Georgia law changes auto insurance rate filing rules

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has signed a law giving the state’s insurance commissioner the ability to review all auto insurance rate filings before they go into effect.

Georgia House Bill 221, which goes into effect July 1, 2023, preserves the commissioner’s prior approval powers over mandatory minimum filings and gives the commissioner 60 days to review all other filings.

The law was written to end the state’s file-and-use provision, which allowed rates to go into immediate effect. Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King called the file-and-use provision a loophole that allowed auto insurance companies to significantly increase rates.

“Heading into this legislative session, we made it a priority to push for legislation giving our office more authority over car insurance rate filings that impact hardworking Georgia families,” King said in a release. “This legislation will allow us to review all filings before they go into effect — while at the same time guaranteeing speed to market, which is critical for the industry.”

Propelling this legislation forward were filings in 2022 by Allstate, which increased rates by 40% during that calendar year alone, according to the insurance commissioner.

In August 2022, King started speaking with Georgia legislators about changing state laws to give the insurance department more oversight.

“I am angry and disappointed that Allstate has chosen to exploit a loophole in state law to implement such a substantial increase in costs on hardworking Georgians when families are already struggling with historic inflation everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store,” King said.

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