Georgia law requires every driver to carry minimum auto liability coverage of 25/50/25: $25,000 in bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage (O.C.G.A. 33-7-11). Liability pays for the other party's injuries and property when you are at fault. It does not pay for your own car or your own injuries. Georgia is an at-fault state, and insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which stays on your policy unless you reject it in writing. Collision, comprehensive, and higher limits are optional under state law but are often required by a lender.
A free coverage review compares your options across the carriers available through us and helps you choose limits that fit your situation, in plain English.
What does Georgia auto insurance cover?
A Georgia auto policy is built from a few standard pieces. Only liability is required by state law; the rest are optional under the minimum-liability statute but common, and a lender usually requires several of them.
Liability coverage (required in Georgia)
Liability is the only coverage Georgia law requires. It splits into bodily injury liability, which pays for other people's medical costs when you are at fault, and property damage liability, which pays for their car or other property. The floor is 25/50/25 under O.C.G.A. 33-7-11. For example, if you rear-end another car on I-285 and the driver's medical bills come to $40,000, your bodily injury coverage pays up to $25,000 for that one person, and the rest can fall to you personally.
Collision and comprehensive coverage
Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your own vehicle after a crash, regardless of fault, up to the car's actual cash value. Comprehensive coverage pays for damage from theft, vandalism, fire, hail, flooding, or hitting an animal. Neither is required by Georgia's minimum-liability law, but a lender or lease almost always requires both. For example, if a hailstorm in Cherokee County dents your financed truck, comprehensive coverage handles the repair minus your deductible; a liability-only policy pays nothing toward it.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
Uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage pays your medical bills, and in some cases vehicle damage, when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough to cover the loss. Georgia insurers must offer it, and it stays on your policy unless you reject it in writing (O.C.G.A. 33-7-11). For example, if a driver with no insurance runs a red light in DeKalb County and totals your car, your own uninsured motorist coverage is what pays.
Medical payments and PIP
Medical payments coverage pays medical expenses for you and your passengers regardless of fault. Georgia does not require personal injury protection (PIP), because Georgia is an at-fault state rather than a no-fault state. This coverage is optional in Georgia and pays alongside health insurance after a crash.
What does a Georgia auto policy not cover?
A personal auto policy covers sudden, accidental loss to a personal-use vehicle. Several situations sit outside that.
- Business and rideshare use. Using your personal car for deliveries, rideshare driving, or regular client visits is generally excluded. For example, a Gwinnett County driver making DoorDash runs needs a rideshare endorsement or a business auto policy; the standard personal policy can deny a claim that happens on an active delivery.
- Wear, tear, and mechanical breakdown. Auto insurance covers accidents, not routine maintenance or parts wearing out. A transmission that fails from age is not a covered loss.
- Intentional damage, racing, and crime. Damage you cause on purpose, speed contests, and using the vehicle to commit a crime are all excluded.
Who needs auto insurance in Georgia?
Anyone who owns or regularly drives a vehicle registered in Georgia needs at least the 25/50/25 liability minimum to drive legally. Georgia ties insurance to registration: the state expects continuous liability coverage on a registered vehicle, and a lapse can lead to a registration lapse fee and a suspended tag. For example, a Cobb County commuter who lets a policy lapse for a few weeks can face a reinstatement fee before the tag is valid again. Drivers with a newer or financed vehicle typically carry collision and comprehensive as well, since the lender requires it. The Georgia insurance hub covers the state's other coverage lines.
What does auto insurance cost in Georgia?
The average auto insurance expenditure per insured vehicle in Georgia was $1,555.08 in 2023, and the combined average premium for liability, collision, and comprehensive together was $1,746.25 (National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2023). The countrywide average expenditure that year was $1,281.60, so Georgia runs above the national average. Your actual cost depends on your driving record, vehicle, coverage limits, and where you park at night. A licensed advisor can shop your specific situation across the carriers available through us; you can start with a quote or a full coverage review.
How does auto insurance law work in Georgia?
Georgia's minimum liability limits are 25/50/25: $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 property damage per accident (O.C.G.A. 33-7-11). These are minimums, not recommendations. Many Georgia drivers carry more, such as 100/300/100, because a single serious accident can run past the $25,000 per-person floor quickly. A coverage review can help size the right limit for your situation.
Georgia is an at-fault state. The driver who causes a crash is responsible for the other party's damages through their liability coverage, and an injured person can pursue that driver directly. There is no state-mandated PIP requirement.
Georgia follows modified comparative negligence. You can recover damages from the other driver only if you are less than 50 percent at fault for the crash; at 50 percent or more, recovery is barred (O.C.G.A. 51-12-33). For example, if a court finds you 30 percent responsible for a fender-bender in Fulton County, your recovery is reduced by 30 percent; if it finds you 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing from the other side.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters here because an estimated 18.1 percent of Georgia motorists were uninsured in 2022, the 7th-highest rate among the states (Insurance Research Council, via the Insurance Information Institute). Georgia's default UM and UIM coverage is the "add-on" form under O.C.G.A. 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)(I), meaning it stacks on top of the at-fault driver's liability rather than being reduced by it. A driver keeps this coverage unless they reject it in writing. Which structure and limit fit a given driver is what a coverage review sizes case by case.
Georgia also allows credit-based insurance scoring, so an insurance score can affect the premium two drivers pay for the same coverage. And on April 21, 2025, Georgia's governor signed a tort reform package (SB68) aimed in part at stabilizing insurance costs; several carriers have since filed for and received OCI approval for personal auto rate reductions in Georgia.
If your own insurer refuses to pay a valid claim without a reasonable basis, Georgia's bad-faith statute applies. After a 60-day written demand, a court can award the loss plus a penalty of up to 50 percent of the loss or $5,000, whichever is greater, along with attorney fees (O.C.G.A. 33-4-6). For example, if your car is stolen in Chatham County, your comprehensive claim is documented, and the insurer stalls without reasonable grounds, that penalty structure is what backs up your claim.
How do Georgia's minimum limits compare with higher limits?
The table shows the state floor next to one higher example so the difference in protection is clear. The higher column is an illustration, not a recommendation; a coverage review sets the right number for your situation.
| Coverage piece | Georgia minimum (25/50/25) | Example higher limit (100/300/100) | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury per person | $25,000 | $100,000 | One injured person's medical costs when you are at fault |
| Bodily injury per accident | $50,000 | $300,000 | All injured people combined in one at-fault crash |
| Property damage | $25,000 | $100,000 | The other party's vehicle or property you damage |
| Required by Georgia law? | Yes (O.C.G.A. 33-7-11) | No, optional above the floor | Only the 25/50/25 minimum is mandatory |
On a serious multi-vehicle crash, the $50,000 per-accident floor can be used up by two injured people, after which costs above the limit can fall to the at-fault driver personally. That gap is the reason many Georgia drivers carry higher limits. Use the coverage gap calculator to see where your current limits sit, or audit your declarations page if you already have a policy.
What should you do after a car accident in Georgia?
The order of the first hour shapes a claim for the next year.
- Move to safety and call 911 if anyone is hurt. In Georgia, call the police even for minor crashes; the report number is the single most useful piece of evidence in a disputed claim.
- Photograph everything: all vehicles, damage, the scene from several angles, license plates, and the other driver's insurance card.
- Exchange names, phone numbers, insurers, policy numbers, and plates. Stick to facts and do not admit fault at the scene, since Georgia's comparative-negligence rule turns on percentages.
- Notify your carrier promptly, even if the other driver was at fault. Most policies require prompt notice.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer before talking to your own carrier or agent.
Our claims page walks through what to expect after you report a loss.
Which carriers are available for Georgia auto insurance through Olive Cover?
Olive Cover is the consumer brand of Olive Insurance Services, LLC, an independent property and casualty agency licensed in Georgia. The carriers we compare are licensed and regulated in Georgia, and a licensed advisor reviews the fit with you in a free coverage review. Carriers available through us for personal auto in Georgia include Nationwide, Safeco, Progressive, and The Hartford. You can browse the full panel of carriers available through us to see which markets we shop for Georgia drivers.
Get a free Georgia auto insurance review
A licensed advisor compares your coverage across multiple carriers and helps you choose limits that fit your situation, in plain English. Start with a free coverage review.
Keep reading: how auto insurance works in general, the Georgia insurance hub for the state's other coverage lines, and the Georgia auto facts and statistics page, where each figure is cited to a government or research source. Common questions are answered on our FAQ.