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Georgia committee bars group life policy exclusions for active-duty deaths not caused by war
Summary
The House Insurance Committee passed Senate Bill 109 after its sponsor, Sen. Harbison, said the measure would stop group life insurers from excluding coverage for deaths that occur while an insured person is on active duty, except for deaths caused by war.
The House Insurance Committee passed Senate Bill 109 on a voice vote after Sen. Harbison described the measure as a response to a constituent’s claim that a group life insurer had refused benefits following multiple family tragedies.
Sen. Harbison, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure “prohibits group life insurance policies from being delivered or issued in the state of Georgia if the policy contains a provision that excludes or restricts liability for death occurring while the insured is an active duty service member of the regular or reserve component of the United States Armed Forces,” adding that the exclusion would not apply when “the death is the result, or indirectly of war declared or undeclared or any act or hazard of such war.”
The senator told the committee the bill grew out of an investigation by his office and the state insurance commissioner after a constituent whose family had suffered multiple fatalities — including a service member — reported the insurer denied a claim. “Prayerfully this will serve to at least alleviate that portion of it when they haven’t started going through such a bad situation,” Harbison said.
Committee members identified the bill as familiar to many on the panel and noted it originated as a department bill requested by the insurance commissioner. Representative Hughley moved to pass the bill at the appropriate time; a second was recorded and the committee approved the measure by voice vote.
The bill, as described during the hearing, applies specifically to group life insurance and would prevent delivery or issuance in Georgia of group policies containing the stated military-status exclusion, with the stated exception for deaths caused by war.
The committee did not take a roll-call vote and did not record a formal tally in the transcript. No members of the public spoke for or against the bill during the public-hearing portion recorded in the transcript.
The committee advanced SB 109 to the next step in the process; no amendments were recorded in the transcript.
Looking ahead, the bill will move with the committee’s recommendation to the full House for further consideration.
