Stacked vs. Unstacked Coverage
Stacked UM/UIM coverage lets you combine (stack) your limits across multiple vehicles or policies for a higher total payout. Unstacked applies a single vehicle's limit. Availability varies by state.
A Way to Multiply Your Protection
If you insure more than one vehicle, stacking can dramatically increase the uninsured/underinsured motorist protection available after a serious crash. It's one of the least understood — and most valuable — options on a multi-vehicle policy.
How Stacking Works
- Unstacked: your UM/UIM claim is limited to the coverage on the one vehicle involved. If that vehicle carries $50,000 in UM/UIM, that's your ceiling.
- Stacked: you combine the UM/UIM limits across all your insured vehicles (or across multiple policies). With three vehicles at $50,000 each, stacking can provide up to $150,000 of protection for one crash.
The crash can even happen in just one of the vehicles — stacking still adds the others' limits together.
Two Kinds of Stacking
- Intra-policy stacking: combining limits across vehicles on a *single* multi-car policy.
- Inter-policy stacking: combining limits across *separate* policies (for example, household members with their own policies).
State law and your policy determine which, if any, is allowed.
The Trade-Off
Stacking increases your premium because it increases the carrier's maximum exposure. But for households with multiple vehicles, the additional protection is often well worth the modest extra cost — a single serious injury can exhaust an unstacked limit instantly.
It's Not Available Everywhere
Many states allow stacking, some prohibit it, and some require carriers to offer it and let you reject it in writing. Because the rules and the math vary so much, stacking is exactly the kind of thing worth reviewing with someone who knows your state. We'll show you whether stacking is available to you and what it would add. [Get a quote](/quote) to find out.
What's Covered
Frequently Asked Questions
For households with multiple vehicles, often yes. Stacking can multiply your UM/UIM protection — three vehicles at $50,000 each can become $150,000 of coverage for a single crash. Since a serious injury can exhaust an unstacked limit instantly, the modest extra premium frequently pays off.
It depends on state law and your policy. Some states allow it, some prohibit it, and some require carriers to offer it. Tell us where you live and we'll explain whether stacking is available and what it would add to your protection.