Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 187: Professions and businesses; contractors; change certain provisions
Last action March 25, 2026 · Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
A Georgia Senate substitute for HB 187 would set up new consumer protection rules for 'vehicle value protection agreements,' the add-on products that promise to cover a car's lost value after a wreck or theft.
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
Vehicle value protection agreements are add-on products sold with car purchases or loans that promise to pay toward a replacement vehicle if the original is totaled or stolen, covering things like trade-in value gaps or diminished value. Georgia law currently has no specific rules governing these agreements. This bill adds a new article to the state's trade practices law (O.C.G.A. Title 10, Chapter 1) that requires providers to make clear disclosures about costs, terms, and cancellation rights, and requires companies to back their promises with insurance, a funded reserve account, or a large net worth requirement. Consumers would get at least a 30 day 'free look' period to cancel for a full refund if no benefits were used, and rules for partial refunds and administrative fees if a provider cancels the agreement. The bill also lets the Attorney General sue violators for civil penalties up to $2,500 per violation and treats violations as breaches of Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act of 1975.
What the bill does
- Creates a new legal category, 'vehicle value protection agreements,' covering products like trade-in and diminished value protection sold with a vehicle purchase or loan.
- Requires providers to clearly disclose contract terms, costs, benefit conditions, and cancellation rights, including a required statement on the first page about the free look period.
- Requires providers to back their promises through an insurer meeting minimum capital standards, a funded reserve account plus a state trust deposit, or a parent company with at least $100 million in net worth.
- Guarantees consumers a free look period of at least 30 days with a full refund if no benefits were used, and sets refund and fee rules if a provider cancels the agreement.
- Bans conditioning a vehicle loan or purchase agreement on a consumer buying one of these value protection agreements.
- Lets the Attorney General sue providers for civil penalties up to $2,500 per violation and treats violations as Fair Business Practices Act violations.
Who it affects
Car buyers and borrowers who purchase add-on vehicle value protection products, the companies and administrators that sell and manage these agreements, insurers that back them, car dealerships that offer them at sale, and the Georgia Attorney General's office, which would gain enforcement authority.
Why it matters
Georgians who buy these add-on products when financing a car would gain guaranteed disclosure, a minimum 30-day cancellation window with refund rights, and assurance that providers have money set aside or insurance to pay claims, addressing a market currently without specific state rules.
Key provisions
- New Code Section 10-1-970 defines key terms including 'provider,' 'administrator,' 'consumer,' 'covered vehicle,' and 'vehicle value protection agreement.'
- Section 10-1-971 requires conspicuous disclosure of contract terms, cancellation rights, and a required warning statement on the agreement's first page, and bars conditioning a loan on buying the agreement.
- Section 10-1-972 requires providers to secure their obligations through a qualifying insurer, a funded reserve account plus state trust deposit, or a parent company with at least $100 million net worth.
- Section 10-1-973 sets a minimum 30-day free look period, refund rules for consumer or provider cancellation, and allows a provider to charge up to $75 in administrative fees on cancellation.
- Section 10-1-974 authorizes the Attorney General to sue for injunctions, damages, and civil penalties up to $2,500 per violation, and ties violations to the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“IN ACCORDANCE WITH GEORGIA CODE SECTION 10-1-973, YOU MAY CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT AT ANY TIME BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE LOOK PERIOD DESCRIBED IN THIS AGREEMENT.”
“A finance agreement or vehicle purchase agreement shall not be conditioned on a consumer entering into a vehicle value protection agreement.”
“A vehicle value protection agreement shall provide for a free look period of at least 30 days.”
Discussed in meetings (3)
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.
Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, March 24, 2026
From 0:58:00 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter offered a substitute for HB 187 using vehicle value protection language originally proposed in HB 504. The presenter said these optional agreements would protect a buyer's cash investment or down payment after a loss, unlike gap coverage tied to an outstanding loan. The presenter described required disclosures, a 30-day cancellation period, financial-backing requirements and consumer-protection enforcement. Members questioned whether buyers needed another product, whether sellers could pressure consumers, whether the requirements favored particular companies, and whether benefits could encourage fraud. The presenter said purchases could not be conditioned on buying an agreement. A witness for the Guaranteed Asset Protection Alliance said nine states had statutory frameworks and that legal uncertainty discouraged the alliance's members from offering these products in Georgia. The witness said the proposal covered commercial as well as consumer vehicles, with prices roughly ranging from $400 to $2,000 depending on the vehicle and benefits. Responding to fraud concerns, the witness said benefits generally take the form of credit toward a replacement vehicle rather than unrestricted cash. The witness said enforcement would fall to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division. The committee approved the substitute 5-4 and sent it to Rules.
Senate Rules Committee, March 30, 2026
From 0:26:50 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair announced that HB 187 was a late addition available for selection. The sponsor described it as allowing vehicle owners to protect their equity through coverage similar to gap insurance, saying consumers could not currently protect equity as lenders protect loans. After lunch, a committee member nominated it for the final calendar slot and described it as dealing with automobile insurance. The chair later called it a contractor bill, without resolving that difference. It received support in the informal vote but was not selected for the final calendar.
Status timeline
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
Show full history (11 actions)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Dale Washburn (R, HD-144)
- Alan Powell (R, HD-33)
- Lauren McDonald III (R, HD-26)
- Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-4)
- Derrick McCollum (R, HD-30)
- Steve Tarvin (R, HD-2)
- Rick Williams (R, SD-25)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 27, 2025
157 yea, 2 nay (7 not voting, 14 excused)
Topics
- car buying protections
- consumer protection
- vehicle value protection agreements
- auto financing
- Attorney General enforcement