Active-duty members of the military could have lower automobile insurance premiums under a new bill proposed in the Georgia legislature.
HB 303 by State Representative Mike Glanton was filed last week but has not yet been assigned to a committee. The bill, which has been named ‘The Jaida Act,’ creates a new code section by adding language for OCGA 33-9-43.1 to allow private insurance companies to offer reduced car insurance rates for active duty military members on their personal and family vehicles.
Glanton filed a similar bill in 2019 – under HB 61 – with bipartisan support from Reps. Richard Smith, Carl Gilliard, Ron Stephens, Calvin Smyre, and Jesse Petrea. The current version only has Glanton’s name on it and is missing one key element from the 2019 bill: the provision that drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 would be underwritten at insurance rates for those 25-years of age and older.
The previous version of the bill required insurance carriers to provide lower rates, and for a particular age demographic, which posed a concern for the insurance lobby. Glanton’s latest initiative merely grants insurance carriers the ability to offer lower rates to any person who provides proof of their active-duty status.
The language reads that “there may be offered by the insurer a reduction in the premium for motor vehicle liability, first-party medical, and collision coverage for each named driver…”
The bill defines “active duty” as “full-time duty status in the military of the United States, including members of the National Guard or reserve components of the armed forces on active duty orders” and would apply to persons who are permanent residents of Georgia and who also can provide to the insurance company “Proof of financial responsibility’ for the ability to respond in damages for liability on account of accidents occurring.
If passed, the bill would be put in place beginning July 1, 2022.
You can read the bill here.
