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House panel hears bill to clarify military exclusion in group life policies
Summary
A Georgia House life-and-health subcommittee heard testimony on House Bill 182, which would tighten the wording of military exclusions in group life insurance so active-duty service members not serving in combat zones are not automatically excluded from benefits.
House Bill 182, introduced to the Life and Health Insurance Subcommittee on Jan. 8, would revise language in group life insurance policies that the bill’s sponsor and the state Insurance Department say currently leads to overly broad exclusions for active-duty military service members.
The measure was presented by Chairman Lumsden of the subcommittee, who described differences between individual and group life policies and said the bill matches exclusions in individual policies to make the statute’s intent clearer. "If you'll look at the bill, House Bill 182, LC 520667, the language that you have here, before you, accomplishes that purpose," Lumsden said.
Insurance Commissioner King urged support, saying the current statutory language has produced situations where families were denied benefits after accidents while service members were off duty. "I want to disclose…after 42 years of service for our nation, I'm pretty passionate about making sure that we take care of our service members," Commissioner King said, describing a case brought to his attention in which a soldier who died in a traffic accident while on leave was denied coverage because of how the exclusion was interpreted.
Representative Sandra G. Scott, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, thanked lawmakers for the bill and called for bipartisan clarity so insurers and policyholders are not left with ambiguity. Representative Matt Reeves said the bill could affect thousands of service members and veterans across Georgia, noting an estimated 8,000 active-duty service members live in Gwinnett County and that statewide impacts are larger.
The subcommittee did not take a vote; the hearing was informational and the bill will proceed through the committee process described by the chair. No formal amendments or votes were recorded at the subcommittee meeting.
Why it matters: Supporters said the bill would prevent families from being denied life-insurance payments when a service member’s death or injury occurred while not engaged in combat or other high-risk military activity. Opponents were not recorded during the hearing.
What’s next: Because the committee heard the bill but did not vote, HB 182 will move forward through the usual subcommittee and committee steps before any floor action.
