HB1274: HB1274 Auto Insurance Excess Profits Act; enact

This bill amends Georgia's insurance code (Title 33) in three main areas. First, it requires insurers selling private passenger auto policies to report detailed financial data annually starting in 2028, and lets the Commissioner of Insurance order a refund if an insurer's underwriting gains exceed its anticipated profit plus 6 percent of earned premiums over a five-year period, with a hearing process and options for cash or credit refunds. Second, it changes how healthcare plans must pay out-of-network ground ambulance providers when a first responder calls for transport, setting minimum reimbursement rates and capping what patients can be charged in copays or deductibles, and requiring insurers to pay clean claims within 30 days. Third, it creates a 'Georgia Policyholder Bill of Rights' for life insurance, giving policyholders the right to keep their original agent, get annual status reports, and authorize others to access policy information, plus requires insurers to search a national database quarterly for unclaimed benefits. Most provisions take effect July 1, 2026, with the ambulance billing section effective January 1, 2027.

• Requires auto insurers to file detailed underwriting and loss data annually with the Department of Insurance starting no later than January 1, 2028.
• Lets the Commissioner order auto insurers to refund 'excess profit' (underwriting gains beyond anticipated profit plus 6 percent of earned premiums) through cash or credit refunds.
• Bars insurers from adjusting agent commissions or tax payments to offset any required refund.
• Sets minimum reimbursement rates and payment deadlines for out-of-network ground ambulance services and caps patient copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.
• Requires life insurers to search a national unclaimed-benefits database quarterly and creates a 'Georgia Policyholder Bill of Rights' guaranteeing access to policy information and annual status reports.
• Directs the Department of Insurance to publish a rights statement and a standardized authorization form on its website and send them to all licensed life insurers.

Georgia drivers with private passenger auto insurance, insurance companies writing those policies, ground ambulance providers and the health plans that pay them, patients receiving emergency transport, life insurance policyholders and their agents, and the Department of Insurance and Commissioner of Insurance, who gain new enforcement duties.

Drivers could see refunds if regulators find their auto insurer made unusually large profits, ambulance patients would face capped out-of-pocket costs and faster provider payments, and life insurance customers would gain new tools to track their policies and keep beneficiaries informed, changing routine interactions with insurers.

• Section 1 adds Code Section 33-9-41, defining 'excess profit' and requiring annual data filings from auto insurers starting January 1, 2028, with Commissioner-ordered refunds for excess profit.
• Section 1 requires refund plans within 30 days of notice or hearing conclusion, with cash refunds within 60 days of a final order or credit refunds applied to renewal premiums.
• Section 2 revises Code Section 33-20E-23 to set minimum reimbursement rates for out-of-network ground ambulance transport, generally the lesser of 325% of Medicare rates or the provider's billed charges.
• Section 2 caps patient copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles for out-of-network ambulance service at the level charged for in-network service, effective January 1, 2027.
• Section 3 requires life insurers to search the NAIC policy locator system quarterly and contact matched beneficiaries within 30 days.
• Section 4 creates the 'Georgia Policyholder Bill of Rights' (Code Section 33-25-16), giving policyholders rights to keep their original agent, receive annual reports, and authorize others to access policy documents via a standardized form.
• Section 5 sets the general effective date as July 1, 2026, with the ambulance billing section (Section 2) effective January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-27Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2026-03-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2026-03-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2026-02-26House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2026-02-26House Third Readers (House)
7. 2026-02-19House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2026-02-17House Second Readers (House)

• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)Primary sponsor
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Michelle Au (D, HD-050)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 26, 2026

   169 yea, 1 nay (6 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #571

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #912

• auto insurance regulation
• ambulance billing
• surprise medical bills
• life insurance policyholder rights
• insurance profit refunds