Auto Insurance Requirements in Georgia
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All drivers in Georgia are required by law to carry at least the minimum amount of auto insurance. This is to ensure that you, as a motorist in Georgia, can be financially responsible for any damage or harm you cause on the road. You may also apply to become a self-insurer (if you meet certain requirements) with the GA Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner.
Double-check that your insurer has entered your insurance status into the Georgia Electronic Insurance Compliance System (GEICS). This is also called Georgia DRIVES e-Services. When you register a car for the first time or are pulled over by police, your insurance ID card may not be sufficient to prove that you carry auto insurance. The officials or officers also need to match it to your database record.
Georgia-required car insurance coverage
Coverage type | Required minimums |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury (BI) | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident |
|
Property damage (PD) | $25,000 per accident |
Georgia car insurance minimum requirements
Georgia requires you to carry at least liability insurance on your auto insurance policy. The two liability coverages ensure that if you ever cause a car accident, you will be able to pay for what you are liable for, which is usually the other driver’s medical and property damage bills.
Bodily injury (BI): Up to $25,000 per injured person, for a total of $50,000 for two or more people in every accident. With this coverage, your insurer covers all the medical expenses for the injured party, up to your policy's limits. If the other driver is unable to work because of injuries from the crash you caused, their lost income will also be paid from this coverage. If you are sued, the legal fees resulting from a court’s judgment are also covered. Higher limits are available and vary by insurer.
Property damage (PD): Up to $25,000 worth of property damage costs per accident you cause. The most common claims that the other driver may make against you include damage to their car in a collision or rental car costs when their car is in a repair shop. If the accident causes damage to a mailbox on the street or buildings near the scene of the accident, your insurer will cover these costs as well. Higher limits are available, which vary by insurer.
Cheapest companies in Georgia for minimum liability
Optional car insurance coverage in Georgia
You might hear from government officials and insurance agents that the minimum policy is not enough to fully cover you. Because the liability on your auto policy pays for the other party, you may want to consider adding optional coverages that will take care of your injuries and your property damage. Most motorists will add at least one of these options — or several.
Collision: When your car is damaged in any sort of collision, such as a car accident, the repair costs for damage to your vehicle will fall under this coverage. Collision has no fixed dollar limit for you to choose, as the most it will pay is your car’s actual cash value. However, it does have a deductible that you must pay before the insurance kicks in. While the choices vary slightly by insurer, you generally will choose a deductible amount between $50 and $2,000. Note that your premium will be affected by the deductible you choose.
Comprehensive: Not all accidents involve a collision. For most other incidents that damage your car, comprehensive insurance will cover it. Together with collision coverage, comprehensive is also referred to as physical damage coverage. It also has a deductible.
Uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia
Uninsured motorist (UM) is another optional protection for Georgia drivers. Despite the law, there are still drivers on the road without insurance. If you're involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, they may lack the ability to pay for your medical expenses and repair costs.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury or property damage coverage would protect you from both drivers without insurance and underinsured drivers (those whose limits are lower than yours). Similar to liability insurance, UM also has a limit on the maximum amount that your insurance company will pay for each accident. Your UM limits may never be higher than the BI and/or PD limits.
When you get UM coverage in Georgia, you have the choice to stack your limits. This makes a difference if you sustain significant medical injuries at the hands of an underinsured driver. It will affect the maximum amount you may claim under the coverage, as well as the cost of your UM premium, by about 2%:
- Reduced UM (traditional UM): Traditionally, UM coverage only pays the difference between the other driver's BI and/or PD limits and your UM limits. This option is called either reduced UM or traditional UM, and with this option your UMBI and UMPD premiums are lower.
- Add-on UM (new UM): The new UM coverage, also known as add-on UM, increases your coverage limits by allowing you to add the limits of the other driver’s BI and/or PD limits on top of your UM limits. This option will be pricier than a traditional UM with the same limits. Add-on UM coverage usually costs 2% more than reduced UM for a driver. It is now the default for UM coverage in Georgia. You will have to reject it in writing.
Traditional vs. new UM coverage total reimbursement
Traditional (Reduced) | New (Add-on) | |
|---|---|---|
|
Your limits | $100,000 | $100,000 |
|
Other driver's limits | $50,000 | $50,000 |
|
Your maximum coverage | $100,000 | $150,000 |
|
Total damages | $125,000 | $125,000 |
|
Total reimbursed by companies | $100,000 | $125,000 |
|
Unpaid damages | $25,000 | 0 |
Alternative proof of financial responsibility
Financial responsibility refers to your obligation to pay for accidents and damage you cause. Auto insurance policies are generally the easiest way for most drivers to prove financial responsibility to the state.
There is one other way under the GA insurance code for drivers to fulfill this responsibility without an insurance policy, and that's through self-insurance. By proving that you have the ability to pay out the necessary damages as an insurer would under a standard auto policy, you can obtain a certificate of self-insurance from the commissioner of the office of insurance. To qualify in Georgia, you need to make a cash deposit of at least $100,000 with the commissioner, plus maintain an additional $300,000 in investments in any one of the following:
- A deposit in a bank or a trust company that is backed by the FDIC
- A savings account or evidence of deposits in either a savings and loan association or a building and loan association that invests in residential mortgage loans. These companies must be backed by the FDIC
- Government bonds or notes
- Government loans
- Specific stocks in any non–real estate–related corporation. They can be common or preferred stocks but must be nonassessable and pay dividends. Common stocks must have paid cash dividends to its shareholders in at least three out of the five years prior to your purchase
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