HB348: HB348 Insurance; expand lines of insurance or reinsurance in which a limited purpose subsidiary and captive insurance company may engage

Georgia law lets certain insurers set up limited purpose subsidiaries and captive insurance companies to handle specialized reinsurance and risk-sharing arrangements. This bill changes both types of entities. For limited purpose subsidiaries, it adds a new power letting them access alternative forms of financing, in addition to their existing ability to reinsure only the risks of the parent insurer that formed them. For captive insurance companies, the bill rewrites the rule on what kinds of insurance or reinsurance business they can write. Instead of limiting them to a fixed list (casualty, marine and transportation, property, and surety insurance), the bill lets a captive insurance company write any kind of insurance or reinsurance business that the state Insurance Commissioner considers reasonable. The bill also updates the definition of "controlled unaffiliated business" used in the captive insurance chapter. The changes take effect the first day of the month after the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.

• Adds a new power letting a limited purpose subsidiary insurance company access alternative forms of financing, on top of its existing reinsurance powers.
• Removes the fixed list of insurance lines (casualty, marine and transportation, property, surety) that captive insurance companies were limited to writing.
• Lets a captive insurance company instead write any kind of insurance or reinsurance business that the Insurance Commissioner deems reasonable.
• Updates the definition of 'controlled unaffiliated business' in the captive insurance law (O.C.G.A. § 33-41-2) to clarify who qualifies and how their risks must be managed or ceded.
• Sets the effective date as the first day of the month after the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without signature.

The bill affects domestic reinsurers and their limited purpose subsidiaries, captive insurance companies and the parent businesses that own them, sponsors who help finance these entities, and the Georgia Insurance Commissioner's office, which gains discretion to approve broader lines of business.

Businesses that use captive insurance companies to insure their own risks could gain access to a wider range of insurance and reinsurance lines instead of a fixed list, while limited purpose subsidiaries gain a new way to raise financing, potentially changing how these specialized insurance arrangements are structured and funded in Georgia.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 33-14-103 to add a fourth power for limited purpose subsidiaries: the ability to access alternative forms of financing.
• Section 2 revises the definition of 'controlled unaffiliated business' in O.C.G.A. § 33-41-2, clarifying the relationships and risk-management arrangements that qualify.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 33-41-3(a) to let captive insurance companies write any insurance or reinsurance business the Commissioner deems reasonable, rather than only the previously listed lines.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as the first day of the month following gubernatorial approval or the bill becoming law without approval.
• Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2025-06-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 258
3. 2025-05-14House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-28Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-28Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-20Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2025-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Bruce Williamson (R, HD-112)Primary sponsor
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Steve Tarvin (R, HD-002)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

   168 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #159

2. FailedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   18 yea, 32 nay (2 not voting, 4 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #1 By The Senator From The 2nd: Senate Vote #324

3. FailedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   19 yea, 31 nay (2 not voting, 4 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #2 By The Senator From The 9th: Senate Vote #325

4. PassedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   47 yea, 2 nay (3 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #326

• insurance regulation
• captive insurance companies
• reinsurance
• business financing