Georgia § 33-29-9 - Requirements as to references in policies to noncancelable nature or guaranteed renewability nature; exception for certain matters concerning renewability of individual accident and sickness policies; rules and regulations.

§ 33-29-9. Requirements as to references in policies to noncancelable nature or guaranteed renewability nature; exception for certain matters concerning renewability of individual accident and sickness policies; rules and regulations.

No policy of accident or sickness insurance shall refer to its noncancelable nature without at the same time disclosing all options the insurer may have in regard to renewability; and the guaranteed renewable nature of any such policy shall not be referred to unless the reference at the same time discloses the qualifications on the guarantee of renewability, including any age limits, any right to change premium rates by class, any aggregate provisions, and any other limitations on the right to renewal in a manner which shall not minimize or render obscure the qualifying conditions. An insurer operating in the major medical or comprehensive, guaranteed renewable business in this state shall permit an insured to change his or her major medical or comprehensive coverage, upon election at any renewal, to a comparable product offered by that insurer or a product offered by that insurer with more limited product benefits; to a product with higher deductibles; or to modify his or her existing coverage to elect any optional higher deductibles under that policy. If such product, benefit, or deductible change is elected by the insured during the 60 day required period after notice of renewal premium increase but before renewal date, such insured shall not be subject to any new preexisting conditions exclusion that did not apply to his or her original coverage. The Commissioner shall adopt such rules and regulations as he or she deems necessary for the administration of this Code section. (Code 1933, § 56-3010, enacted by Ga. L. 1960, p. 289, § 1; Ga. L. 2006, p. 183, § 1/HB 1456; Ga. L. 2019, p. 386, § 93/SB 133.) The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, in subsection (b), in the first sentence, substituted "this state" for "the State of Georgia" near the middle, and twice deleted "currently" preceding "offered" in the middle.