Stacking UM

In Oklahoma, a person may become entitled to multiple UM coverages depending upon various policy languages within an automobile insurance policy. If he is injured while riding in someone else’s car, he will have the coverage of the car he is in, as well as his own policy. Also, depending on the definition of a household member as defined in Oklahoma law, that person may also be able to recover under other policies in his household. For instance, if you carry $25,000 worth of UM on three cars you may be entitled to the entire $75,000.00 when those policies are stacked together. A third type of stacking occurs when the insured owns several cars insured under separate policies or the car he is occupying is one of several insured under a single policy. In that event, he may be entitled to coverage equal to the UM limit multiplied by the number of cars insured or premiums paid.

The named insured or household member per the policy and Oklahoma law may stack the coverage of vehicles in the household, whether those vehicles are insured under separate policies or multiple vehicles are insured under a single policy. This is true where the company charges a separate premium for each vehicle insured.

One other interesting note is that stacking will apply to a commercial, fleet policy, if the injured claimant is a class 1 insured as defined under Oklahoma law. An employee may not stack his employer’s UM coverage.