is legally liable, or stopping you from hiring a lawyer or filing suit (§ 33-7-11(g)).
FAQ
Can I use UM coverage from more than one policy?
Sometimes. Georgia courts have allowed recovery under more than one UM policy, such as a household policy and an employer’s policy, up to your actual damages. Courts have refused to stack UM coverage for several vehicles listed on a single policy. Which policy pays first depends on the facts, so gather every household and employer auto policy that might apply.
Did Georgia’s 2025 tort reform law change UM coverage?
No. Senate Bill 68 didn’t amend Georgia’s UM law, § 33-7-11, as reflected in the 2025 Code of Georgia. It did change how injury cases are tried: juries can now hear evidence of seat belt use, and evidence of what health insurance would accept as payment for medical care rather than only the billed amounts. The medical-expense rule applies to causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025. A UM claim depends on the injury case, so these rules can affect it.
Should I keep added-on coverage when I renew?
Ask your agent what each type costs. In the example above, added-on coverage paid up to $125,000 and reduced-by paid up to $100,000 for the same crash. Decide whether that extra $25,000 of protection is worth the price difference.
Why you may need a lawyer for a claim against your own insurer
A UM claim puts you on the other side of the table from your insurer. Once you serve it with the lawsuit, your insurer can file its own pleadings and defend the case in its own name or the at-fault driver’s (§ 33-7-11(d)). That means the company you pay premiums to can dispute who was at fault and what your personal injury claim is worth.
The claim also has steps that are easy to miss: serving your insurer with the lawsuit, meeting the two-year deadline to sue the other driver, avoiding a general release that can bar the UM claim, and making a written demand before any bad-faith penalty can apply.
Talk to Hampton & Hampton about your UM claim
If a driver with little or no insurance injured you, contact Hampton & Hampton to schedule a free initial consultation. Call before you sign a release or settlement with the at-fault driver’s insurer, and before your own insurer takes a recorded statement.
Hampton & Hampton LLP | 12150 Morris Road, Alpharetta, GA 30005 | 1-470-567-1529 | hamptonandhamptonlaw.com
This article provides general information about Georgia law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Laws and policy terms change; check the current statute and your own policy, and speak with an attorney about your situation.