Does North Carolina Allow UM/UIM Stacking? What G.S. 20-279.21 Says

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

North Carolina allows stacking only between separate policies. The statute says limits for different vehicles under one policy are not combined, and that you may combine the highest applicable limit under each policy, for nonfleet private passenger vehicles.

The same-policy rule

Section 20-279.21 says a person insured under UM or UIM on a policy that insures more than one vehicle may not combine the limit for one vehicle with the limit for any other vehicle on that policy.

The separate-policy rule

A person insured under UM or UIM on more than one policy may combine the highest applicable limit available under each policy. The sentence applies only to insurance on nonfleet private passenger motor vehicles as described in G.S. 58-40-10(1) and (2).

Required limits

UM limits equal the highest bodily injury liability limit for any one vehicle on the policy, up to $1,000,000 per person and per accident, and you may buy more or less but not below the required liability minimums, now $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident (G.S. 20-279.5). UIM limits equal the UM limits.

When UIM applies

A vehicle is underinsured when the sum of the liability limits is less than your total damages. UIM applies after the liability limits are exhausted by payment or tender, from the first dollar of your claim beyond what the liability coverage paid, and is not reduced by a setoff for that payment.

How to use this

Compare the results in the North Carolina UM/UIM stacking calculator, start with the plain-English stacked versus single-limit explainer, and read how North Carolina UM and UIM work.

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