Beginning July 1, auto insurance carriers in Georgia could be barred from increasing rates at their discretion if an insurance reform bill passed by the General Assembly receives Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature.

Following the Senate’s 49-1 vote in March, Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King said HB 221 gives his office the ability to review all car insurance rate filings before they go into effect — “closing a loophole that insurers had previously exploited to increase rates by as much as 25 percent in a single filing.”

Last August, King warned that Allstate had approved a 25% rate increase for Georgia policyholders, bringing the total increase for the year at that point to 40%. In response, he began talks with legislators on giving his office additional authority “to protect consumers from these types of inexcusable actions.”

Under current state law, Georgia’s insurance commissioner only has the authority to approve or disapprove minimum limits policy filings, while all other filings can go into effect immediately under what is known as “file and use,” which the Allstate increase fell under.

HB 221 states, “Any domestic, foreign, or alien insurer that is authorized to write insurance in this state must file with the Commissioner any rate, rating plan, rating system, or underwriting rule for all personal private passenger motor vehicle insurance.”

“Heading into this legislative session, we made it a priority to work with the General Assembly to give our office more authority over car insurance rate filings that impact hardworking Georgia families,” King said in March. “This legislation will allow us to review all filings before they go into effect – while at the same time guaranteeing speed to market, which is critical for the industry.”

The bill keeps the commissioner’s “prior approval” authority over mandatory minimum limits filings and provides a 60-day window to review all other filings before they go into effect.