Georgia changed the state’s bad faith laws in 2024, and this can have a huge impact for you if you carry liability insurance. The state amended the O.C.G.A. § 9-11-67.1 statute that governs how settlement demands work in terms of auto injury claims. Essentially, the changes affect how an insurer responds to a claim filed against your policy. A direct impact on you as a policyholder.
What Exactly Changed With Reforms to Georgia’s Bad Faith Laws?
Many attorneys used to make a habit of pressuring insurers into making mistakes. To do this, they sometimes issued complex and time-sensitive settlement demands. Just one missed detail on a check could make a settlement void.
In 2024, Georgia reformed the bad faith laws to create a safe harbor for insurance companies who:
- Accept a demand’s material terms.
- Provide a sworn insurance disclosure.
- Pay settlements within 40 days.
This results in fewer technicalities that have the potential to blow up a claim that an insurance company tried in good faith to settle.
How This Affects Your Liability Insurance
Liability insurance is there to protect you when you’re responsible for causing injuries to another person or damage to their property. If you have a claim against you and it spirals into a bad faith dispute, the claim can push far beyond the limits of your policy.
Under Georgia’s old rules, it happened a lot more than Braselton, GA drivers realized. But the new law makes the process tighter. So insurance companies that act in good faith have a more clear path to settling a claim on your behalf.
Why You Should Take Note if You Drive in Braselton, GA
It’s all about location. Braselton is located right along I-85. Traffic pours through from Gainesville and Atlanta. Fender benders and other accidents are par for the course on that corridor.
If someone files a claim against your liability insurance after a wreck, you need to know your insurer can respond without getting tied up in a bunch of procedural games. At the Bingham Insurance Group, we help you work through all of this.
Make Sure Your Policy Works with the New Rules
The bad faith reforms are good news for policyholders. But only if your liability coverage is set up as it should be. Get in touch with Bingham Insurance Group today, and we’ll go over your policy with you to make sure you’re in good shape.
