Senators hear package to curb excess insurer profits, boost affordability and tighten enforcement

Chairman Reeves and Chairman Lumsden presented a four‑bill package to the Insurance and Labor subcommittee that sponsors said would reduce rates, strengthen enforcement and direct premium‑tax procedures to benefit consumers.

The package includes HB1274 (an auto excess‑profits bill that would require refunds and a rate filing if realized profits exceed projected profit by 5% for three consecutive years), HB1344 (a broader insurance affordability and claims‑processing bill), HB1262 (which raises fines for surprise medical billing and mental‑health parity violations) and HB1263 (which limits premium‑tax lookbacks to three years).

"If companies are making more profits than they anticipated 5% per year for 3 consecutive years, they're required to come back in and redo their rates as well as refund those excess profits," the sponsor said, citing Florida's experience where at least one company issued a large refund and lowered rates.

Witnesses supported much of the package but asked technical clarifications. Todd Edwards of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia said original language created a duplicative reporting burden for counties and that draft language had been corrected to harmonize premium‑tax reporting with existing county budget disclosures. "Our county budgets already show how premium‑tax revenues are spent," Edwards said, urging alignment rather than a separate report.

Neil Herring, speaking for the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club, urged allowing carriers to direct premium‑tax credits or funds to counties with certified flood‑mitigation plans to pay matching funds or buy out repeatedly flooded parcels. "Flooding in Georgia has gotten to be a disaster," Herring said, framing mitigation as an insurance‑relevant use of premium‑tax receipts.

Kim Jones of NAMI Georgia testified in support of tougher parity enforcement and said higher fines are needed to ensure access to mental‑health services; she urged that future sessions consider directing fines to a behavioral‑health fund.

Committee members asked for clarifications, discussed substitutions for a December‑31 drafting detail in the Florida model, and heard sponsors say the package reflects the House study committee's findings on insurance rates and claims processing. No vote was taken. Sponsors requested committee approval to perfect the bills and recommended folding related measures into HB1344 as a vehicle to carry the package forward.