Not legal advice. We paraphrased these Georgia statutes, and checked the Commissioner's claims-practices rules, from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, in a version updated through the 2026 regular and special sessions. Topics we could not check against that text are left out.
What is different in Georgia
Georgia puts a price on delay in two ways. Its life insurance interest statute starts the clock at the date of death and steps the rate up to 12% once a claim has been on file for 30 days. And its bad-faith statute lets the policy holder recover a penalty and attorney fees when, 60 days after a demand, an insurer still has not paid and the refusal is found to be in bad faith. Georgia also has a separate bad-faith statute for motor vehicle property damage claims, 33-4-7, which does not govern life insurance.
Contest period
An individual life policy delivered in Georgia must provide that, apart from disability and accidental-death benefits, it becomes incontestable after two years in force during the insured’s lifetime, counted from its date of issue, except for nonpayment of premium (O.C.G.A. 33-25-3(a)(2)). A wrong age on the application does not void coverage; the benefit is adjusted to what the premiums paid would have bought at the true age (33-25-3(a)(3)). These required provisions do not apply to group or credit insurance (33-25-3(b)).
Application misstatements
Georgia treats what an applicant says on the application, or while the policy is being negotiated, as a representation rather than a warranty. An untrue answer, a left-out fact or a concealment bars the claim only in one of three cases (O.C.G.A. 33-24-7(b)):
- the applicant acted fraudulently;
- the point mattered to whether the company would take on the risk, or to the hazard it was covering; or
- had the company known the truth, a good-faith underwriter would have declined the policy, offered less coverage or a higher premium, or excluded the hazard that led to the death.
If a policy refers to the application as part of the contract, a correct copy of the signed application must be included in or attached to the policy when issued (33-25-3(a)(12)).
Grace period and lapse
Georgia gives at least 30 days of grace for every premium but the first. Coverage continues through that window, and an insurer paying a claim that arose during it can net the unpaid premium out of the benefit (33-25-3(a)(1)).
Section 33-25-3 does not require an advance warning before an ordinary premium lapse, but it does protect owners with policy loans. A policy may end because the total loan debt has reached the loan value only after the insurer mails at least 30 days’ notice to the insured or owner, and to any assignee of record, at their last known address (33-25-3(a)(5)). A lapsed policy that was not surrendered for cash, and whose cash value or extended term coverage has not run out, can be reinstated within three years of the default with a written application, satisfactory evidence of insurability, and payment of arrears and other debt with interest capped at 6% a year (33-25-3(a)(8)).
Interest on proceeds
Which policies. Every insurer admitted to write life insurance in Georgia must pay interest on proceeds of an individual life policy when the beneficiary lives in Georgia, the policy was issued in Georgia, or the insured lived in Georgia at death (O.C.G.A. 33-25-10(a)).
From when and at what rate. Interest runs from the insured’s death to the date of payment (33-25-10(b)):
- If no suit has been filed, interest is computed daily at the greater of 6% a year or the highest rate the insurer currently pays on proceeds left under an interest settlement option.
- Once a claim is filed, interest from 30 days after the filing date until payment is 12% (33-25-10(b)(2)).
- If the beneficiary sues for the proceeds and gets a judgment against the insurer, interest is at the legal rate instead (33-25-10(b)(1)).
When a claim counts as filed. A claim is filed on the date the insurer receives a substantially completed claim form or other written notice for the proceeds and reasonable proof of death. For group life, the insurer must also have received written evidence of eligibility from the group policyholder (33-25-10(e)).
Exceptions. The section does not apply when proceeds are paid within 30 days after death, when the interest would be under $5, to credit life policies, for any period in which interest is owed under a state or federal court deposit law, or to an individual policy issued within 12 months before the death (33-25-10(c)).
When payment counts. Payment is treated as received when the insurer’s agent hands it over, or when the insurer mails it, postage prepaid, to the payee’s last known address in its records (33-25-10(d)).
The policy term. Georgia requires the policy to promise payment once the company has due proof of death; it may also ask for the policy itself and proof of the claimant’s right to the money. Any payment window the policy sets is capped at two months after those proofs arrive (33-25-3(a)(11)).
Unfair claim practices
We found no Georgia Department rule that sets claim-handling deadlines for life insurance. The Commissioner’s rules under Subject 120-2-20, Unfair Trade and Claims Settlement Practices, do not: rule .01 says it does not extend to life insurance, rule .02 limits contractual suit deadlines only in first-party property policies, and rule .03 deals with insurer and provider agreements (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 120-2-20-.01 to .04).
The claim-handling standards are in statute instead. O.C.G.A. 33-6-34 lists unfair claims settlement practices, including:
- failing to acknowledge claim communications with reasonable promptness;
- refusing to pay claims without a reasonable investigation;
- not attempting in good faith to settle promptly and fairly once liability is reasonably clear;
- forcing insureds or beneficiaries to sue by offering substantially less than they later recover;
- failing to provide claim forms within 15 calendar days of a request, with reasonable explanations of their use (33-6-34(11));
- on the insured’s written request, failing to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after finishing the investigation, or failing to explain a denial promptly; denials must be in writing (33-6-34(7), (10));
- marking a payment “final” or a release unless the policy limit was paid or a compromise was agreed (33-6-34(13)).
These acts are violations only “when committed as provided in” 33-6-34’s companion section, 33-6-33.
Bad-faith penalty and attorney fees
For a covered loss that goes unpaid 60 days after the policy holder’s demand, where the refusal is found to be in bad faith, the insurer is liable for the loss plus up to the greater of 50% of its liability for the loss or $5,000, plus all reasonable attorney fees for the suit (O.C.G.A. 33-4-6(a)). Other points in the statute:
- Paying after the 60 days does not end the bad-faith claim.
- Opinion-witness testimony alone cannot be the only basis for summary judgment or a directed verdict on bad faith.
- The jury sets the attorney fee, based on competent evidence of the reasonable value of the work in the locality, and the trial judge may adjust a fee award that is greatly excessive or inadequate.
The Commissioner step. Within 20 days of filing the suit, the plaintiff must mail a copy of the demand and complaint to the Commissioner of Insurance by first-class mail, in addition to serving the insurer. A failure can be cured by delivering them (33-4-6(b)).
Exclusive remedy. In McCall v. Allstate Insurance Co., 251 Ga. 869 (1984), an uninsured motorist case, the Georgia Supreme Court held that where the General Assembly set a specific procedure and limited penalty, that procedure and penalty are exclusive, and said this applies equally to 33-4-6. Read with McCall, that points to the 33-4-6 demand and penalty as the route for a beneficiary seeking more than the policy amount after a bad-faith refusal to pay.
Group life insurance
The required life policy provisions in 33-25-3 do not apply to group insurance (33-25-3(b)).
Deadline to sue
Georgia’s general statute for written contracts requires suit within six years after the amount becomes due and payable (O.C.G.A. 9-3-24). Policies often include a suit-time clause shorter than that, and whether such a clause is enforceable depends on what Georgia law allows.
When the beneficiary caused the death
Georgia has two overlapping rules. Under the insurance statute, a person who commits murder or voluntary manslaughter, or conspires with another to commit murder, may not receive benefits under a policy on the deceased’s life even if named as beneficiary. A guilty plea or finding of guilt that has not been set aside is prima facie evidence. The proceeds go to the named secondary beneficiaries, or if none, to the deceased’s other heirs under Georgia’s intestacy law (O.C.G.A. 33-25-13).
The estates statute covers an individual who feloniously and intentionally kills, conspires to kill or procures the killing of the decedent, meaning conduct that would be murder, felony murder or voluntary manslaughter in Georgia. That person forfeits interests passing at death, including under any conveyance the decedent signed during life, and is treated as having died first (53-1-5(a), (b)). A final conviction or guilty plea is conclusive in civil proceedings; without one, the killing must be proved by clear and convincing evidence (53-1-5(d)).
Worked example
An insured whose policy was issued five years ago dies in Atlanta on June 1, 2026. The beneficiary’s completed claim form and certified death certificate reach the insurer on June 20, so the claim is filed that day. If the insurer pays by June 30, within 30 days of death, no statutory interest is owed. If it does not, interest runs daily from June 1 at the greater of 6% or the insurer’s settlement-option rate, and from July 20, 30 days after filing, at 12% until the check is mailed. If a demand is later made under 33-4-6 and the insurer has not paid 60 days after it, a court that finds bad faith can add the penalty and fees.
Making a complaint
The Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire takes complaints about insurers, including how a claim is handled: File a Consumer Insurance Complaint (OCI). Filing one leaves every deadline to sue running.
Sources
- Official Code of Georgia Annotated 9-3-24, 33-4-6, 33-4-7, 33-6-34, 33-24-7, 33-25-3, 33-25-10, 33-25-13 and 53-1-5, read from the official code in a version updated through the 2026 regular and special sessions. Cited without a link because the official code online is hosted by a commercial publisher.
- Rules of the Commissioner of Insurance, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 120-2-20-.01 to .04, read from a current text of the official compilation (rules filed through October 22, 2026); the Secretary of State publishes the rules free at rules.sos.ga.gov.
- Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, File a Consumer Insurance Complaint: oci.georgia.gov.
- McCall v. Allstate Ins. Co., 251 Ga. 869 (1984) (full opinion, CourtListener): courtlistener.com. Read November 3, 2026.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes general rules and the specific statutes cited. Your policy's wording, the state whose law applies, and whether the coverage came through an employer can all change the result. See the disclaimer and editorial policy.