Liability insurance coverage explained for Georgia drivers

Liability insurance pays other people for harm its policyholder is legally responsible for, up to the policy’s limits. It does not pay the policyholder’s own medical bills or fix the policyholder’s car. Georgia requires owners to carry it, at no less than $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for injury, and $25,000 for property. Two duties sit behind a claim: the insurer’s duty to pay and its duty to defend, which Georgia’s Supreme Court treats as separate obligations.

What the coverage pays, and what it leaves out

Harm	Paid by the policyholder's liability coverage?	Where else to look
Injuries to others	Yes, within the bodily injury limits	Other drivers' coverage, UM
Others' vehicles and property	Yes, within the property limit	Collision, UM property
The policyholder's own injuries	No	MedPay, health plan, a claim against another driver
The policyholder's own vehicle	No	Collision or comprehensive
Amounts above the limits	No, the policyholder may owe them	Excess coverage, any failure-to-settle claim

Section 33-34-4 requires an owner to have insurance equivalent to the security required under the safety responsibility law, and § 40-9-37 ties the limits to the amounts in § 33-7-11(a)(1)(A). A “per person” limit caps what the policy pays for one person’s injuries, and a “per accident” limit caps the total. For example, imagine a 25/50 policy and three injured people. Each could reach no more than $25,000, and all three together no more than $50,000, so a serious crash may leave the three competing for one limit.

A policy can have exclusions, and the declarations page names who and what is insured. A driver using someone else’s car with permission may be covered under that owner’s policy and possibly the driver’s own, so more than one liability policy may apply.

The duty to defend

Penn-America Insurance v. Disabled American Veterans, 268 Ga. 564 (1997), states the point: “an insurer’s duty to pay and its duty to defend are separate and independent obligations”. The duty to defend is decided by the contract, and the allegations of the complaint are examined to see whether a covered liability is asserted, even if those allegations are groundless. So an insurer may have to defend a suit it believes it can beat. Whether the policy’s defense costs reduce the limits, and when the duty ends, depends on its wording.

The policyholder has duties too. Under § 33-7-15(a), a motor vehicle liability policy must require the insured to send the insurer a copy of every summons or other process as soon as practicable. Under (b), breach of that term, “if prejudicial to the insurer”, can relieve it of the duty to defend and of liability. In GEICO v. Whiteside, 311 Ga. 346 (2021), that statute did not relieve an insurer of a failure-to-settle claim where the insured failed to forward suit papers, and the question of causation could go to a jury. Anyone served with a suit should send it to the insurer right away.

Under § 33-7-15(b.1), if an insurer denies coverage and a court later finds there is coverage, the insurer can be liable for legal costs and fees as the court awards.

Finding out the limits

Georgia gives claimants a statutory route. Under § 33-3-28(a)(1), on a written request made under oath with the required details, an insurer must within 60 days give a sworn statement of each known policy issued by it, including excess or umbrella coverage, naming the insurer and each insured and stating the limits, or provide the declarations page. Under (a)(2), the insured must disclose known insurers within 30 days of a written request. Once suit is filed, § 9-11-26(b)(2) allows discovery of insurance agreements.

When damages exceed the limits

Possible outcome	What it means
Insurer pays its limits with a full release	Claim against that driver ends
Insurer pays with a limited release	Personal exposure stays only to the extent other insurance covers it, § 33-24-41.1
Insurer disputes the claim	Suit may follow
Judgment above limits	Policyholder faces the excess, and may have a claim against the insurer

An insurer deciding on a demand within limits must give equal consideration to the insured’s interests. If it refuses unreasonably and an excess judgment follows, the insured may have a claim, as explained on insurance bad faith. That claim is the insured’s, and an injured person needs an assignment to bring it. A claimant whose damages exceed the limits should also look to underinsured motorist coverage.

Fault and limits are separate calculations

For example, imagine $200,000 in damages and a $100,000 policy.

Plaintiff's fault	Damages after reduction	Policy pays at most	Left unpaid by this policy
0 percent	$200,000	$100,000	$100,000
20 percent	$160,000	$100,000	$60,000
50 percent	$0	$0	$0

The reduction applies to damages, not to the limit. See the 50 percent bar.

For a policyholder after a crash

1. Report the crash under the policy’s terms.
2. Send any suit papers immediately.
3. Cooperate, and do not agree to pay anything without the insurer’s input.
4. Read any letter warning that a claim may exceed your limits.
5. Consider personal counsel if an excess is possible, since your interests and the insurer’s can differ.

For a claimant

1. Identify every liability policy that could apply: driver, owner, employer, and umbrella.
2. Make the § 33-3-28 request where needed.
3. Keep the two-year date under § 9-3-33 in view, because a pending claim does not extend it.
4. Read any release for who it frees and whether it preserves other coverage.

Sources

• Official Code of Georgia Annotated, November 2022 public release: §§ 9-3-33, 9-11-26, 33-3-28, 33-7-11, 33-7-15, 33-24-41.1, 33-34-4, 40-9-37
• Penn-America Insurance v. Disabled American Veterans, 268 Ga. 564
• GEICO v. Whiteside, 311 Ga. 346

This page was last reviewed in November 2026 for general information. Laws and court decisions can change after that date. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.