HAYES, VA – A change in Virginia’s underinsured motorist insurance rules now allows drivers to combine their UIM coverage with the at-fault driver’s liability insurance rather than having one subtracted from the other, potentially adding tens of thousands of dollars in available coverage after a serious collision. Gloucester County car accident attorney Ken Gibson of GibsonSingleton Virginia Injury Attorneys (https://www.gibsonsingleton.com/blog/whats-virginias-new-law-about-underinsured-motorist-uim-insurance-and-how-does-it-affect-me/) is explaining how the stacking provision under Virginia Code Section 38.2-2206 works and what it means for accident victims throughout the region.
According to Gloucester County car accident attorney Ken Gibson, the old Virginia law allowed insurance companies to subtract the at-fault driver’s liability coverage from the injured driver’s UIM policy limits. This meant that if both the at-fault driver’s liability and the injured driver’s UIM coverage were each $50,000, the insurance company would reduce the UIM benefit to zero, effectively making the policy worthless despite the premiums paid. “Drivers who purchased UIM coverage expected that protection to be available when they needed it, but the old formula often eliminated their benefits entirely,” explains Gibson.
Gloucester County car accident attorney Ken Gibson notes that under the amended law, which took effect for all auto insurance policies issued or renewed after July 1, 2023, UIM coverage now stacks on top of the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. In a scenario with $50,000 in liability and $100,000 in UIM coverage, the injured driver can now access up to $150,000 in total available insurance, compared to only $100,000 under the old subtraction formula. For drivers carrying higher coverage amounts, such as $100,000 in liability and $250,000 in UIM, the new law provides up to $350,000 in total coverage versus $250,000 previously.
Attorney Gibson emphasizes that Virginia also eliminated the option for drivers to operate vehicles without insurance by paying a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee. Senate Bill 951 made liability insurance mandatory for all registered vehicles, and effective January 1, 2025, Virginia increased its minimum coverage requirements to $50,000 per person for bodily injury, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, replacing the previous minimums of $30,000, $60,000, and $20,000. “These higher minimums and the new stacking provision together create substantially more financial protection for accident victims on Route 17 and throughout Gloucester County,” Gibson adds.
John Singleton, co-founding attorney at the firm and a former insurance defense lawyer, advises that drivers should carefully consider before opting out of stacking coverage. Virginia law allows a named insured to sign a written election to revert to the old subtraction approach, but the premium savings are typically minimal compared to the protection stacking provides. “The Virginia Department of Transportation invested $5.1 million in safety improvements at the Route 17 and Woods Cross Road intersection because nearly 70 percent of crashes there between 2014 and 2024 resulted in serious injuries or fatalities,” Singleton notes. “With accident risks this significant, maintaining full stacking coverage is especially important for drivers throughout the Middle Peninsula.”
Virginia law also permits resident relative stacking in certain situations, where an injured individual living with a family member who carries a separate UIM policy may access that additional coverage. Whether this applies depends on the specific terms of each policy. For motor vehicle accidents occurring on or after July 1, 2024, Virginia law provides a potential bad-faith remedy in UM/UIM claims if the insurer fails to make a timely and reasonable settlement offer, rejects a reasonable settlement demand within policy limits, or fails to respond within a reasonable time after the insured becomes legally entitled to recover.
The firm handles car accident insurance claims involving crashes near the Coleman Bridge, the York River corridor, Gloucester Point, and roads throughout Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay region. The team at GibsonSingleton Virginia Injury Attorneys reviews auto insurance policies to identify every available source of UIM coverage and pursues full compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. For those involved in a collision with an underinsured driver in Virginia, consulting a knowledgeable car accident attorney may help maximize available insurance recovery.
About GibsonSingleton Virginia Injury Attorneys:
GibsonSingleton Virginia Injury Attorneys is a Gloucester County-based personal injury law firm representing accident victims across Virginia, the Middle Peninsula, and Hampton Roads. Led by attorneys Ken Gibson, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Marine, and John Singleton, a former insurance defense attorney and U.S. Marine, the firm focuses on car accident and serious injury claims. For consultations, call (804) 413-6777.
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State: Virginia 23072
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Website: https://www.gibsonsingleton.com/