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

Senate Bill 156

By: Senators Mallow of the 2nd, Harbison of the 15th, Merritt of the 9th, Islam Parkes of the 7th, Lucas of the 26th and others

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Code Section 33-9-4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to standards applicable to making and use of rates, so as to add census tract to the categories upon which insurers may not consider when promulgating standards or rating plans; to amend Article 1 of Chapter 24 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general insurance provisions, so as to broadly address insurer premium rate increases; to require certain disclosures; to establish a new state-run database; to require the submission of certain data in certain situations; to increase penalties; to provide for a minium number of days of notice for nonrenewals across all lines of insurance; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Insurance Premium Reduction Act."

SECTION 2.

Code Section 33-9-4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to standards applicable to making and use of rates, is amended by revising paragraph (9) as follows: "(9) No insurer shall base any standard or rating plan on vehicle insurance, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, upon race, creed, or ethnic extraction, or census tract; and"

SECTION 3.

Article 1 of Chapter 24 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general insurance provisions, is amended in Code Section 33-24-45, relating to cancellation or nonrenewal of automobile or motorcycle policies and procedure for review by Commissioner, by revising subparagraph (e)(5)(B) as follows: "(B) In addition to other requirements, a notice of nonrenewal shall contain the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, in substantially the form which follows:

'NOTICE

Code Section 33-24-45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated provides that this insurer must, upon request, furnish you with the reasons for the failure to renew this policy. If you wish to assert that the nonrenewal is unlawful, you must shall file a written notice with this insurer before the time at which the nonrenewal becomes effective. The notice must specify the manner in which the failure to renew is alleged to be unlawful.

If you do not file the written notice, you may not later assert a claim or action against this insurer based upon an unlawful nonrenewal."

SECTION 4.

Said article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:

"33-24-59.34.

(a) All insurers in this state shall disclose on such insurer's public website all requests made to the department to increase premium rates by more than 5 percent. All such disclosures shall be accompanied by a justification report. The term 'justification report' means a document which describes such insurer's reasoning and the data relied upon which form the basis for such insurer's request.

(b) The department shall establish a state-run online database where consumers can compare coverage options and insurance rates of all lines of insurance policies filed with the department. At the discretion of the department, such database may not contain information already publicly available on the All-Payer Claims Database.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all insurers requesting department approval of premium rate increases of more than 5 percent shall submit detailed actuarial data to support such request.

(d) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Commissioner shall hold public hearings in accordance with Code Section 33-2-17 and other relevant law on all premium rate increase requests of more than 10 percent.

(e) No insurer shall collude with another insurer with regard to premium rates. Any insurer found by the Commissioner to have violated this subsection and whose actions are determined by the Commissioner to have contributed toward premium inflation shall also be found to have committed an unfair trade practice or act in violation of Code Section 33-6-4.

(f) No insurer shall settle litigation with the primary purpose of manufacturing losses to justify premium increases. Any insurer determined by the Commissioner to have violated this subsection shall also be found to have committed an unfair trade practice or act in violation of Code Section 33-6-4.

(g) No insurance policy may be sold to a consumer in this state without such consumer being represented by an independent insurance broker."

SECTION 5.

Said article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:

"33-24-47.2.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no insurance policy in this state shall be nonrenewed unless the insured is provided at least 60 days' written notice of such nonrenewal. Such notice of nonrenewal shall be delivered either in person or by depositing the notice in the United States mail to be dispatched by at least first-class mail to the last address of record of the insured with return receipt requested as provided by the United States Postal Service, or such other evidence of mailing as prescribed or accepted by the United States Postal Service."

SECTION 6.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.