HB 345: Insurance; prohibit raises in liability insurance rates for five years
Last action February 12, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would bar insurance companies from raising liability insurance rates in the state for five years, starting January 1, 2026, with the ban automatically expiring in 2031.
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 Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia law currently lets insurers set and adjust liability insurance rates, subject to existing regulation. This bill would add a new section to Georgia's insurance code (O.C.G.A. Chapter 1 of Title 33) flatly stating that no insurer may increase liability insurance rates, regardless of what any other law says. The freeze would take effect January 1, 2026, and would apply to all liability insurance policies, contracts, and certificates issued, delivered, continued, or renewed in Georgia on or after that date. The new rule is not permanent: the bill writes in its own expiration, repealing the section automatically on January 1, 2031, after roughly five years. The bill also repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new rate freeze.
What the bill does
- Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-28) that bars any insurer from raising liability insurance rates in Georgia.
- Overrides other existing laws on the subject by stating the rate freeze applies notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary.
- Applies the rate freeze to all liability policies, contracts, and certificates issued, delivered, continued, or renewed in Georgia on or after January 1, 2026.
- Builds in an automatic repeal of the new rate freeze on January 1, 2031, so the ban lasts about five years.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this rate freeze.
Who it affects
Insurance companies that sell liability insurance in Georgia, since they would be barred from raising those rates, and Georgia policyholders who carry liability coverage, including businesses, drivers, property owners, and professionals who rely on liability insurance.
Why it matters
If enacted, liability insurance premiums in Georgia could not increase for about five years, which would keep costs steady for businesses and individuals who carry this coverage, while insurers would lose the ability to adjust liability rates upward during that period regardless of their own cost changes.
Key provisions
- Section 1 creates new Code section 33-1-28, prohibiting insurers from increasing liability insurance rates, overriding any conflicting law.
- Section 1 also sets the new section to automatically repeal itself on January 1, 2031, ending the rate freeze after about five years.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026, and applies the freeze to all liability policies, contracts, and certificates issued, delivered, continued, or renewed on or after that date.
- Section 3 repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this Act.
From the bill
“no insurer shall increase liability insurance rates.”
“This Code section is repealed on January 1, 2031.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Dar'shun Kendrick (D, HD-095)
- Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)
- Doreen Carter (D, HD-093)
- Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
- Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
- Karen Bennett (D, HD-094)
Topics
- liability insurance
- insurance rates
- insurance regulation
- consumer protection