Stacked vs. Single-Policy UM Coverage in Louisiana

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Stacking adds the uninsured and underinsured motorist limits of several vehicles or policies together. Louisiana bars it by statute: limits are not increased by multiple vehicles or policies, except for someone injured in a vehicle they do not own.

What stacking means

A household may have more than one vehicle or policy with UM. Stacking adds those limits after one injury, so $100,000 and $50,000 become $150,000. Single-policy coverage pays only the limit of the policy that applies.

What Louisiana law says

La. R.S. 22:1295(1)(c) provides that your UM limits shall not be increased because of multiple motor vehicles covered under the policy, and shall not be increased when you have insurance available under more than one UM coverage provision or policy.

The exception: a vehicle you do not own

If you are injured while occupying a vehicle not owned by you, your resident spouse or a resident relative, the UM coverage on the occupied vehicle is primary. If it is exhausted by the extent of your damages, you may recover as excess from other UM available to you, but never from more than one other policy.

A worked example

Suppose you are an insured under two policies with $100,000 and $50,000 of UM, and an uninsured driver causes $250,000 of damages. In your own vehicle, Louisiana caps UM at the $100,000 on that vehicle's policy. In a friend's car, the friend's UM is primary and your own $100,000 policy could be the one excess policy. Try your own numbers in the Louisiana UM/UIM stacking calculator.

What to check

Look at the declarations page of each policy and note whose vehicle you were in. We did not read Louisiana court decisions on how these rules apply to multiple vehicles under the same policy, so ask an attorney. See what paragraph (1)(c) says and how Louisiana UM covers underinsured drivers.

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