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What is the Stacking of Underinsured (UIM) Auto Insurance in Virginia?

Virginia’s Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage “stacking law” allows policyholders to combine their own UIM coverage against any inadequate liability coverage of the at-fault driver.  This can increase the amount of compensation available to you, the victim. 

When does it apply? 

  • The law applies to policies issued or renewed after July 1, 2023.
  • Policies that went into effect before July 1, 2023, will not be affected until they are renewed.

How does it work?

  • The crash victim/policyholder’s UIM coverage limit and the at-fault driver’s liability coverage limit are added together. 
  • This “stacking” gives you an increase in the policy limits available to you – more than if you could only count the one vehicle in the accident. This can provide more coverage for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain, and mental anguish. 
  • Before the change in the law, Virginia determined the amount of available UIM coverage by first subtracting out the available insurance from the at fault driver. Therefore, if the at fault driver had $50,000 in insurance and you had $100,000 UIM, there would only be a total of $50,000 available UIM coverage (for a total of 100k that could be used to settle your case).
  • Given this change in the law, an injured person can now combine or stack the available liability limits from the at fault driver to the injured person’s own UIM limits.  In the above example, that would mean the injured party would have $150,000 in coverage for an accident, instead of $100,000.

When can I stack up my policy? 

  • You can stack your policy if:
    • You have UIM coverage.
    • You have suffered more damage than your UIM policy will pay.
    • You have a resident relative in your household who also has UIM coverage.

What are the limitations? 

  • Some policies may limit the number of policies that can be stacked.
  • Some policies may exclude coverage for certain types of accidents or injuries.
  • Depending upon the amount of UIM coverage on your policy, it still may not be enough to cover a catastrophic accident or even a wrongful death. Lower end amounts of UIM coverage (i.e., $50,000 or $100,000) may not be enough to cover a tragic accident. I would highly suggest that everyone that can afford it, to make sure that they have significant UIM insurance limits with at least $250,000 to $300,000 as a minimum. Some policies offer up to $500,000 in UIM coverage with the option of adding a $1 million or $2 million umbrella UIM policy.

 

Contact Goss & Fentress for a free consultation

If you are injured in a car accident, please call Goss & Fentress Law Offices for a free phone or in-person consultation. We will make sure you obtain all the insurance that is available to you, including all UM and UIM coverage. We will get you the compensation you deserve. Goss & Fentress has over 130 years of trial experience and has recovered millions of dollars from insurance companies.

The Attorneys at Goss & Fentress are licensed and handle personal injury cases in Virginia, North Carolina, Washington DC, and Maryland.

Our next few blog articles will feature actual UM Stacking & examples of UIM cases that GOSS & FENTRESS settled and were able to obtain substantial amounts of coverage despite the at-fault drivers having minimum coverage.

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