A Georgia House committee approved a measure Monday that would bar officials from reviewing auto insurance rates before they are applied, spurring a warning from Georgia’s insurance commissioner that it could lead to a price hike.
Current Georgia law requires that auto insurance companies must first provide evidence to state insurance officials on why they want to raise their rates beyond the state’s minimum. The commissioner’s office must then review the evidence.
Under the measure approved Monday by the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee, auto insurance rates would automatically be effective immediately without prior approval. The change was part of an amendment tacked onto a Senate measure that passed last year and could reach a House vote as early as this week.
Insurance and Fire Commissioner John Oxendine said the measure could allow insurance companies to base their rates on any measure they choose – from credit scores to addresses.
“The bill allows insurance companies to charge any price they want without anyone looking over their shoulder,” he said.
“It basically takes the drivers of Georgia, puts them in a barrel and hands the shotgun to the insurance companies.”
State Rep. Tom Knox, the author of the amendment, and state Sen. Cecil Staton, the bill’s sponsor, did not immediately respond to calls left at their offices.
On the Net:
Senate Bill 276: http://www.legis.state.ga.us
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