Georgia Minimum Car Insurance Requirements
As is the case with many states in America, Georgia requires all drivers to carry a mandatory minimum amount of liability insurance. This not only protects you and your assets but other drivers on the road. Failure to provide proof of insurance can have some severe consequences. The required minimum liability insurance coverage for the state of Georgia is as follows:
- $25,000 bodily injury per person
- $50,000 bodily injury per accident
- $25,000 property damage per accident
Lacking the outlined car insurance limits in Georgia has some pretty hefty penalties. If you are financing your car, you could be required to obtain additional insurance on top of the mandated liability coverage.
Comparative Fault in Georgia
Georgia is what is known as a comparative fault state. This means that fault in an accident can be shared between the drivers as opposed to all fault falling onto one party. But, in the state of Georgia, if one driver is found to be more than 50% responsible for the accident they are not eligible to recover any compensation or damages.
Georgia Liability Coverage
The state of Georgia only requires you to carry a certain amount of liability insurance. It covers both property damage and bodily injury the other driver sustains in an accident you are at fault for. Liability insurance will never pay for your expenses, you would need to expand your policy for that to be the case. Bodily injury coverage pays for medical expenses while the property damage aspect covers damages to the other driver’s vehicle. More on these coverages are explored in a later section.
Georgia Diminished Value Policy
Georgia is one of 15 states that is a diminished value state. Diminished value states allow you to recover losses from the at-fault driver’s insurer that you may encounter when you go to sell your car after an accident. Even if your car is completely repaired after an accident, its value still suffers slightly. when you go to sell your car you may find you can only get so much for it due to its accident history. If this is the case, you may be able to file a diminished value claim with the other party’s insurance company if they were the ones at fault.
In order to do this, the state of Georgie requires you to meet the following requirements:
- You were not the one responsible for the accident
- You can present the proper documentation from the accident, including photos and receipts
- The accident occurred less than 4 years ago
- Your vehicle has a market value of at least $7,000, over $500 in property damage, low-to-normal mileage, a clean title, and is less than 10 years old
- Georgia does have uninsured motorist coverage for this type of claim
Car Insurance Limits in Georgia
As touched on in a previous section, there are a few different categories under liability insurance. Each category also comes with its own limits, or how much your insurer will pay up to for coverage. If you obtain only the state-mandated minimum liability insurance for the state of Georgia, you would have a 25/50/25 policy. Known as a split limit, this divides the coverage limits into three sections: per-person, per-accident, and property damage. What is covered in each is explained below.
- Bodily injury per person refers to the maximum amount of money your insurer will pay for injuries to one person in an accident you caused.
- Bodily injury per accident is the amount your insurance company will pay for all injuries you cause in an accident.
- Property damage per accident refers to the amount your insurer will pay out for damage you cause to the other person’s vehicle in an accident you are responsible for.
Is Georgia’s Mandatory Insurance Minimums Enough Coverage?
Despite the fact Georgia has a higher minimum liability insurance requirement than most states, it does not mean you are totally protected when carrying it. If an injury is serious enough, $25,000 may not even make a drop in the bucket to begin covering medical bills. This also goes for property damage. $25,000 probably cannot sufficiently cover the cost of a new vehicle should you total someone else’s. Once coverage limits have been exhausted, you will be on the hook for the remainder of the expenses. This can be detrimental to you financially. It is always best to expand coverage limits and utilize policy add-ons.
Driving Without Insurance in Georgia
As previously mentioned, driving without insurance in Georgia can have some serve consequences. The table below outlines what you can be facing should you be caught driving without the mandated minimum liability insurance coverage in Georgia.