SB505: SB505 "Georgia Prior Approval for Consumer Insurance Rates Act"; enact

Right now, most changes to private passenger auto insurance rates in Georgia take effect automatically 60 days after an insurer files them with the Commissioner, without needing the Commissioner's sign-off. Senate Bill 505 would end that automatic approval for what it calls 'personal lines insurance,' meaning private passenger auto insurance and residential property (homeowners) insurance. Insurers would have to submit rate filings and get written approval from the Commissioner before charging or using any new rate, renewal rate, rating factor change, territory or classification change, or pricing algorithm update. The bill spells out what the Commissioner must check before approving a rate: that it is not excessive, not inadequate, and not unfairly discriminatory, and it defines each of those terms. Insurers would have to submit detailed supporting data, including loss history, expense and profit assumptions, and documentation of any algorithm or predictive model used in pricing, including bias testing. The Commissioner would also have to post a redacted version of each filing online for at least 30 days of public comment and could hold a public hearing. The changes would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply to policies issued or renewed on or after October 1, 2026.

• Requires the Insurance Commissioner's written approval before an insurer can charge or use any new rate for private passenger auto or homeowners insurance, ending automatic approval after a waiting period for many auto rates.
• Defines 'personal lines insurance' as private passenger motor vehicle and residential property insurance, and applies the new prior-approval rule specifically to that category.
• Sets out three standards the Commissioner must find are met before approving a rate: not excessive, not inadequate, and not unfairly discriminatory, and defines each term.
• Requires each rate filing to include supporting data such as loss history, expense and profit assumptions, and documentation of any pricing algorithm or predictive model, including its data sources and bias testing.
• Requires the Commissioner to post a redacted version of each rate filing online for at least 30 days of public comment and allows a public hearing if the Commissioner decides one serves the public interest.
• Excludes private passenger auto and residential property insurance from the general rate-making standards in a separate code section, since those lines now follow the new prior-approval process instead.

Insurance companies that sell private passenger auto or homeowners insurance in Georgia, the state Insurance Commissioner's office, which must review and approve rate filings, and Georgia drivers and homeowners, whose premiums depend on how insurers set and justify their rates.

Insurers currently can raise many auto insurance rates without the state signing off in advance; this bill would require government approval before those rate changes, and homeowners insurance rate changes, take effect, adding a public comment period and possible hearings before premiums for these policies change.

• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 33-9-4 so its general rate-making standards no longer apply to private passenger auto and residential property insurance, since those are moved to a new process.
• Section 3 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 33-9-21 to add definitions of 'personal lines insurance' and 'rate filing' and creates a new subsection (d) barring insurers from charging or using a personal lines rate filing without the Commissioner's prior written approval.
• New subsection (f) requires the Commissioner to approve a filing only if the insurer shows the rates are not excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory, with each term defined in subsections (g) through (i).
• New subsection (j) lists required documentation for each rate filing, including loss experience, trend assumptions, expense and profit margins, and details on any algorithmic or predictive pricing model, including bias testing.
• New subsection (s) requires the Commissioner to post a redacted version of each rate filing online for public comment for at least 30 days and authorizes a public hearing under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act if in the public interest.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying to policies and contracts issued, delivered, or renewed in Georgia on or after October 1, 2026.

1. 2026-02-17Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)Primary sponsor
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)

• auto insurance rates
• homeowners insurance
• insurance regulation
• insurance commissioner approval
• consumer insurance rules