Car accidents can leave you with high medical bills, a damaged vehicle, and other financial losses that add up fast. When another driver is at fault, you expect their insurance to cover your losses, but what happens when your accident damages go beyond what their insurance will pay?
This situation is more common than you might think. In Georgia, drivers are required to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance, and as of now, the legal minimums are $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. That might sound like a fair amount, but medical costs from a serious crash can reach well into six figures, especially when surgery, hospitalization, or long-term treatment is involved.
If your damages exceed the at-fault driver’s insurance policy limits, it doesn’t mean you're stuck covering the difference yourself. In this guide, the car accident attorneys at The Champion Firm outline what steps you can take to secure the full compensation you need.
Auto Policy Limits in Georgia
Every auto insurance policy includes a liability limit, which caps how much the insurer will pay for severe injuries and property damage caused by their policyholder. These coverage limits are split into three figures: per person for bodily injury, per accident for total bodily injury across all accident victims, and property damage.
As we explained earlier, in Georgia, the minimum coverage is $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage and vehicle repair costs. These are not high numbers, especially considering the cost of emergency care, surgery, follow-up treatment, and time away from work.
If you're in a severe accident and the other driver only carries the minimum, you're facing a hard limit. Even if your damages total $100,000, their insurer will not pay more than $25,000 for your injuries. If two people are hurt, both auto accident claims have to be split within that $50,000 cap. The auto insurance company’s legal obligation ends once they tender the full policy amount, but the law in Georgia gives you options.
First Step: Confirm the At-Fault Driver’s Policy Limits
Before you can address how to recover damages beyond the policy limits, you need to know what those coverage limits are.
Getting this information is not always straightforward, as insurance providers often delay releasing policy information, especially early in a case. In Georgia, your attorney can send a formal request under O.C.G.A. § 33-3-28, which requires the insurer to disclose the policy limits within 60 days. If they refuse or delay, they may face penalties.
Once you have these details and confirm that your damages clearly exceed the available coverage amount, it opens the door to other sources of compensation.
Option 1: Pursuing the At-Fault Driver Personally
If the other driver’s insurance doesn’t cover all your losses, you have the right to sue the individual personally for the remaining amount. This is called an “excess judgment.” However, collecting from the driver directly can be difficult. Many people who carry only minimum insurance don’t have significant personal assets. Even if you win a judgment, enforcing it (through wage garnishment, liens, or asset seizures) may not result in meaningful recovery.
Before pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, your attorney should conduct a thorough asset check. If the driver owns real estate, investments, or has a high income, it may be worth seeking a judgment. If not, other legal options may provide a better chance of recovery.
Option 2: Filing a Claim Under Your Own UM/UIM Coverage
Georgia law allows you to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. This protects you when the at-fault driver’s insurance isn’t enough to cover your damages. There are two types: reduced by and add-on. Reduced-by policies subtract the at-fault driver’s limits from your coverage, while add-on policies stack on top of those limits.
For example, if you have $100,000 in add-on UM coverage and the other driver has $25,000 in liability coverage, you could access up to $125,000 total. But if you have a reduced-by policy, your UM coverage would only pay up to $75,000 more, not the full $100,000.
You must act quickly in these cases. UM/UIM claims often require notifying your insurer early, sometimes within 30 days of the crash, depending on your policy language. Missing that window could result in a denied claim, even if you’re otherwise entitled to the benefits.
Option 3: Identifying Other Responsible Parties
Many crashes involve more than one at-fault party. One common example is when a commercial driver causes a catastrophic accident while working. In that case, the employer could be held liable under a legal theory known as respondeat superior, which holds companies responsible for the actions of their employees during work hours. This means you may have access to a larger commercial vehicle policy that carries far higher limits, often in the six- or seven-figure range.
Here is an overview of other options:
- If faulty vehicle components, like failed brakes or defective airbags, caused or contributed to the accident, it can shift part of the blame to the manufacturer or parts distributor. Known as product liability claims, they often involve separate insurance coverage backed by large corporations.
- If road design or maintenance contributed to the crash (e.g., a missing guardrail, poor signage, or an unaddressed hazard), local or state government entities may also carry liability. These car accident lawsuits follow different procedures under Georgia’s ante litem notice requirements, and deadlines can be shorter, making early action critical.
- If a bar, restaurant, or event host serves alcohol to someone who is clearly intoxicated and that person causes a crash, the business could be responsible under the state’s dram shop laws. These cases require proof of visible intoxication at the time of service and a direct link to the resulting crash, but when the facts support it, this opens another source of financial compensation.
What ties these examples together is the importance of early investigation. When you’re dealing with accident injuries that exceed a single driver’s insurance limits, your car accident attorney will look into whether another party may share liability.
Option 4: Bad Faith Insurance Claims
Automobile insurance companies in Georgia have a legal duty to act in good faith. If the insurer refuses to settle within policy limits when it had a reasonable opportunity to do so, you may have grounds for a bad faith claim. This can allow you to pursue damages far beyond the policy limits.
To prove bad faith, you typically must show that:
- You offered to settle for the policy limits.
- The insurer had enough time and information to evaluate the claim.
- The insurer rejected or ignored the offer unreasonably.
If successful, a bad faith lawsuit can open the door to full compensation, including attorney fees and sometimes punitive damages. These claims are complicated and require skilled legal counsel, but if successful, your financial recovery may be much higher.
Negotiating Medical Liens and Bills
When your auto accident settlement doesn’t fully cover your damages, negotiating down medical bills can be an important part of the legal process. Hospitals, doctors, and health insurers may file liens or expect reimbursement from your settlement. In Georgia, lienholders must follow specific rules under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-470, including proper notice and filing procedures.
An experienced personal injury attorney can often negotiate reductions on these liens, allowing you to keep more of your recovery. Without negotiation, you could lose a significant portion of your lawsuit settlement to medical providers.
Protecting Yourself with Comprehensive Coverage
The time to protect your financial future in the event of a crash is before you're ever involved in one.
UM/UIM Coverage
In Georgia, one of the best steps you can take is upgrading your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This part of your auto policy steps in when the at-fault driver has no insurance or doesn’t carry enough to cover catastrophic injuries. Considering that many drivers in Georgia carry only the legal minimum (or nothing at all), relying on their coverage alone is a major gamble.
As mentioned earlier, there are two versions of UM/UIM coverage in Georgia: reduced-by and add-on. Reduced-by policies subtract the other driver's coverage from your own while add-on policies stack on top, giving you access to your full insurance limit regardless of what the at-fault party has. That difference can be critical in serious injury cases, where medical expenses, loss of income, and long-term care often exceed initial estimates.
Medical Payments Coverage
Alongside UM/UIM coverage, you should review your policy for Medical Payments Coverage, or MedPay. This optional coverage pays for medical expenses regardless of who caused the crash. It can be used to pay deductibles, ambulance fees, and even treatment costs not covered by health insurance. MedPay doesn’t require reimbursement in the same way health insurers might, which means you keep more of any settlement you later receive.
Health Insurance
Don’t overlook your own health insurance. Know your deductibles, out-of-network rules, and what’s covered in the event of an automobile accident. The more informed you are about your own policies, the better positioned you’ll be to control out-of-pocket expenses if you're seriously injured. Building a strong insurance safety net now gives you financial protection later, especially if the at-fault driver’s coverage doesn’t come close to covering your losses.
What Not to Do
If your accident involves serious injuries and there's a chance your claim could exceed the at-fault driver’s policy limits, the biggest mistake you can make is rushing into a settlement. You might get an early offer that seems reasonable at first glance, especially if bills are piling up. But once you accept and sign a release, the case is closed. You cannot reopen it later, even if you discover new injuries, require surgery, or your recovery takes longer than expected.
That release form is a legal agreement that cuts off your rights to pursue additional compensation. Insurers use this tactic to cap their exposure, especially when they suspect your damages will grow over time. Settling early may feel like the easiest option, but in high-value cases, it can cost you far more in the long run.
Another common mistake is waiting too long to act. In Georgia, the statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is two years from the date of the crash. Miss that window, and your claim is likely to be rejected.
Delays also make it harder to collect strong evidence. Witnesses move, records get lost, and accident scenes change. The longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes to build a strong case. When you get legal representation as soon as possible after the car accident, you stand the best chance of winning full compensation.
Let The Champion Firm Help You Recover the Full Value of Your Case
When your car accident claim exceeds the at-fault driver’s policy limits, you need a legal team that can uncover additional coverage, pursue every at-fault person, and negotiate the maximum recovery possible. At The Champion Firm, we’ve handled high-stakes injury cases across Georgia and recovered millions for clients facing tough situations just like this.
We don’t settle for the first offer. We dig into every detail, challenge auto insurance companies when they try to underpay, and take cases to trial when necessary. If you’re injured, overwhelmed, and unsure how to move forward, we’re here to guide you with clear answers, aggressive strategy, and results that speak for themselves.
Contact The Champion Firm today for a free consultation with an experienced attorney. Let’s talk about your case, your options, and how we can help you get what you’re owed. To schedule a free initial consultation with our legal team, call 678-496-7863 today.
