--- title: SB 364. Insurers; new penalties for insurers that knowingly give false or misleading information to the Commissioner of Insurance; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb364 cite_as: SB 364, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb364 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb364.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb364/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71735 date: 2025-03-28 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb363.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb365.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb364.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 364 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-27 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Bo Hatchett - Brian Strickland - Blake Tillery - Carden Summers - Randy Robertson - John Albers - Drew Echols - Nabilah Islam Parkes - Derek Mallow text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB364/2025 upstream_id: 2016171 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - insurance regulation - insurance rates - insurance penalties - Georgia Department of Insurance --- # SB 364. Insurers; new penalties for insurers that knowingly give false or misleading information to the Commissioner of Insurance; provide ## Text 25 LC 46 1237 Senate Bill 364 By: Senators Hatchett of the 50th, Strickland of the 42nd, Till ery of the 19th, Summers of the 13th, Robertson of the 29th and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 9 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 regulations of rates, underwriting rules, and related organizations, so as to provide for new2 penalties for insurers that knowingly give false or misleading information to the3 Commissioner of Insurance and such information affected insuran ce premium rates; to4 provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 Chapter 9 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to regulation of8 rates, underwriting rules, and related organizations, is amende d by revising Code Section9 33-9-29, relating to issuance of remedial orders by Commissioner generally and suspension10 or revocation of certificate of authority or license, as follows:11 "33-9-29.12 If after a hearing pursuant to Code Section 33-9-28 the Commissioner finds:13 (1) That any rate, rating plan, or rating system violates the applicable provisions of this14 chapter, he or she may issue an order to the insurer or rating organization which has been15 the subject of the hearing specifying in what respects the viol ation exists and stating16 S. B. 364 - 1 - 25 LC 46 1237 when, within a reasonable period of time, the further use of the rate or rating system by17 the insurer or rating organization in contracts of insurance ma de thereafter shall be18 prohibited and may further order that the portion of premiums r eceived from current19 policyholders as a result of the most recent rate increase at t he time the notice of such20 hearing is issued shall be refunded to the policyholders;21 (2) That an insurer, rating organization, advisory organization, or similar organization22 by another name willfully withheld information from, or knowing ly gave false or23 misleading information to, the Commissioner in an attempt to af fect the rates, rating24 systems, or premiums approved or allowed by the Commissioner, the Commissioner may25 further order that such organization pay the department up to t en times the amount in26 fines that such organization is required to refund policyholder s in accordance with27 paragraph (1) of this Code section. Such authority shall be in addition to all of the28 Commissioner's other authority to impose fines under this title;29 (2)(3) That an insurer, rating organization, advisory organization, or a group, association,30 or other organization of insurers which engages in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance31 is in violation of the provisions of this chapter applicable to it other than the provisions32 dealing with rates, rating plans, or rating system, he or she may issue an order to the33 insurer, organization, group, or association which has been the subject of the hearing34 specifying in what respects the violation exists and requiring compliance within a35 reasonable time thereafter;36 (3)(4) That the violation of this chapter applicable to it by any in surer or rating37 organization which has been the subject of the hearing was willful, he or she may suspend38 or revoke, in whole or in part, the certificate of authority of each insurer or the license of39 each rating organization with respect to the class of insurance which has been the subject40 matter of the hearing; or41 S. B. 364 - 2 - 25 LC 46 1237 (4)(5) That any rating organization has willfully engaged in any fraudulent or dishonest42 act or practices, he or she may suspend or revoke, in whole or in part, the license of the43 organization in addition to any other penalty provided in this chapter."44 SECTION 2.45 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.46 S. B. 364 - 3 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate bill would let the Insurance Commissioner fine insurers up to ten times the amount they must refund policyholders if they knowingly lie or withhold information that affects insurance rates. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law already lets the Insurance Commissioner hold hearings and order insurers to refund policyholders when a rate or rating system is found to violate state insurance law. This bill adds a new penalty aimed specifically at dishonesty during that process. Under the bill, if the Commissioner finds that an insurer, rating organization, advisory organization, or similarly named group willfully withheld information or knowingly gave false or misleading information in an attempt to affect rates, rating systems, or premiums, the Commissioner may order that organization to pay the Department of Insurance up to ten times the amount it must refund to policyholders under existing law. The bill states this new fine authority is in addition to, not instead of, the Commissioner's other existing power to impose fines. The rest of the bill renumbers surrounding penalty provisions but does not otherwise change them. ### What it does - Adds a new penalty letting the Commissioner fine an insurer or rating organization up to ten times the refund amount owed to policyholders when the organization knowingly lied or withheld information affecting rates. - Applies the new penalty to insurers, rating organizations, advisory organizations, or similarly named groups involved in setting insurance rates or premiums. - Clarifies that this new fine power adds to, rather than replaces, the Commissioner's existing authority to impose fines under Title 33 of Georgia law. - Renumbers the existing paragraphs of O.C.G.A. § 33-9-29 to fit in the new penalty provision, without changing their substance. ### Who it affects Insurance companies operating in Georgia, rating organizations and advisory organizations that help set insurance rates, and the Georgia Department of Insurance and its Commissioner, who would gain new fining power. Policyholders are indirectly affected since the underlying refund process stays the same. ### Why it matters If enacted, insurers found to have knowingly deceived the Commissioner about information that affected premium rates could face fines far larger than before, potentially discouraging companies from misrepresenting information during rate reviews. The change adds financial risk for insurers found dishonest in this specific context. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 33-9-29, which governs remedial orders the Commissioner can issue after a rate hearing. - New paragraph (2) lets the Commissioner order an insurer or rating organization to pay the department up to ten times the refund amount owed to policyholders if it willfully withheld or knowingly gave false or misleading information affecting rates or premiums. - The bill specifies this fine authority is 'in addition to' the Commissioner's other existing authority to impose fines under Title 33. - Existing paragraphs on violations other than rate-related ones, willful violations, and fraudulent practices by rating organizations are renumbered but left substantively unchanged. - Section 2 repeals conflicting laws, a standard closing provision. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-27) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-28) - Sponsors: Bo Hatchett, Brian Strickland, Blake Tillery, Carden Summers, Randy Robertson, John Albers, Drew Echols, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Derek Mallow - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71735 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb364.md?full=1