What are the minimum liability insurance limits in Georgia? Georgia’s standard minimum auto liability limits are $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury to everyone hurt in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage. If you’re reading the at-fault driver’s policy after a crash, those numbers may shape how much insurance money is available. This guide explains what each number means, why minimums can fall short after a truck crash, and how uninsured motorist coverage fits in.

The short answer: Georgia’s minimum liability limits

The Insurance Information Institute lists those figures as Georgia’s minimums. The state’s insurance regulator also describes the required minimum liability limits in its Georgia auto insurance guide.

These are the least a driver must carry, not the most. A driver can buy higher limits, and many do. Collision and comprehensive coverage are optional. They protect the driver’s own vehicle, so they are separate from the liability limits that pay for other people’s injuries and damage.

What each number in 25/50/25 covers

The first number caps what the policy pays for one injured person. The second number caps the total for everyone hurt in one accident. The third number caps property damage, such as another car, a fence, or a guardrail.

Here is a simple example. A crash injures three people, and one passenger has $40,000 in medical bills. Under a 25/50/25 policy, the most that policy pays for that passenger is $25,000. The other two injured people share what is left of the $50,000 per-accident limit. The $25,000 property limit covers vehicle and other property damage from the same crash.

This example is hypothetical. It shows how the caps work. It does not show what any real claim is worth.

Why minimum limits can fall short after a truck crash

Minimum limits can fall short after a serious truck crash because federal rules set much higher minimums for many commercial trucks. For interstate for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property, with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, the federal minimum is $750,000. The federal minimum levels are set in 49 C.F.R. § 387.9.

A carrier may not operate a vehicle until it has the required coverage in effect, under 49 C.F.R. § 387.7. See 49 U.S.C. § 31139.

Medical costs add to the problem. A serious crash can bring bills, lost pay, and long-term care costs well above $25,000.

A crash can also involve more than one at-fault party, such as the driver and a trucking company. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, each liable person pays its own percentage of fault. Those damages are not joint, so each party’s coverage may matter.

Georgia also limits when an injured person can add a motor carrier’s insurer to a lawsuit. Under O.C.G.A. § 40-1-112, the insurer may be joined only when a related motor carrier is insolvent or bankrupt, or when personal service cannot be made on the driver or the motor carrier after reasonable diligence.

Uninsured motorist coverage and Georgia’s requirements

Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a)(1), no automobile liability policy or motor vehicle liability policy may be issued or delivered 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, sustained from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle. This coverage pays an insured person’s losses caused by an uninsured motor vehicle, and under the standard coverage the at-fault vehicle is treated as uninsured up to your full UM limits even if it has some liability insurance. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11, the policy must include an endorsement or provisions that pay for bodily injury or death caused by an uninsured motor vehicle’s owner or operator. 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.”

Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11, UM coverage is available as additional insurance coverage in excess of the at-fault driver’s available bodily injury liability insurance. That add-on coverage does not apply if the insured rejected it and selected reduced coverage that applies only for the amount of the difference between the at-fault driver’s liability coverage and the UM limits, or rejected UM coverage in writing. Separately, under subparagraph (B), the insured may affirmatively choose uninsured motorist limits in an amount less than the limits of liability.

This matters when the at-fault driver carries only the 25/50/25 minimum. The Insurance Information Institute estimates Georgia’s uninsured-motorist rate at 19.0% in 2023. Your own UM coverage may be the next source to review.

Who the limits apply to and what the policy does not cover

A policy limit is the most that policy pays. It is not a measure of what an injury is worth. Georgia law treats general damages as presumed from a wrongful act, so they can be recovered without proof of an amount. Special damages, such as bills you have paid, must be proved. See O.C.G.A. § 51-12-2.

Claims from several injured people draw on the same per-accident limit. Property damage draws on its own separate limit. A policy does not pay for your own car under liability coverage. That is why the optional collision and comprehensive coverages exist.

Common questions about Georgia auto insurance limits

A policy limit caps what that policy pays, and the value of a claim depends on the facts. Some injuries take time to show, so the full cost of care may not be clear right away. Keep records of every medical visit, bill, and letter or call with an insurer, because those records support any claim.

Talk with a Georgia injury lawyer about your situation

If a crash has left you or someone you love hurt, the policy limits are one part of what needs to be reviewed. You may be reading an at-fault driver’s policy because a car or truck crash has changed your life or your family’s life. Each limit can shape what insurance money is available, so it helps to look at the crash facts together with the policy.

T. Madden & Associates, P.C. has been in practice since 1999. The firm handles car accident, truck accident, and wrongful death cases, with offices in Jonesboro, Atlanta, Decatur, Macon, and Augusta. It handles these matters on a no-fee-unless-we-win basis, but you may still be responsible for court costs and case expenses.

If a car or truck crash has hurt you or someone you love, a free first consultation with our team is a good place to start. It is confidential and carries no obligation to continue.

Disclaimer: Terance Madden is the responsible lawyer for T. Madden & Associates, P.C. Contact the firm at tmaddenlaw.com/contact.