SB324: SB324 Life Insurance; certain protections for life insurance policyholders and beneficiaries; provide

Georgia law already requires insurers to search a national database for unclaimed life insurance benefits. This bill adds detail to that requirement by making insurers run the search at least quarterly and act within 30 days of finding a match, including updating records and contacting the policyholder or beneficiary. The bill also creates a new 'Georgia Policyholder Bill of Rights' inside Georgia's insurance code (O.C.G.A. Title 33). It gives policyholders the right to keep their original insurance agent even if the policy is sold to another company, the right to get key documents like annual status reports, and a way to authorize someone else to access their policy information using a standardized, notarized form. Insurers must report their unclaimed-benefit search results to the Georgia Insurance Commissioner starting January 1, 2027, and the Commissioner must publish a plain-language rights statement and the authorization form by that date. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Requires life insurers to search the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' policy locator system at least quarterly for matches to policies, policyholders, and beneficiaries.
• Requires insurers to confirm any match, contact the relevant person, and update their records within 30 days of finding it.
• Creates a new 'Georgia Policyholder Bill of Rights' letting policyholders keep their original agent of record even if the policy is sold or transferred to another insurer.
• Gives policyholders the right to an annual policy status report, even if the policy is already fully paid.
• Lets a policyholder authorize another person to access policy documents using a standardized, notarized form that expires after at most 12 months and cannot grant authority to change beneficiaries or surrender the policy.
• Requires insurers to report their unclaimed-benefit search results annually to the Insurance Commissioner starting January 1, 2027.

Life insurance policyholders and beneficiaries who live in Georgia, the insurance companies that issue or hold their policies, the insurance agents who serve as agents of record, and the Georgia Department of Insurance, which must publish new rights information and collect annual insurer reports.

Georgians who own life insurance would get clearer rights to information about their policies, a guaranteed way to keep their original agent, and an easier path for a trusted person to check on a policy. More frequent searches for lost policyholders could help more beneficiaries actually receive benefits they are owed.

• Section 1 adds subsection (d.1) to O.C.G.A. § 33-25-14, requiring quarterly searches of the NAIC policy locator system and a 30-day response window for confirmed matches.
• Section 2 creates new O.C.G.A. § 33-25-16, the 'Georgia Policyholder Bill of Rights,' defining 'insurer,' 'policy,' and 'policyholder' for its purposes.
• Subsection (c) guarantees a policyholder's right to keep their original agent of record even after a policy is sold or transferred to another insurer.
• Subsection (d) lists the required contents of the standardized authorization form, including the policyholder's identifying information, limits on the recipient's authority, and a required notarized signature with a maximum 12-month duration.
• Subsection (e) requires insurers to provide an annual status report to policyholders even on fully paid policies.
• Subsection (f) requires insurers to report search results under Section 33-25-14 to the Commissioner annually, starting no later than January 1, 2027.
• Subsection (g) requires the Commissioner to publish a plain-language rights statement and the authorization form on the department website and send them to all licensed life insurers by January 1, 2027.
• Section 3 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without the Governor's approval.

1. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-09House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-06Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2026-03-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
5. 2026-03-06Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
6. 2026-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
7. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)

• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)Primary sponsor
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   50 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #675

• life insurance
• insurance regulation
• unclaimed benefits
• consumer protection
• Georgia Department of Insurance