Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Georgia: Do You Need It?
Uninsured motorist coverage isn’t legally required in Georgia, but it’s protection you may want to have.
Written by Amber Reed
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
While not legally required in Georgia, uninsured motorist coverage is a vital protection to have due to high accident rates and the large number of uninsured drivers in the South.
The Peach State only requires drivers to maintain basic
liability insurance
in the relatively low amounts of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. But in order to be fully protected, it’s strongly recommended that you purchase more coverage. Uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage is a smart addition to your policy and helps protect you from massive out-of-pocket costs for medical bills and property damages. Come along with
Jerry
, the car insurance
shopping app, as we take a look at what’s up with uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia. We’ll talk about what it is, why it’s a good idea to have it, and how to get the best rate possible on your Georgia car insurance costs
. Do you need uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia?
Georgia car insurance laws
don’t require drivers to have uninsured motorist coverage
—but is it something that you should have? According to data from 2019 (the most recent year available), the
Insurance Information Institute (III)
reports that around 12.4% of drivers in Georgia are uninsured. This places Georgia about in the middle nationwide—not the best, but not the worst. So if there aren’t a ton of uninsured drivers in Georgia, do you really need to worry about it? Short answer: yes. A rate of 12.4% means that more than one in ten drivers on the road is uninsured, which is still a dangerously high amount. Add to that the fact that the required minimums are pretty low in Georgia, and medical costs for a severe accident can quickly surpass the $50,000 limit.
This is where uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage comes into play. This additional coverage means that if you are in an accident caused by an uninsured driver, your medical expenses and damages to your car will still be paid for. Without it, you would be responsible for all of it out of pocket, which could be financially disastrous.
Another reason why everyone should really carry this coverage? It’s typically very inexpensive to add to your policy. The exact cost for UM/UIM coverage varies according to location and how much you purchase, but typical Georgia costs range from around $50 to $150 per year or about $4 to $13 per month.
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How uninsured motorist insurance works in Georgia
Circling back to Georgia's minimum car insurance requirements: the
bodily injury liability
portion will pay for the medical expenses of people who are injured in an accident where you’re at fault, and as the name implies, property damage liability
covers property damage occurring from an accident where you’re at fault.But this is just the minimum coverage that you need to drive legally, and while minimum-only coverage can mean saving money in the short term, it leaves you open to an incredible amount of risk. The
average cost for an ER visit in Georgia
is around $1,600, and if you’re in a severe accident, that could be just the beginning of your medical costs. With medical care as expensive as it is in the US, the cost of a severe or long-term injury could easily eclipse Georgia’s required minimum liability coverage. What’s available
Seems like uninsured motorist coverage is a good thing to have, right? Let’s take a look at what you can get.
The UM/UIM insurance available in Georgia (and most states) falls into two categories:
- Uninsured motorist coverage covers your expenses (and those of your passengers) after an accident with an uninsured driver.
- Underinsured motorist coverage covers your expenses if the other driver’s liability insurance isn’t enough to cover your costs.
Even though you’re not legally required to have it,
Georgia law
requires that all insurers offer it in the same amounts as the liability minimums. You can get more if you like, but if you do get UM/UIM coverage, it has to be at least the same 25/50/25 amounts as the mandatory liability coverage. What it covers
Broadly speaking, the UM/UIM coverage offered in Georgia covers the same kind of expenses that the liability coverages do. But rather than pay for the other driver’s damages, it covers yours in the event that you’re involved in an accident where the at-fault driver is uninsured. The medical expenses that a UM/UIM policy covers aren’t just limited to ER bills and surgical costs—it will also cover things like:
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Long-term rehabilitative or nursing care
- Medical devices such as wheelchairs
- Retrofitting your house to accommodate a disability caused by the accident
- Services such as yard work or cleaning that you’re no longer able to do
- Pain and suffering (under some circumstances)
Medical expenses can be extremely high in the US, and no one wants to worry about how they’re going to manage in the event of serious injury in a car accident. UM/UIM coverage offers a lot of peace of mind for not much money and is protection that you might be very grateful to have.
How to make a claim
After a car accident
, it’s important (and sometimes the law) to exchange information with the other drivers involved—and this includes your current insurance info. But if the other driver is at fault, doesn’t have insurance, and you or your passengers have been injured, then you’ll need to file an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim. The process is fairly simple. Contact your insurance company right away and let them know what happened. While you're still at the scene, make plenty of notes and take some pictures to document the accident. Keep a thorough record of all your medical bills, receipts, and police reports—the more documentation you have, the faster your claim will be processed.
You’ll choose the amount of coverage you want to have when you purchase your uninsured/underinsured motorist policy. But keep in mind that any expenses above your coverage limits will be your responsibility to pay for, whether through your own health insurance,
personal injury protection
(PIP) policy, or out-of-pocket. Why it’s a good idea to buy uninsured motorist insurance in Georgia
It is true that buying more than the legal minimum will make your insurance costs more expensive. But it’s a smart idea to do so if you can afford it, and here are a few reasons why!
More than one in ten Georgia drivers is uninsured
We mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: around 12.4% of drivers in Georgia are uninsured. And if you throw in the number who have just the minimum amount of insurance, the odds are even higher that you’ll be involved in an accident caused by someone who has no or insufficient insurance coverage.
Georgia has one of the highest accident rates in the nation
The rankings change a little according to the data source, but one thing stays consistent: Georgia has one of the highest rates of car accidents in the nation. If you’re more likely to have an auto accident in Georgia, it stands to reason that there’s also an increased possibility that the other driver is uninsured.
The South is awash in uninsured drivers
Georgia’s rate of uninsured drivers is pretty much smack in the middle as far as the rest of the nation goes, but its neighbor states? Not so much—and not in a good way. Out of the top ten states in the US for the highest number of uninsured drivers, three of them share a border with Georgia. Yeah, we’re looking at you,
Alabama
(19.5% uninsured), Tennessee
(23.7%), and Florida
(20.4%)! On top of that, two others in the top ten are just a few hours away—if you’re keeping score, that would be Arkansas
(19.3% uninsured) and Mississippi
(29.4%). The South has a lot of great things to see and do and is a popular area for
road trips
. So while the number of uninsured drivers in Georgia is about average, the number in the region is much, much higher—which should be a concern for all involved. How to save on uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia
Just because an uninsured/underinsured motorist policy is typically pretty cheap doesn’t mean it’s free—and every little bit counts! If you’d like to add UM/UIM coverage to your car insurance but are worried about the costs,
Jerry
is here to lend a hand. As a
trustworthy licensed broker app
, Jerry partners with more than 55 of the best insurance providers in the nation to find you the coverage you need at a price that fits your budget. No phone calls are required, but if you do have any questions, fully licensed brokers are available to help you out as much as you need. On average, Jerry shoppers save more than $800 a year on their car insurance, which should be more than enough to add on underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia.
“Jerryis a great product with great customer service! The quote comparison found me lots of options being in Georgia.” —Gregory K.
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