Source: https://www.christophersimon.com/georgia-uninsured-motorist-insurance.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 06:23:35+00:00

Document:
Understanding Georgia Uninsured Motorist laws is a challenge even for most lawyers. Our firm actually speaks at lawyer education seminars on the subject.. Uninsured Motorist Insurance is primarily governed through O.C.G.A. 33-7-11. There are three key choices that a consumer has to understand when buying coverage and they control what options you have after a crash.
Watch this Georgia Uninsured Motorist video first and then go on to read the article 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.
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.
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.
Are there other relatives you live with that have their own insurance policies? If so, you may be covered under them.
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.
If you plan to settle with the at fault driver, make sure you execute a Georgia Limited Liability Release, not a General Release.
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.
Go to my blog article for coverage analysis examples under the old Georgia Uninsured Motorist law. I can lead you through the complex layers of coverage involved.
Since OCGA 33-7-11 requires an insurance company to get the customer to make a written choice to have lower uninsured limits than liability limits, if I was not given that option, how much insurance do I have?
The answer is if the insurance company does not have a written selection from you to carry lower UM limits than liability limits, then the UM limits come up to the liability limits so they match.
I recently wrote a paper for attorneys on UM Insurance to help them through the process. I am including it below for further reading.
Uninsured Motorist Insurance is insurance against the wrongdoing of others. It comes into play when there is no insurance on the other driver and can play a role when the at-fault insurance is too low.
OCGA 33-7-11 is wordy and takes a few readings to understand. Spend some time with it.
Traditional or reducing coverage: This is the cheap variety where the UM insurer gets an offset for whatever coverage the at-fault has.
Excess or added-on coverage. This coverage sits on top of the at fault coverage.
What policy is on the car your client was in?
What policies is your client a named insured on? Any motorcycle policies.
What relatives does your client live with and do they have other insurance policies?
Does your client have State Farm and multiple vehicles? Will usually stack between those policies.
Who is Covered Under the UM Policy?
Relatives of the named insured who live with the named insured. These insureds have the UM policy following them around like a force field. If they are run over while walking in the street at McDonald's by a getaway car from a bank robbery, they are insured against that loss by an uninsured motor vehicle.
How can the Client be a resident of more than one household?
If you have the UM coverage, they all stack on one another, even if they are reducing. If you have a client covered under 3 separate 25k reducing UM policies, then your client has $75,000 in UM coverage, subject on some level to an offset for whatever the tortfeasor has.
Simple math equation: Add up the liability insurance, add up all the UM insurance and see which pile is taller. If its Liability, then UM is not in play.
Remember that UM coverage follows the person, not the car. When a person is covered by multiple UM policies, you must decide which UM pays first and the most oft used rule is the “receipt of premium” test. If the client paid the premium, that one likely pays out first. Then move down the chain of more closely associated with. What if these polices are of the reducing variety and the TF only has 25k in liability coverage?
The general rule is that the last UM in line to pay gets the benefit of the offset. The primary UM first payor will hate this, but it is the rule. In a situation where none of the UM carriers will agree who gets what offset, sue them all and let them argue over it.
There are multiple cars on the UM policy, can I stack the UM coverage because there was a separate premium paid on each?
Only if there are actually separate policies issued for each vehicle.
What if my insurer issued a new policy with a new number that supersedes the old one? Would they have to get a new selection of lower limits?
No. If an insurance policy supersedes another and just changes policy numbers, it does not need a new selection of limits form. Roberson v. Leone 315 Ga.App. 459 (2012).
Where two drivers jointly cause a collision and one has coverage and the other does not, the UM policy applies to the uninsured driver from dollar one without set off and also applies to the negligence of the insured driver, subject to whatever set off there is. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Boylan. 263 Ga App 723 (2003).
It used to be that UM coverage on the wrongful death statutory claimant would allow them to claim against the UM policy for the death of an uninsured child. Atlanta Cas. Co. v. Gordon, 279 Ga. 148 (2005). Unfortunately, after that decision, the legislature amended the OCGA 33-7-11 and took out the "all sums" language so now, the decedent must have been insured under the UM policy in order for the claim to proceed.
Notice to All Possible UM Carriers Covering Your Client in Writing.
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. Courts 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).
Example: The Tortfeasor has a 25k policy. There is a 25k added on UM policy and 5k was paid in med pay. If the claim is only worth 40k or 25k from TF and 15 from UM, then the UM gets the credit for the 5k paid in med pay. If the claim is worth 60k, there would be no offset.
Burn the Policy on Both Ends? Can I Hit the Liability and UM limits on the same policy as a passenger?
(2) A motor vehicle shall be deemed to be uninsured if the owner or operator of the motor vehicle is unknown. In those cases, recovery under the endorsement or provisions shall be subject to the conditions set forth in subsections (c) through (j) of this Code section, and, in order for the insured to recover under the endorsement where the owner or operator of any motor vehicle which causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, actual physical contact shall have occurred between the motor vehicle owned or operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured. Such physical contact shall not be required if the description by the claimant of how the occurrence occurred is corroborated by an eyewitness to the occurrence other than the claimant.
(c) If the owner or operator of any motor vehicle which causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, the insured, or someone on his behalf, or in the event of a death claim someone on behalf of the party having the claim, in order for the insured to recover under the endorsement, shall report the accident as required by Code Section 40-6-273.
The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or property damage to an apparent extent of $500.00 or more shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of such accident to the local police department if such accident occurs within a municipality. If such accident occurs outside a municipality, such notice shall be given to the office of the county sheriff or to the nearest office of the state patrol.
Example: My client gets run off the road while on her bike by a John Doe driver. Her friend sees it happen. The police are called and show up. They do not make a report, does she have a valid UM claim?
Remember, this is a contractual relationship and your client has an obligation to comply with reasonable requests to cooperate, including the giving of a recorded statement.
Best practice these days is to have the UM carrier review the proposed Limited Liability Release. There has been a trend of insurers claiming that the LLR was invalid and breached the contract for insurance. Be safe, not sorry.
Watch out for broad indemnity clauses. Many carriers have broad language in the LLR saying that the indemnity is for all claims related to the accident. If you are going to be making a UM claim and the UM pays out and eventually files a subrogation suit against the defendant, the defendant can rely on the indemnity language to make your client pay for their defense and any verdict. Take the time to read these releases carefully.
But I don’t want my insurance company to cancel me because I filed a UM claim!
The Statute of Limitations is the same as that for the underlying tort claim. Yes there are some odd exceptions in 33-7-11(d), but don’t mess around with them. Serve the UM every time. Tag the base.
UM insurers can a) do nothing and not be in default, b) answer in their own name and play the discovery game and pull their name out in the pre-trial or c) pretend to work for the defendant so the jury does not see the word insurance. It’s their call.
Pay attention if the Defendant goes into default because his insurer is not participating. If the UM decides to defend in their absent name, there is a good argument to be made that the UM is stuck with the default on liability.
No, the UM is not liable for punitive damages. You should still seek them against a DUI defendant though, because otherwise the UM may have the defendant admit liability and move to exclude evidence of alcohol being involved.
What if the Defendant has Sovereign Immunity, Will the UM insurance apply?
Example. Police Officer has a $100,000 insurance policy through Gwinnett County and causes an injury worth $500,000. If the injured party has add on insurance of $100,000, then they can access it even though the cop is immune from judgment past the original policy limits. Tinsley v. Worlwide Ins. Co. 212 Ga. App. 809 (1994). This was affirmed in a question certified to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2015 in the decision of FCCI Ins. Co. v. McClendon Enterprises.
There is a 2018 case that says that if the injury did not appear serious at first, there is a jury issue as to whether the insured had a duty to put the uninsured motorist carrier on notice. In Bramley v. Nationwide Affinity Insurance Company of America, the Court of Appeals overturned the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the defense on that very basis.
What Does the Vehicle Furnished for Regular Use Exclusion Mean?

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.