Short answer: You are probably not out of options. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage exists for exactly this situation, and in Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi that coverage has to be included in your policy unless you rejected it in writing. The rules for proving a hit and run claim differ sharply by state, and Mississippi’s are the strictest in the region.
This is not a rare problem. Mississippi has the highest uninsured driver rate in the country, at roughly 28 percent according to Insurance Research Council data. Tennessee and Georgia are both above the national average.
Uninsured versus underinsured
Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at fault driver has no liability insurance at all, when the insurer denies coverage or becomes insolvent, or when the driver is never identified.
Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the at fault driver has insurance, but not enough. All three states set minimum liability limits at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, which does not go far against a hospitalization.
Both Tennessee and Mississippi fold underinsured claims into their uninsured motorist statutes and apply a limits to limits comparison: the other driver’s available liability limits are compared against your UM limits, not against your actual damages. Georgia handles it differently, and the difference is worth real money.
Georgia: the add on versus reduced by election
Georgia’s uninsured motorist statute, O.C.G.A. 33-7-11, gives you two structurally different products, and most people have no idea which one they bought.
Add on, also called excess coverage. Your UM limits apply in addition to the at fault driver’s liability coverage. If the other driver carries $25,000 and you carry $100,000 in add on UM, up to $125,000 is available.
Reduced by, also called difference in limits. Your UM pays only the difference between the other driver’s liability limits and your UM limits. Same numbers as above: $25,000 from the other driver plus $75,000 from your UM, for $100,000 total.
Add on is the statutory default in Georgia. Reduced by requires an affirmative written election by the insured. If you were sold reduced by coverage, pull your declarations page and check, because the difference on a serious injury is often the entire value of the claim.
Georgia also allows stacking of UM policies where the claimant qualifies as an insured under each one, meaning coverage from multiple household vehicles or multiple policies can be combined.
Tennessee: no stacking, and the carrier must be served
Tennessee requires UM coverage equal to your bodily injury liability limits unless a named insured rejects it in writing or selects lower limits, under Tenn. Code Ann. 56-7-1201.
Two Tennessee specific rules control outcomes:
No stacking. Under 56-7-1201(b), when multiple policies apply, only the policy with the highest UM limit governs, and total recovery cannot exceed that single highest limit. Aggregating policies is barred by statute.
You must serve your own UM carrier. Tenn. Code Ann. 56-7-1206 requires the insured to serve process on the UM insurer as though it were a party defendant. Failing to do that has ended otherwise valid claims. Because Tennessee’s personal injury statute of limitations is one year and it applies to the UM carrier as well, this becomes urgent quickly.
Mississippi: physical contact is required, but stacking is allowed
Mississippi’s UM statutes, Miss. Code Ann. 83-11-101 and following, require UM coverage unless rejected in writing on a form approved by the Department of Insurance.
The physical contact rule. This is the trap. Under Miss. Code Ann. 83-11-103(c)(v), when the owner or operator of the vehicle is unknown, the insured can only recover if actual physical contact occurred between the unknown vehicle and the insured person or property. Mississippi provides no eyewitness exception and no alternative evidentiary route.
That means the classic phantom vehicle case, where a car drifts into your lane, you swerve, and you strike a barrier without ever being touched, is generally not a UM claim in Mississippi even with a dozen witnesses. It is a UM claim in Georgia if an independent eyewitness corroborates you, and it can be one in Tennessee on clear and convincing evidence from someone who was not in your vehicle.
Stacking is the default. Mississippi has no anti stacking statute. A named insured, spouse, or resident relative can generally stack UM coverage across every policy under which they qualify. There is a narrow opt out for policies covering four or more vehicles.
Hit and run: the three rules side by side
| Georgia | Tennessee | Mississippi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical contact required | Not if an independent eyewitness corroborates you | Not if existence is shown by clear and convincing evidence from someone other than your vehicle’s occupants | Yes, always |
| Police report | Required, reported immediately under O.C.G.A. 40-6-273 | Required within a reasonable time | No statutory deadline in the UM article |
| Suit structure | File against John Doe and serve the UM carrier | Serve the UM carrier; John Doe warrant | No statutory service requirement |
| Stacking | Allowed where you qualify as an insured | Prohibited by statute | Allowed by default |
| Injury deadline | 2 years | 1 year | 3 years |
Beyond the statutes, your policy itself may impose a short notice condition for hit and run claims, sometimes as brief as 30 days. Read it, or have someone read it for you, in the first week.
What to do in the first days
- Call the police from the scene and get a report number. In a hit and run, this is not optional in Georgia or Tennessee, and it is the foundation of the claim everywhere.
- Write down everything you remember about the vehicle immediately. Color, body style, damage, direction of travel, partial plate. Memory degrades within hours.
- Get witness names and cell numbers. In Georgia and Tennessee, an independent witness can be the difference between a covered claim and no claim.
- Canvass for video the same week. Businesses, gas stations, traffic cameras, and residential doorbell cameras overwrite footage in as little as two weeks.
- Notify your own insurer promptly and tell them you are making a UM claim.
- Pull your declarations page and find your UM limits, and in Georgia, whether you have add on or reduced by coverage.
- Do not give a recorded statement without advice, including to your own carrier, because on a UM claim your insurer is the one paying.
Your own insurer is now the opposing party
This is the part clients find hardest. When you make a UM claim, the company you have paid premiums to for fifteen years is the company writing the check, and its financial interest runs directly against yours. Expect the same investigation, the same fault arguments, and the same scrutiny of your medical records that a stranger’s insurer would apply.
Howe.Law handles uninsured motorist and hit and run claims across Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, including claims against our clients’ own carriers. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we recover. Call (844) 876-4357 or contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will making an uninsured motorist claim raise my rates?
A UM claim where you were not at fault should not result in a surcharge, and Georgia’s seat belt statute expressly bars using restraint nonuse to affect coverage or premiums. Rating practices vary by carrier and state, so if you receive an increase after a not at fault UM claim, ask the insurer in writing to identify the basis for it.
What if I do not know whether I have uninsured motorist coverage?
Look at your declarations page for a line reading UM, UIM, or uninsured motorist bodily injury. Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi all require insurers to include the coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing, so if no signed rejection exists, the coverage may apply even if it does not appear on the declarations.
Can I still recover if the other driver is caught later?
Yes, and your claim may then proceed against the driver’s liability coverage, with your UM carrier stepping into an underinsured position if the liability limits are inadequate. Do not delay the UM claim while police investigate, because the limitations clock runs regardless.
Does uninsured motorist coverage pay for my car, or only my injuries?
That depends on the state and the coverage purchased. Mississippi requires uninsured motorist property damage coverage, subject to a permitted deductible. In Georgia and Tennessee, property damage protection generally comes from separate coverages. Bodily injury UM covers medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
What if the driver had insurance but the company denied the claim?
Denial or insolvency of the at fault driver’s insurer can trigger your uninsured motorist coverage. Mississippi’s statute expressly includes insurer denial and insolvency within twelve months of the accident. Send the denial letter to your own carrier and open the UM claim.
This article is general information about the law in Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi. It is not legal advice, and coverage depends on your specific policy language. Speak with a licensed attorney about your situation.
