SB 156: "Georgia Insurance Premium Reduction Act"; enact

Georgia law already bars insurers from setting auto insurance rates based on race, creed, or ethnic background. This bill adds census tract to that list, meaning insurers could not use a policyholder's neighborhood location as a factor in vehicle insurance rating plans. The bill also creates several new requirements for insurers across lines of insurance. Insurers requesting premium increases of more than 5 percent would have to post the request and a justification report on their websites and submit detailed actuarial data to the Department of Insurance. Increases above 10 percent would trigger public hearings held by the Commissioner. The bill bans insurer collusion on rates and lawsuit settlements designed to justify premium increases, treating violations as unfair trade practices. It also requires the department to build a public database for comparing insurance rates and coverage, extends the minimum nonrenewal notice period to 60 days for all insurance policies, and requires that no policy be sold without the consumer being represented by an independent insurance broker.

• Adds census tract to the list of factors insurers may not use, along with race, creed, and ethnic background, when setting vehicle insurance rating plans.
• Requires insurers to publicly disclose on their websites any request to raise premiums by more than 5 percent, along with a justification report explaining the reasoning and data behind it.
• Requires insurers seeking rate increases above 5 percent to submit detailed actuarial data to the Department of Insurance, and triggers public hearings for increases above 10 percent.
• Bans insurers from colluding on premium rates or settling lawsuits mainly to manufacture losses that justify rate increases, treating violations as unfair trade practices under O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4.
• Creates a state-run online database for consumers to compare insurance rates and coverage options across all policy lines filed with the department.
• Extends the minimum written notice required before any insurance policy can be nonrenewed to at least 60 days, and requires every policy sale to involve an independent insurance broker.

Insurance companies operating in Georgia, especially those selling auto and other policy lines; the Department of Insurance and the Commissioner, who gain new oversight and hearing duties; and Georgia consumers and policyholders, who would get new disclosures, a comparison database, longer nonrenewal notice, and mandatory broker representation.

Georgians would gain more visibility into why their premiums rise, a tool to compare rates before buying insurance, and more time to find new coverage before a policy is nonrenewed. Insurers would face new reporting burdens, public hearings for large rate hikes, and restrictions on how they price and sell policies.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Georgia Insurance Premium Reduction Act.'
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 33-9-4 to add census tract to the factors insurers cannot use in vehicle insurance rating plans.
• Section 3 updates the required nonrenewal notice language in O.C.G.A. § 33-24-45, changing 'must' to 'shall' file a written objection.
• Section 4 creates new O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.34, requiring public disclosure and justification reports for rate increases over 5 percent, actuarial data submissions, public hearings for increases over 10 percent, bans on collusion and litigation manipulation, a state rate-comparison database, and mandatory independent broker representation for all policy sales.
• Section 5 creates new O.C.G.A. § 33-24-47.2, setting a 60-day minimum written notice requirement before any insurance policy can be nonrenewed, delivered in person or by mail with return receipt.
• Section 6 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-13Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)Primary sponsor
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)

• insurance rates
• insurance regulation
• consumer protection
• auto insurance
• premium increases