HB182: HB182 Life insurance; excluding or restricting liability for certain deaths occurring while an individual is an active duty service member; prohibit

Georgia law currently lets group life insurance policies exclude or restrict payouts for certain kinds of deaths, and group policies are largely exempt from the state's general rule against such exclusions. This bill amends Georgia's life insurance law (O.C.G.A. § 33-25-5) to add a specific new protection for military service members covered by group life insurance. Under the change, a group life insurance policy issued in Georgia cannot exclude or restrict payment for a service member's death in the regular or reserve armed forces, unless that death results directly or indirectly from war. The Commissioner of Insurance may still allow policy terms more favorable to the policyholder than what the law requires. The bill would take effect on the first day of the month after the Governor signs it or it becomes law without signature.

• Adds a new rule to O.C.G.A. § 33-25-5 barring group life insurance policies from excluding or restricting payouts for a service member's death.
• Keeps an exception allowing insurers to exclude coverage when the service member's death results directly or indirectly from war, declared or undeclared.
• Leaves in place the existing general exemption of group life insurance from most of the state's other death-exclusion restrictions, adding this one carve-out specifically for service members.
• Preserves the Commissioner of Insurance's authority to approve policy terms that are more favorable to policyholders than what the law requires.
• Sets the effective date as the first day of the month following the Governor's approval or the bill becoming law without signature.

Active duty and reserve members of the U.S. armed forces who are covered by group life insurance policies issued in Georgia, along with life insurance companies that write group policies and the beneficiaries who would receive death benefits.

Families of service members covered by group life insurance would gain assurance that a payout cannot be denied simply because the insured was an active duty or reserve member, except in war-related deaths, closing a coverage gap that previously existed for group policies in Georgia.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 33-25-5 by adding new subsection (d), which prohibits group life insurance policies from excluding or restricting liability for a service member's death.
• The new subsection (d) carves out an exception: insurers may still exclude coverage if the death results directly or indirectly from war, declared or undeclared, or acts or hazards of war.
• Existing subsection (c) is updated to note that the general exemption for group life insurance no longer applies with respect to the new subsection (d) protection.
• Renumbered subsection (e) preserves the Commissioner of Insurance's power to allow more favorable policy provisions than the law requires.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the first day of the month following approval by the Governor or the bill becoming law without signature.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-02House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (House)
2. 2025-03-28Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
3. 2025-03-28Senate Third Read (Senate)
4. 2025-03-18Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
5. 2025-03-13Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
6. 2025-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
7. 2025-02-24House Passed/Adopted (House)
8. 2025-02-24House Third Readers (House)

• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)Primary sponsor
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Bruce Williamson (R, HD-112)
• Brian Prince (D, HD-132)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 24, 2025

   171 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #69

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   46 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #321

3. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2025

   166 yea, 2 nay (3 not voting, 9 absent)

   Agree To Senate Sub As Am: House Vote #384

• life insurance
• military service members
• insurance regulation
• group insurance policies