Stacked vs. Unstacked UM/UIM Coverage in Delaware

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Stacking adds the uninsured and underinsured motorist limits of several vehicles together. In Delaware, insuring more vehicles with the same insurer does not raise the insurer's limit.

What stacking means

Many auto policies list a UM/UIM limit for each insured vehicle. Stacking adds those limits after one injury, so $100,000 on each of three vehicles becomes $300,000. Unstacked coverage pays only one limit. It matters only when your damages are larger than a single limit and larger than what the at-fault driver paid.

How Delaware treats it

18 Del. C. 3902(c) says that affording the insurance to more than 1 person or to more than 1 vehicle does not operate to increase the insurer's limits of liability. When 2 or more vehicles owned or leased by people residing in the same household are insured by the same insurer or affiliated insurers, the limits apply separately to each vehicle as stated in the declaration sheet, but may not exceed the highest limit of liability applicable to any 1 vehicle.

A worked Delaware example

Suppose your household has three cars with the same insurer, each showing $100,000 of UM, and an uninsured driver causes $250,000 of damages. A stacking state could pay up to $300,000, so $250,000. Delaware caps the insurer at the highest single-vehicle limit, $100,000. Try your own numbers in the Delaware UM/UIM stacking calculator.

What the statute does not say

Subsection (c) speaks to coverage afforded by one insurer or affiliated insurers. It does not say what happens when you have UM/UIM under policies from unrelated insurers, so the policies' "other insurance" language and Delaware case law matter. We did not read Delaware case law on that point, so ask an attorney before assuming a second policy adds or does not add.

What to check

Look at your declarations page for the limit on each vehicle, whether you bought the optional additional coverage that includes underinsured protection, and which company issued each policy. See what subsection (c) says and what it leaves open and how UM and optional UIM work.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Delaware's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Delaware attorney.