If someone just hit you in Georgia, the first practical question is whose insurance pays. In Georgia the answer runs through fault. This is an at-fault state, sometimes called a tort state, which means the driver who caused the crash (and that driver's liability insurer) is responsible for the resulting injuries and damage.1 You don't turn to your own policy first the way drivers do in true no-fault states like Florida or Michigan.
Georgia used to be a no-fault state
That wasn't always the rule. Georgia adopted the Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act in the 1970s, a no-fault system that made each driver's own insurer pay a basic level of medical and wage benefits regardless of blame. The legislature repealed it, effective October 1, 1991, and moved the state back to a fault-based liability system.23 Those old no-fault provisions in Title 33, Chapter 34 of the Georgia Code are gone.3 So when you read an out-of-state article about "PIP" or a 14-day treatment window, none of that applies here.
The at-fault driver's liability insurance pays first
Under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-10, every vehicle on a Georgia road has to be covered by a liability policy, and that policy responds when its driver is at fault.1 Georgia's required minimum limits are 25/50/25: $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 total for bodily injury per crash, and $25,000 for property damage.14 The Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire lists the same figures for consumers.4
Those numbers are floors. They aren't a promise that your losses are covered. A single ER visit and a few weeks off work can blow past $25,000 quickly. If the at-fault driver carried only the minimum, their insurer typically pays up to the limit and no further, which is where your own coverage can matter.
No PIP, and MedPay is optional
Because the no-fault law is gone, Georgia has no mandatory personal injury protection.3 You are not required to carry coverage that pays your own medical bills after a crash. Medical payments coverage, or MedPay, still exists, but it's an optional add-on you choose in set increments when you buy a policy.3 Unlike Florida, there's no rule forcing you to get treatment within 14 days to keep benefits alive. Gaps in treatment can still weaken an injury claim as a practical matter, so getting seen promptly is smart.
Shared fault: the 50% bar
Being in an at-fault state doesn't mean the other driver is automatically 100% to blame, or that you get paid just because they were mostly responsible. Georgia uses modified comparative negligence under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33.5 A jury, or an adjuster negotiating in the shadow of one, assigns each party a percentage of fault, and your damages are reduced by your share. If you're found 20% at fault on a $100,000 claim, you recover $80,000.
There's a hard cutoff. If you are 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing.5 That 50% line is the single most important number in most Georgia crash disputes, and it's why insurers work so hard to pin a chunk of blame on the injured driver. Fault can also be apportioned to people who aren't even named as parties in the lawsuit.5
The seat belt rule changed in 2025
For decades Georgia kept a "seat belt gag rule." Jurors were not allowed to hear whether you were wearing your seat belt, and your choice not to buckle up couldn't be used against you. Senate Bill 68, signed by Governor Kemp on April 21, 2025, rewrote O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(d).6 Now the failure to wear a seat belt "may be considered in any civil action as evidence admissible on the issues of negligence, comparative negligence, causation, assumption of risk, or apportionment of fault," and it can be used to reduce a damages award.6
That feeds straight into the 50% bar. A defense lawyer can now argue that an unbelted plaintiff carries a larger share of fault for the severity of their own injuries. The Act took effect the day it was signed, and the General Assembly wrote that this seat belt provision is meant to apply even to claims already pending on that date, unless a court finds that application unconstitutional.6 The bill's separate rules on negligent security and medical-expense evidence, by contrast, apply only to causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025.6
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
Georgia doesn't force you to buy uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, but it makes the choice a deliberate one. Every insurer has to offer UM coverage matching your bodily injury limits, and it's automatically included unless you reject it in writing.7 If you never signed a rejection, you may carry more coverage than you realize.
This is the coverage that rescues people when the at-fault driver has no insurance or only the 25/50/25 minimum. If your medical bills reach $80,000 and the other driver's policy caps at $25,000, your UIM coverage can pick up the difference up to your own limits.7
Deadlines that end your claim
Georgia gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.8 Miss it and the claim is barred, no matter how clear the other driver's fault. The clock can be paused, or tolled, in narrow situations such as an injured child's claim or a defendant who fraudulently concealed something, and a spouse's loss-of-consortium claim gets four years instead of two.8
Property damage runs on a separate, longer clock. You have four years to sue over damage to your vehicle, under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-32.9 If you're dealing with a totaled or devalued car, a diminished value claim (the resale value your car loses even after a proper repair) falls under that property timeline. The official Georgia crash report is usually the first document an adjuster reads when sorting out fault, so it's worth getting a copy early.
One more wrinkle: impaired drivers
Georgia caps punitive damages at $250,000 in most cases, but O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1 removes that cap entirely when the at-fault driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.10 Punitive damages are separate from compensation for your bills and your pain, and there is no statutory cap on your actual compensatory damages in an ordinary car crash case.
Putting it together
In Georgia, a crash is priced by fault. The other driver's liability insurer pays if they caused it, and your recovery shrinks by whatever share of blame gets pinned on you, all the way to zero at 50%. That's why so much of a claim comes down to fighting over percentages, and why an insurer's opening move is often to argue you were partly responsible. If your injuries are serious or fault is genuinely disputed, a Georgia attorney can challenge how that percentage is calculated; you can find one here.
This article is general information about Georgia law, not legal advice.
Sources
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Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 40-6-10, Insurance requirements for operation of motor vehicles generally. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-40/chapter-6/article-1/section-40-6-10/
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Georgia State University Law Review, "Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act: Repeal Provisions Requiring Personal Injury Protection Insurance Coverage and Related Provisions." https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/gsulr/vol8/iss1/5/
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Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Title 33, Chapter 34, Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations (repealed effective October 1, 1991). https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2021/title-33/chapter-34/
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Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, Auto insurance requirements. https://oci.georgia.gov/insurance-resources/auto
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Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 51-12-33, Reduction and apportionment of award or bar of recovery according to percentage of fault. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2020/title-51/chapter-12/article-2/section-51-12-33/
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Georgia Senate Bill 68 (2025 Regular Session), signed April 21, 2025, amending O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1 (Section 5) with applicability provisions in Section 9. https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2025-signed-legislation/sb-68/download
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Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 33-7-11, Uninsured motorist coverage under motor vehicle liability policies. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-33/chapter-7/section-33-7-11/
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Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 9-3-33, Injuries to the person; two-year limitation. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-9/chapter-3/article-2/section-9-3-33/
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Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 9-3-32, Injuries to personalty; four-year limitation. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-9/chapter-3/article-2/section-9-3-32/
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Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 51-12-5.1, Punitive damages. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-51/chapter-12/article-1/51-12-5-1/