HB1198: HB1198 Insurance; limited license to offer or sell portable electronics and consumer goods insurance; provide

Georgia law already lets retail vendors of portable electronics, like cell phone stores, get a limited insurance license to sell coverage on the devices they sell without becoming full insurance agents. This bill broadens that system to also include general consumer goods, meaning items bought mainly for personal, family, or household use. It rewrites the definitions section of Georgia's insurance licensing law (O.C.G.A. § 33-23-1) and the limited license section (O.C.G.A. § 33-23-12) to add new terms like consumer goods and customer, and to update the definition of portable electronics itself. The bill keeps most of the existing structure for these limited licenses: vendors must give customers written disclosures, maintain registries of authorized locations, follow rules on billing and refunds, and face fines up to $500 per violation or $5,000 total for noncompliance. Employees selling this coverage remain exempt from full insurance producer licensing if they complete a training program. No new effective date is specified beyond the standard process for the bill becoming law.

• Expands the limited insurance license for portable electronics vendors so it also covers general consumer goods, defined as items bought mainly for personal, family, or household use.
• Adds a new definition of customer as a person who buys portable electronics and consumer goods or related services, distinct from an enrolled customer who buys the insurance.
• Rewrites the definition of portable electronics to describe it by function (movable equipment with electrical or digital capabilities) rather than listing specific devices like cell phones and pagers.
• Updates the automated claims adjudication system definition to expand its use from only portable electronics claims to also include consumer goods claims.
• Keeps existing rules on disclosures, billing, refunds, and penalties (fines up to $500 per violation or $5,000 total) for vendors selling this expanded coverage.
• Requires the Commissioner of Insurance to still oversee licensing, but broadens the scope of goods eligible for this limited licensing pathway.

Retail vendors that sell portable electronics or other consumer goods, such as cell phone stores and appliance retailers; their employees who sell insurance coverage on those products; customers who buy or lease these goods; and the insurers and supervising entities that back these limited-license insurance programs.

By broadening the definition beyond electronics to general consumer goods, more types of retailers could offer point-of-sale insurance without hiring licensed insurance agents. Customers buying items like appliances or other household goods could see more insurance options offered at checkout, similar to what phone buyers already experience.

• Section 1 revises the definition of automated claims adjudication system in O.C.G.A. § 33-23-1 to apply to claims for both portable electronics and consumer goods, not just electronics.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 33-23-12(a) to add a cross-reference confirming that the portable electronics and consumer goods limited license is a distinct category alongside credit insurance, rental company, storage facility, and travel insurance licenses.
• Section 2 adds a new definition of consumer goods as goods used or bought primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.
• Section 2 adds a new definition of customer, separate from enrolled customer, to distinguish someone who simply buys goods from someone who elects insurance coverage.
• Section 2 rewrites the definition of portable electronics to focus on functional characteristics (movable, battery or power operated, digital or wireless capable) instead of naming specific device types.
• Section 2 retains existing requirements for disclosures, registries of authorized vendor locations, billing and refund rules, training programs, and penalties of up to $500 per violation or $5,000 in the aggregate.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.

1. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-09House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-06House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)Primary sponsor
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)

• insurance licensing
• consumer goods insurance
• portable electronics insurance
• retail vendors
• insurance regulation