Legal Definitions - stacking

Stacking is a legal term with distinct meanings depending on the context, primarily in insurance and electoral law.

In Insurance Law

In insurance, stacking refers to the process of combining the coverage limits from multiple insurance policies or from multiple coverages within a single policy to pay for a single claim. This typically occurs when the benefits available from one policy or coverage alone are insufficient to cover the full extent of the damages or losses incurred. Stacking can be permitted either by the express terms of the insurance policies themselves (policy stacking) or, in some circumstances, by a court's interpretation based on public policy considerations (judicial stacking).

• Example 1: Automobile Uninsured Motorist Coverage

  Maria owns two cars, each insured with a separate policy from the same company, and each policy includes $50,000 in Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage. She is severely injured in an accident caused by an uninsured driver, incurring $90,000 in medical bills and lost wages. If her state allows stacking, Maria could potentially combine the UM coverage limits from both policies, accessing up to $100,000 ($50,000 from each policy) to cover her damages, rather than being limited to just the $50,000 from the policy covering the car she was driving.

  This illustrates stacking because Maria is using the coverage from a second policy (or a second UM coverage limit) for the same claim, as the first policy's limit was inadequate to fully compensate her for her injuries.

• Example 2: Homeowner's Insurance and Umbrella Policies

  The Johnson family's primary homeowner's insurance policy has a liability limit of $300,000. A guest is seriously injured on their property and sues the Johnsons for $700,000. The Johnsons also have a personal umbrella insurance policy with a $1,000,000 liability limit, designed to provide additional coverage beyond their primary policies. If their umbrella policy is designed to stack or if state law permits it, the umbrella policy would kick in after the homeowner's policy limit is exhausted, allowing them to access the additional coverage to pay for the remaining $400,000 of the claim.

  This demonstrates stacking by combining the liability coverage from a primary homeowner's policy with a secondary umbrella policy to adequately cover a single, large liability claim that exceeded the primary policy's limits.

In Electoral Law (Gerrymandering)

In the context of electoral law, stacking is a gerrymandering technique used to dilute the voting power of a particular demographic or political group. This is achieved by combining a significant concentration of voters from that group into a single electoral district with a much larger, opposing group, effectively ensuring that the targeted group's votes are consistently outnumbered and their preferred candidates are unlikely to win.

• Example 1: Political Party Dilution

  In a state with a roughly even split between Party A and Party B voters, a new congressional district is drawn. A neighborhood known for its strong support of Party A is included in this district, but the district's boundaries are extended to encompass a much larger surrounding rural area that overwhelmingly votes for Party B. Even if Party A voters in the neighborhood turn out in high numbers, their collective votes are "stacked" against the larger Party B majority, making it nearly impossible for a Party A candidate to win that district.

  This illustrates stacking as the strong voting bloc of Party A is combined with a larger opposing group (Party B) within the same district, effectively diluting their electoral influence.

• Example 2: Racial Minority Vote Suppression

  A legislative district is redrawn to include a substantial, but ultimately minority, population of a specific ethnic group known to vote cohesively for certain candidates. However, the district also incorporates a much larger population from a different ethnic group that consistently votes for opposing candidates. This design ensures that despite their significant numbers, the minority group's votes are always outmatched by the larger, opposing majority, thereby minimizing their ability to elect their preferred representatives.

  This demonstrates stacking by placing a concentrated racial group into a district where their votes are consistently outnumbered by a larger, opposing racial group, diminishing their overall political power.