Policy limits are the single most important practical constraint on what you can recover after a Georgia car accident. A $500,000 injury case against a driver with minimum coverage may realistically produce a $25,000 recovery. Understanding how limits work, what to do when they are insufficient, and how a properly structured demand can force the insurer’s hand is fundamental to evaluating any serious Georgia injury claim.
Georgia’s Minimum Liability Limits
Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11 requires every driver to carry minimum liability insurance of $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury when multiple people are injured, and $25,000 for property damage.
These minimums are often insufficient for serious injuries. A single ambulance ride, emergency room visit, and basic imaging can approach $20,000 to $30,000. Any surgical procedure exhausts the per-person minimum. A two-car accident with two injured occupants can exhaust the per-accident minimum with emergency treatment alone, before any specialist visits, physical therapy, or surgical intervention.
A driver carrying minimum coverage who causes a serious injury is effectively uninsured for the scope of that injury. The $25,000 limit covers the first fraction of the medical bills and nothing else.
When Damages Exceed Policy Limits
When your documented damages clearly exceed the at-fault driver’s coverage, three options exist, each with different practical realities.
Option 1: Settle Within Policy Limits
Most cases with damages exceeding limits settle at or near the policy limit. The insurer pays their maximum, you execute a release of claims against their insured, and the at-fault driver is personally released from further liability. This is the fastest and most certain path, but it means accepting less than your damages are worth.
Option 2: Pursue the At-Fault Driver’s Personal Assets
If you obtain a judgment exceeding the policy limits, you can pursue the at-fault driver personally for the excess. Georgia enforcement tools include wage garnishment (subject to federal and state exemption limits), bank account levies, and liens on real property.
The practical reality: most individuals who carry only minimum insurance do not have substantial collectible assets. A defendant with no real property, minimal bank accounts, and wages near or below the garnishment exemption threshold is judgment-proof. The judgment exists on paper, but there is nothing to collect against. Judgments remain valid for seven years and are renewable, so if the defendant’s circumstances improve (new employment, property acquisition, inheritance), enforcement becomes possible later. But this is a long-term option. For enforcement mechanics, see Enforcing Court Judgments in Georgia.
Option 3: Access Other Available Coverage
Before concluding that the at-fault driver’s policy limit is the ceiling, investigate every available coverage source.
Umbrella policies. Many insured individuals carry umbrella liability policies providing $1 million or more in additional coverage above their auto limits. The at-fault driver may not volunteer this information, and it may not be apparent until discovery in litigation reveals it.
Multiple defendants. If other parties share liability, such as an employer (if the at-fault driver was working), a vehicle owner (if the driver was using someone else’s vehicle), or a road maintenance authority, each defendant’s separate insurance policy is an additional coverage source. Identifying all potentially liable parties and their coverage is one of the first tasks in evaluating a serious injury case.
Your own UM/UIM coverage. If the at-fault driver is underinsured, your own underinsured motorist coverage bridges the gap. This is the most common and most immediately available source of additional recovery. For how UM/UIM works, see Georgia UM/UIM Coverage.
Your own MedPay. MedPay pays for your medical expenses regardless of fault and, in Georgia, carries no subrogation right, meaning you keep the MedPay payment on top of any third-party recovery.
The Policy Limits Demand: How to Create Bad Faith Exposure
Georgia law provides a powerful tool for claimants facing insurers who refuse to settle within policy limits when liability is clear. The tool is a policy limits demand letter, sometimes called a Holt demand after Georgia case law developments.
How It Works
Your attorney sends the at-fault driver’s insurer a written demand, by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, offering to settle all claims for an amount at or within the policy limits. The demand must be clear and unambiguous (a specific dollar amount as full settlement), complete (containing all medical records, bills, liability evidence, and other information the insurer needs to evaluate the claim), accompanied by a reasonable response deadline (typically 30 days), and tied to a specific deadline after which the settlement offer is withdrawn.
The Bad Faith Exposure
Under O.C.G.A. § 33-4-7, if the insurer unreasonably fails to settle within policy limits when liability is clear and the claimant has provided a properly structured demand, the insurer faces bad faith exposure. If the case later produces a verdict exceeding the policy limits, the insurer may be liable for the entire verdict, not just their policy limit.
The leverage is asymmetric. An insurer facing a $25,000 policy limit and a $300,000 damages case has strong incentive to pay the $25,000 quickly rather than risk a $300,000 or larger verdict that they must cover entirely due to their own bad faith in refusing to settle.
SB 68’s Impact on Demand Leverage
SB 68’s prohibition on double recovery of attorney fees under O.C.G.A. § 9-15-16 and its restriction of O.C.G.A. § 13-6-11 to contract actions only may have reduced one component of the financial pressure that policy limits demands create. The core bad faith exposure under O.C.G.A. § 33-4-7 remains intact, but the attorney fee leverage that amplified the threat has been modified. The interaction between SB 68 and Holt demand strategy is an evolving area of Georgia practice as of March 2026.
Stacking Multiple Policies
In some accidents, more than one liability policy covers the same incident. Common scenarios include a driver who was working when the accident occurred (employer’s commercial policy plus personal policy), a borrowed vehicle (owner’s policy plus driver’s policy), and accidents involving multiple defendants each carrying separate coverage.
Identifying all available policies is among the first analytical tasks in any serious injury case. Litigation discovery can require disclosure of all insurance policies that might cover the claim. A case that appears to be a $25,000 minimum-coverage situation may reveal additional coverage sources that multiply the available recovery.
For how multiple policies coordinate and which pays first, see Multiple Insurance Policies in Georgia Accidents.
What to Do When Limits Are Clearly Insufficient
When the at-fault driver’s coverage is clearly inadequate for your injuries, the strategic analysis shifts from “how do I maximize recovery from their insurer” to “where else can recovery come from.”
Working through limited coverage requires addressing several issues in sequence:
- Identify all possible defendants and their separate insurance policies
- Assess whether your own UM/UIM coverage is available and what type it is (add-on vs. reduced-by)
- Evaluate the at-fault driver’s personal assets and whether a judgment would be practically collectible
- Determine whether the insurer’s handling of the claim creates bad faith exposure under O.C.G.A. § 33-4-7
- Time any settlement carefully: settling with the at-fault driver for their policy limits while preserving your UM/UIM claim requires a limited liability release structured specifically to protect the UM/UIM path
The intersection of insufficient liability limits, UM/UIM coverage, and potential bad faith exposure is where the most consequential strategic decisions in Georgia personal injury law are made. For how your case’s value relates to available coverage, see How Much Is My Car Accident Case Worth in Georgia.
This guide covers insurance policy limits in Georgia car accident cases as of March 2026. Georgia minimum liability requirements are set under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11. Bad faith exposure for failure to settle within limits is governed by O.C.G.A. § 33-4-7. SB 68 (April 2025) modified attorney fee recovery provisions that affect demand leverage. Laws change. This information is educational and does not constitute legal advice. If you need advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia attorney.
Last updated: March 2026
