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Commissioner seeks reallocation to boost inspections, backs $155.8M reinsurance support
Summary
Commissioner King asked the General Government Subcommittee to reallocate just over $4.1 million to the Insurance Regulation Division to fund roughly 45 inspection positions and to continue state support for a $155.8 million reinsurance program; he said federal funds for reinsurance are used before state dollars.
Commissioner King told the General Government Subcommittee for Appropriations that his department is requesting a reallocation of just over $4.1 million from the Safety Fire Division to the Insurance Regulation Division to expand inspections and related staffing.
King said the reallocation would help bring elevator, building and manufactured-housing inspection teams “closer to 100% completion rate” and would fund approximately 45 positions to increase the department’s capacity for inspections, investigations, training and education across Georgia. “This is not additional funding to our agency. This is just a movement of funds from one part of our agency to another,” King said.
King told the committee that under current staffing levels no existing building undergoes routine inspection and only 62% of elevators receive annual inspections. He said the department’s special-hazards crew can perform only critical inspections of new facilities and certain high-risk sites.
On reinsurance, King asked for continued state support in the amount of $155,800,000, noting that Georgia received about $756,000,000 in federal dollars that are used before state funds are engaged in the program. He said the state reinsurance program has reduced premiums by about 10.1% on average, with rural areas showing as much as 30% in premium savings, and that insurer participation in Georgia’s market has increased from four carriers in 2018 to 10 now.
King also told the committee that the state funding request shown in the tracking sheet is $50,000,000 less than the prior year because one-time startup expenses for the Georgia Access platform were previously required; he said $35,000,000 of the remaining need is offset by user fees generated through Georgia Access. “Rather than send the money to Washington to run our platform made by bureaucrats up there, we keep that money here in Georgia where we can invest it,” King said.
King opened the presentation to questions and handed technical questions to Chad D'Avella, the department’s chief financial officer; committee members asked clarifying questions but did not take action during the subcommittee session.
