SB 109: Life Insurance; a policy of group life insurance from excluding or restricting liability for certain deaths occurring while an individual is an active duty service member; prohibit

Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 33-25-5), most individual life insurance policies can only exclude coverage for specific listed circumstances, such as war, aviation, hazardous jobs, or early suicide, but group life insurance policies have been exempt from those restrictions entirely. This bill narrows that exemption for group policies. The bill adds a new subsection (d) saying no group life insurance policy sold in Georgia can exclude or restrict payment for a death that happens while the insured person is a service member of the regular or reserve armed forces, unless that death results directly or indirectly from war. The rest of the group insurance exemption stays in place for other situations. The change would take effect the first day of the month after the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.

• Adds a new rule (O.C.G.A. § 33-25-5(d)) barring group life insurance policies from excluding payouts for deaths of active or reserve service members, except deaths caused by war.
• Keeps the existing exemption of group life insurance from the general list of allowed exclusions (war, aviation, hazardous jobs, overseas residence, early suicide) for everything other than the new service-member protection.
• Preserves the Commissioner of Insurance's existing authority to allow any policy provision that is more favorable to the policyholder than what the law requires.
• Sets the effective date as the first day of the month after the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without a signature.

Service members in the regular or reserve components of the U.S. armed forces who are covered by group life insurance, their beneficiaries, and the insurance companies that write group life policies in Georgia.

Families of service members who die while on active or reserve duty, other than as a result of war, would be guaranteed a payout under group life insurance even if the policy's fine print tried to exclude military-status deaths, closing a gap that previously applied only to individual policies.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 33-25-5 and adds subsection (d), prohibiting group life insurance policies from excluding coverage for a service member's death unless it results from war.
• Section 1 also revises subsection (c) to note that the group insurance exemption from the general exclusion rules now applies 'except as stated in subsection (d)'.
• Section 1 renumbers the prior subsection (d) as (e), keeping the Commissioner's power to approve policy terms more favorable than the statute requires.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the first day of the month following the bill's approval by the Governor or its becoming law without approval.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-09Effective Date 2025-06-01
2. 2025-05-09Act 75
3. 2025-05-09Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senado)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senado)
5. 2025-03-18House Passed/Adopted (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2025-03-18House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2025-03-13House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
8. 2025-03-11House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)

• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)Patrocinador principal
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Brandon Beach (R, SD-021)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)

1. AprobadaVotación: Senado6 de marzo de 2025

   53 a favor, 0 en contra (1 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #179

2. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes18 de marzo de 2025

   172 a favor, 0 en contra (3 sin votar, 5 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #285

• life insurance
• military and veterans
• insurance regulation
• service member benefits