The House Committee on Insurance offers the following substitute to HB 1058:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 27 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
group life insurance, so as to authorize tax-exempt organizations to be beneficiaries of
employee group life insurance policies; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 27 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to group life
insurance, is amended in Code Section 33-27-1, relating to group requirements generally, by
revising paragraph (1) as follows:
"(1) Employee groups. A policy issued to an employer or to the trustees of a fund
established by an employer, which employer or trustee shall be deemed the policyholder,
to insure employees of the employer for the benefit of persons other than the employer
<ins>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,</ins> subject to the following requirements:
(A) The employees eligible for insurance under the policy shall be all of the employees
of the employer or all of any class or classes thereof determined by conditions
pertaining to their employment. The policy may provide that the term 'employees' shall
include the employees of one or more subsidiary corporations and the employees,
individual proprietors, and partners of one or more affiliated corporations, proprietors,
or partnerships, if the business of the employer and of such affiliated corporations,
proprietors, or partnerships is under common control through stock ownership or
contract or otherwise. The policy may provide that the term 'employees' shall include
the individual proprietor or partners if the employer is an individual proprietor or a
partnership. The policy may provide that the term 'employees' shall include retired
employees. No individual proprietor or partner shall be eligible for insurance under the
policy unless he <ins>or she</ins> is actively engaged in and devotes a substantial part of his <ins>or her
</ins> time to the conduct of the business of the proprietor or partnership. A policy issued to
insure the employees of a public body may provide that the term 'employees' shall
include elected or appointed officials;
(B) The premium for the policy shall be paid by the policyholder either from the
employer's own funds or from charges collected from the insured employee specifically
for such insurance or from funds contributed by both the employer and the employee.
A policy in which no part of the premium is to be derived from funds contributed by
the insured employee <del>must</del> <ins>shall</ins> insure each eligible employee, except for any
employee as to whom evidence of individual insurability is not satisfactory to the
insurer;
(C) The policy <del>must</del> <ins>shall</ins> cover at least two employees at date of issue; and
(D) The amounts of insurance under the policy <del>must</del> <ins>shall</ins> be based upon some plan
precluding individual selection either by the employees or by the employer or trustee."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.