Georgia Minimum Bodily Injury Insurance: What Drivers Need to Know

What is the minimum amount of bodily injury insurance required in Georgia?

If someone was hurt in a crash, the insurance limits on the at-fault driver’s policy may not cover every medical bill. This page answers the question “What is the minimum amount of bodily injury insurance required in Georgia?” and explains how the limits work and what to do when they fall short.

What Is Bodily Injury Insurance in Georgia?

Higher limits make more coverage available after a serious crash.

Your insurer’s declarations page shows these numbers. Look for the bodily injury and property damage lines. Many people assume the minimum is enough. For a serious injury, it may not be.

What Bodily Injury Liability Coverage Pays For

Bodily injury liability coverage pays for injuries you cause to other people in a crash you are legally responsible for. That includes the other driver, their passengers, and pedestrians. It does not pay for your own injuries.

Your own injuries fall under other parts of your policy. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11, an auto liability policy issued in Georgia must contain uninsured motorist provisions unless the insured rejects that coverage as the statute allows. These pay the insured for bodily injury caused by an uninsured driver, within limits the insured chooses. O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11 reads: “(a)(1) No automobile liability policy or motor vehicle liability policy shall be issued or delivered in this state to the owner of such vehicle or shall be issued or delivered by any insurer licensed in this state upon any motor vehicle then principally garaged or principally used in this state unless it contains an endorsement or provisions undertaking to pay the insured damages for bodily injury, loss of consortium or death of an insured, or for injury to or destruction of property of an insured under the named insured’s policy sustained from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, within limits exclusive of interests and costs which at the option of the insured shall be.”

Georgia law sets a deadline for filing a lawsuit, known as a statute of limitations. It does not measure what a claim is worth. Those are two separate questions. Medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering are weighed under Georgia damages rules, covered below.

How Per-Person and Per-Accident Limits Work

The per-person limit caps what the policy pays for one injured person. The per-accident limit caps what it pays for everyone hurt in one crash, combined.

Here is a labeled hypothetical with round numbers. It shows only the math of the limits. It is not a prediction. Assume a 25/50/25 policy and a crash with three injured people. One passenger has $25,000 in medical bills, and two others each have $15,000.

Each claim fits under the $25,000 per-person limit. Added together, the payments would total $55,000. The $50,000 per-accident limit holds the combined payment to $50,000 for all three people.

A higher per-accident limit gives more room when several people are hurt. Two policies can share the same per-person amount and still differ in total protection. That is why both numbers matter.

Bodily Injury Versus Property Damage Minimums

Property damage liability is a separate minimum. It pays for damage to other people’s vehicles and property, not for their injuries.

A policy that meets the property damage minimum can still leave injury claims under-insured. The two numbers cover different losses. Read the bodily injury line on its own.

Which policy applies turns on who owns the vehicle and who was driving.

What Happens When Medical Bills Exceed the At-Fault Driver’s Limits

When medical bills are larger than the at-fault driver’s bodily injury limits, the gap may need another source of recovery. Surgery, hospital stays, and long-term care can push costs past a 25/50/25 policy.

Georgia damages rules also shape how a medical claim is valued. A bill’s total may not be the amount that can be recovered. Medical costs and other out-of-pocket losses are usually proved with bills and records. Keep every bill, receipt, and record of insurance claim tips suggests keeping, including lost-work records.

Whether it applies, and how much, depends on the facts of the crash and the policies involved.

Rideshare trips raise a separate question. Under O.C.G.A. § 40-1-201, a ride share network service is shielded from liability for a ride share driver’s operation of a personal car only when the statute’s conditions are met, including no negligence by the service itself. O.C.G.A. § 40-1-201 reads: “(a) No ride share network service shall be liable under any theory of liability, including, but not limited to, vicarious or product liability, for any injury to persons or damage to property from the operation of a personal passenger car by a ride share driver by reason of owning, operating, or maintaining a digital network or internet network to connect passengers to ride share drivers for the purpose of prearranged transportation for hire or for donation, provided that.”

For more, read about what happens if the at-fault driver lacks enough coverage. For an illustration of how a settlement figure may be discussed, see how much a $100,000 settlement may pay. That example is an illustration, not a prediction.

Why Statements and Fault Discussions Matter After a Georgia Crash

What you say to insurers early can shape how fault and coverage get discussed. Keep statements short and factual. Avoid guessing about speed, distance, or who had the light.

Fault can be shared between drivers. Georgia’s fault apportionment statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 (Quynn v. Hulsey (2020)), can reduce a claim by the injured person’s share of fault, and a person found 50% or more at fault recovers nothing, so how fault is described matters.

Georgia also reduces the damages awarded to an injured person in proportion to his or her percentage of fault, and an injured person who is 50 percent or more responsible for the injury receives no damages at all, so how fault is described matters (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33; Quynn v. Hulsey (2020)). Take time before accepting any insurer’s offer, and review it with the facts of your crash in mind. For related reading, see why you should not admit fault in an accident.

Talk With T. Madden & Associates, P.C. About Your Crash

Many people reach this question while a family member is recovering, bills are arriving, and an insurance company is calling. You may be looking at an at-fault driver’s 25/50/25 policy. You may not know whether per-person or per-accident limits apply, and you may worry that medical costs will exceed them.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page is general information, not legal advice. The responsible lawyer is Terance Madden of T. Madden & Associates, P.C., in practice since 1999, with offices in Jonesboro (Clayton County), Atlanta, Decatur, Macon, and Augusta. Contact the firm through its contact page.