HB902: HB902 Insurance; transparency and accountability in rates and rate regulation after enactment of tort reform law; provide

Georgia regulates how much insurance companies can charge and how those rates are reviewed under Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia. This bill changes several of those rules. It sets a clear trigger for when a rate hike counts as 'excessive': any increase of 10 percent or more in a 12 month period, or two or more rate increase filings within 24 months, is presumed excessive and can force the Insurance Commissioner to launch a financial and market conduct examination of the insurer. The bill also shortens the deadline for the Commissioner to finish such an examination, from 90 to 45 days, and requires a public hearing within 30 days after any examination is completed, where the Commissioner can demand detailed actuarial reports and cost breakdowns from the insurer. Starting July 1, 2026, both the Department of Insurance and individual insurers would have to publish rate increase data on their websites. Separately, the bill extends the state's tort reform data collection and reporting program, moving the data request deadline from 2029 to 2035 and the program's repeal date from 2030 to 2036, and requires a report on savings passed on to policyholders from tort reform.

• Defines an insurance rate increase of 10 percent or more within 12 months, or two or more rate filings within 24 months, as presumed 'excessive' under Georgia insurance law (O.C.G.A. § 33-9-4).
• Requires the Insurance Commissioner to order a financial and market conduct examination of an insurer whose rate filing triggers that 10 percent or two-filing threshold (O.C.G.A. § 33-9-21).
• Shortens the deadline for the Commissioner to certify a completed rate examination from 90 days to 45 days, with a shorter extension period.
• Adds a required public hearing within 30 days after a rate examination is completed, giving the Commissioner power to subpoena witnesses and demand detailed actuarial and cost data.
• Requires the Department of Insurance and individual insurers to publicly post rate increase data on their websites starting July 1, 2026 (O.C.G.A. § 33-9-41).
• Extends the deadline for the state's tort reform data collection program from 2029 to 2035 and delays that program's automatic repeal from 2030 to 2036 (O.C.G.A. §§ 33-66-5, 33-66-8).

Insurance companies licensed to sell policies in Georgia, including auto, property, and other lines subject to Chapter 9 rate regulation; the Georgia Insurance Commissioner and Department of Insurance staff who conduct examinations and hearings; and policyholders, including families and small businesses, who would see more public data on rate increases.

If enacted, insurers seeking larger or more frequent rate hikes would face faster, more detailed state scrutiny and public hearings, and both the state and insurers would have to post rate increase data online. Georgians would also wait longer, through 2035, for full data-driven findings on whether the state's tort reform law actually lowered insurance costs.

• Section 1 rewrites the definitions of 'excessive,' 'inadequate,' and 'unfairly discriminatory' rates and adds a presumption that a 10 percent or larger increase in 12 months, or repeated filings in 24 months, is excessive.
• Section 2 requires the Commissioner to order an examination when that threshold is triggered, shortens the certification deadline from 90 to 45 days, and adds a mandatory public hearing within 30 days of an examination's completion with expanded subpoena and document powers.
• Section 3 creates new public transparency rules starting July 1, 2026, requiring both the Department of Insurance and individual insurers to post rate increase data on their websites, covering data back to January 1, 2019.
• Section 4 extends the deadline for the Commissioner's tort-related data requests under O.C.G.A. § 33-66-5 from July 1, 2029 to July 1, 2035.
• Section 5 revises the subsequent tort reform report requirement in O.C.G.A. § 33-66-7 to include findings on savings or benefits passed on to policyholders, due to the Governor's office and legislative insurance committees by November 1, 2029.
• Section 6 pushes back the automatic repeal date of the tort reform data analysis chapter from January 1, 2030 to January 1, 2036.
• Section 7 makes the Act effective as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law without a signature.

1. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-04-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-04-02House Hopper (House)

• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)Primary sponsor
• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)
• Noel Williams (R, HD-148)
• Demetrius Douglas (D, HD-078)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)

• insurance rate regulation
• tort reform
• insurance transparency
• auto insurance rates
• insurance rate hearings