Imagine being laid up with an injury, your car totaled, and finding out that the person who caused the accident was driving without any insurance.  Talk about adding insult to injury. The sad fact is that around 15% of the drivers cruising the roads in the state of Georgia are illegally driving without any insurance at all.

The way that people can protect themselves from uninsured drivers is by carrying uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on their own insurance policy.  A new law, SB 276 , contains what is called a "stacking provision." This allows policy holders to "stack" or "piggy back" their own uninsured motorist coverage on top of that of the at-fault party if necessary.  In other words, if you are in an accident with a driver who has insufficient insurance to pay for your damages, your own coverage can be added or "stacked" onto theirs to make up the difference.  For instance, if they have $25,000 of coverage and your expenses are $100,000, your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will make up the $75,000 difference (assuming you purchased this much coverage when you renewed your policy).

It is always a good idea to examine the details of your automobile insurance policy when it is up for renewal.  Under this new law you can either elect to get the additional stacked coverage, decline it, or accept the limits of the at-fault driver's coverage.  When you consider the fact that some 15% of the drivers that are out on the roads in Georgia have no coverage at all, it may be a good idea to make sure that you have significant uninsured motorist coverage.  Being in an injury accident is not a pleasant experience, but being in a wreck due to the negligence of an uninsured motorist can be a nightmare if you do not have adequate uninsured motorist coverage.