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House passes bill clarifying group life insurance exclusions for service members
Summary
The House approved Senate Bill 109 to prohibit group life policies from automatically excluding claims for deaths that occur while a policyholder is on active duty. Supporters cited a case where a military member’s claim was denied and urged the change to protect service members’ families.
The Georgia House on March 19 approved Senate Bill 109, which clarifies that group life insurance policies may not exclude or restrict coverage solely because a death occurred while the insured was on active military duty.
Representative Eddie Lumsden presented the bill and said the measure prevents insurers from denying claims solely on the basis of active‑duty status. Lumsden noted that while some policies use terms such as “act of war” to exclude coverage, the broader term “active duty” has been applied in ways that denied rightful claims when service members died while off‑base or not in a combat zone.
Leader Hughley spoke in favor and urged the House to remember Sergeant Brandon Frazier, whose family sought the change after his death; Hughley said the sergeant’s father visited the capitol and asked lawmakers to move the bill forward.
“His father wants to thank us for moving this bill forward because his son was involved in an accident as he was home visiting the family,” Leader Hughley said on the floor.
The House passed the bill by recorded vote: yeas 172, nays 0.
Floor discussion emphasized that the bill clarifies policy language and protects military families from claim denials based only on service status. The measure was presented as a department of insurance‑backed clarification and did not include appropriations.
Votes at a glance: Senate Bill 109 — Passed, yeas 172, nays 0.
