Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1058: Insurance; authorize tax-exempt organizations to be beneficiaries of employee group life insurance policies
Last action February 24, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
A House bill would let tax-exempt organizations, such as 501(c)(3) nonprofits, be named as beneficiaries of employee group life insurance policies when an employee designates them in writing, changing Georgia's group life insurance law (O.C.G.A. § 33-27-1).
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, group life insurance policies bought by an employer for its employees generally must benefit someone other than the employer itself; the employer typically cannot be named the beneficiary. This bill carves out an exception: if the employer is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code, and the insured employee designates that employer in writing as the beneficiary, the employer can then be named on the policy. The bill also makes small wording updates elsewhere in the same code section, adding gender-neutral language ('or she') and swapping the word 'must' for 'shall' in a few requirements about minimum coverage, insurability, and how coverage amounts are set. These are technical clarifications rather than substantive policy changes. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a delayed effective date.
What the bill does
- Creates an exception letting a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt employer be named as the beneficiary of an employee's group life insurance policy, if the employee designates it in writing.
- Leaves in place the general rule that group life policies must benefit someone other than the employer, except for this new nonprofit exception.
- Updates gender references in the law covering proprietors and partners eligible for group coverage, adding 'or she' alongside 'he'.
- Replaces the word 'must' with 'shall' in provisions about insuring eligible employees, minimum group size, and how coverage amounts are determined, without changing their substance.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with these changes.
Who it affects
Nonprofit and charitable organizations organized as 501(c)(3) entities that offer group life insurance to their employees, the employees who can now choose to name their employer as a beneficiary, and insurance companies that write group life policies for these organizations.
Why it matters
Employees at qualifying nonprofits would gain the option to designate their tax-exempt employer as the beneficiary of their group life insurance, something current law does not allow. This could let nonprofits receive insurance payouts tied to an employee's death, if the employee chooses to set it up that way.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 33-27-1(1), the definition of employee groups eligible for group life insurance, to add the tax-exempt organization beneficiary exception.
- The exception applies only if the employer qualifies as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and the insured employee designates it as beneficiary in writing.
- Other structural requirements for group policies are preserved: coverage of all employees in a class, minimum of two employees at issue, and no individual selection in setting coverage amounts.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard provision with no independent policy effect.
From the bill
“to insure employees of the employer for the benefit of persons other than the employer unless the employer both qualifies as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is designated as a beneficiary under such policy in writing by the insured employee”
Discussed in meetings (6)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Insurance Committee, February 24, 2026
From 0:15:13 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute allowing employees to designate a 501(c)(3) nonprofit employer in writing as the beneficiary of employer-provided group life insurance. The sponsor said the Methodist Children's Home sought the change after an employee died and the organization could not collect the benefit despite being named as beneficiary. According to the sponsor, existing law bars employers from receiving these benefits, and the change would help future cases rather than that claim. Two committee members supported allowing gifts that further nonprofit work. Another member asked whether elderly residents with diminished mental capacity could be affected. The sponsor clarified that the bill concerns employees participating in an employer's insurance plan, not residents of a facility. A further member said these policies generally offer guaranteed coverage without underwriting and usually provide $50,000 or less. The committee approved a do-pass motion by voice vote, with no numerical count stated.
House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026
From 0:41:40 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1058, requested by the Methodist Home for Children, would let employees voluntarily name their nonprofit employer as the beneficiary of an employer-sponsored life insurance policy. No questions or scheduling decision followed.
House Rules Committee, March 6, 2026
From 0:44:55 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2140
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 1058 on the day’s supplemental floor calendar under modified structure following a motion and second, with no opposition stated. No substantive discussion occurred.
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
- Vance Smith (R, HD-138)
- Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
- Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
- Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
- Mary Margaret Oliver (D, HD-84)
Topics
- group life insurance
- nonprofit organizations
- employee benefits
- insurance law