Stacked vs. Single-Limit UM/UIM Coverage in North Carolina

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Stacking adds uninsured and underinsured limits together. North Carolina bars adding the limits of several vehicles under one policy, but lets you combine the highest applicable limit under each separate policy, for nonfleet private passenger vehicles.

What stacking means

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

Same policy, several vehicles

G.S. 20-279.21(b)(4) says the UIM limits applicable to any one motor vehicle under a policy shall not be combined with or added to the limits applicable to any other vehicle under that policy. The UM provisions say the same for UM.

Separate policies

If you are insured under UIM coverage on separate or additional policies, the total UIM coverage is the sum of the limits of those coverages, determined by combining the highest limit available under each policy, without reduction by a setoff against any coverage except workers' compensation. The same combination rule applies to UM. It applies only to nonfleet private passenger motor vehicles.

A worked example

Suppose you have two separate policies with $100,000 and $50,000 of UIM, the at-fault driver carried $50,000 and paid it, and your damages are $250,000. The combined limit is $150,000 and your damages beyond the $50,000 payment are $200,000, so UIM pays up to $150,000. If the $50,000 were on a second vehicle on the same policy, only $100,000 would apply. Try your own numbers in the North Carolina UM/UIM stacking calculator.

What to check

Look at the declarations pages for how many policies cover you and which vehicles are on each. See what section 20-279.21 says and 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.