Georgia · Insurance Adjuster Sample Interactive Mind Map
Georgia Adjuster Regulations
A visual breakdown of the Georgia rules an adjuster is tested on — including the claim clocks that only cover cars, the duty to assess diminished value nobody has to claim, and the widely published figures that are simply wrong.
Georgia’s distinguishing problem is not that its rules are unusual. It is that the state’s law has moved twice in eighteen months, and the most widely repeated facts about Georgia are wrong. The 2025 tort reform did not do what nearly every summary says it did. A 2026 insurance act rewrites claim handling from January 2027. The maximum workers’ compensation rate circulating online belongs to a bill that died in committee. The “75% total loss threshold” is not in the statute it is cited to. And Georgia’s Standard Fire Policy — the document that sets the floor for every first-party property suit limitation in the state — says two years where every national reference says twelve months.
Start with the licenses, because Georgia issues four and two of them cannot be obtained by examination at all: the workers’ compensation license rides on the CWCP designation and the crop/hail license on a CAPP card. Staff adjusters, meanwhile, are not exempt from licensing — they are outside the statutory definition, and what replaces licensing is a registration duty on the insurer.
Then the inversion that changes an adjuster’s exposure. Most states require a general business practice before an unfair claims settlement practice is actionable. Georgia’s qualifier sits one section away from where you would look for it, in § 33-6-33, and it is disjunctive: a single flagrant act committed in conscious disregard is enough. There is also no private right of action — and in Georgia that is a statute, not a line of cases.
This map walks the four licenses and the two different 60-day catastrophe routes; the claim clocks that live in a regulation titled for property and cover only cars; the 60-day demand by the policyholder that is a condition precedent to bad faith, and its penalty with both a 50% ceiling and a $5,000 floor; and the automobile chapter, where UM defaults to add-on, stacking is permitted on authority the statute gives no hint of, and Mabry obliges you to assess diminished value whether or not anybody claims it. Ten scenario questions at the end, several built on what published Georgia material gets wrong.
Georgia issues four adjuster licenses — and two of them cannot be obtained by examination at all.
Staff adjusters are not exempt; they are outside the definition. And there are two different 60-day catastrophe routes, only one of which needs a declaration.
Staff adjusters are not exempt; they are outside the definition. And there are two different 60-day catastrophe routes, only one of which needs a declaration.
| License | Prelicensing | Examination & fee |
|---|---|---|
| Adjuster (P&C) | 16 hrs (8 per major line) | 12-GA-24 · 100 scored + 5 pretest · 2 hr · $120 + $67 |
| Public Adjuster | P&C public adjuster course | 12-GA-20 — A SEPARATE EXAM · $120 + $67 + $5,000 bond |
| Workers’ Comp Adjuster | None | NO EXAM EXISTS — the CWCP designation · $120 |
| Crop/Hail Adjuster | None | NO EXAM EXISTS — a CAPP card · $120 |
Two of Georgia’s four adjuster licenses have no examination at allThere is no workers’ compensation adjuster exam and no crop/hail adjuster exam in Georgia. The CWCP designation and the CAPP card are not alternatives to testing — they are the only route. A candidate who books a Pearson VUE seat expecting to test into the workers’ compensation license will find no such exam is offered. Separately, CPCU and the Universal Claims Certification (UCC) waive the adjuster and public adjuster exams under Rules 120-2-3-.25 and .09.
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Staff adjusters are not EXEMPT — they are outside the definition
Nearly every summary says salaried staff adjusters are exempt from licensing. That reaches the right outcome by the wrong route. § 33-23-1(a)(1) defines an adjuster as one who “for a fee, commission, salary, or other compensation investigates, settles, or adjusts and reports to his or her employer or principal” — and then excludes salaried employees of insurers adjusting losses under policies the insurer issued. They were never inside the definition, so there is no exemption to lose and none to argue about at the margins. The right question on any file is not “does an exemption apply?” but “is this person inside the definition at all?” § 33-23-1(c) uses the same drafting move for Georgia-admitted attorneys.
What replaces licensing is a duty on the INSURER — Rule 120-2-3-.24Staff adjusters are “salaried employees who adjust claims in this state, regardless of where such employees are located” — so an out-of-state desk adjuster handling Georgia losses is inside the scheme. The insurer files, not the adjuster, electronically through OCI-GIMS. Window: March 1–31. $50 per staff adjuster + $5 processing, with a $15 per adjuster late fee after March 31. Registrations run one year. The insurer must name a staff adjuster coordinator, list supervisors, and file changes within 30 days. There is an exemption for residential property claims of $500 or less.
🌪 Route A — GEMA declared
Rule 120-2-3-.25 — “In the event of a GEMA declared disaster or catastrophe”
The insurer files a list of non-licensed staff adjusters and out-of-state licensees
Disaster Re-entry Permits, assigned to the insurer, “temporarily assigned to each adjuster for a period not to exceed 60 days”
⚠ Route B — NO declaration needed
§ 33-23-29(b) — a statutory exemption, not a permit
(1) a nonresident independent adjuster on a single loss or catastrophe-related claims; (2) a nonresident licensed elsewhere, up to 60 days
Requires a Georgia-licensed employer and prior written notice to the Commissioner
Both windows are 60 days, which is exactly why they get merged. They are different mechanisms.
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Public Adjusters — Georgia Regulates All Five Things
Most of the regime arrived in 2021 Ga. Laws 185. Several neighbouring states regulate none of it.
- Bond — $5,000. Rule 120-2-3-.18, authorized by § 33-23-6 — the statute itself sets no amount. “Continuous in nature”; release needs five years post-termination or a replacement bond.
- Compensation cap — 33.3%. § 33-23-43.3: “the total commission received shall not exceed 33.3 percent of the amount of the insurance settlement.” Percentage compensation is barred entirely where the insurer pays or commits to policy limits within 72 hours of the loss being reported.
- Written contract — prescribed to the font size. § 33-23-43.2(a): a “contract, in writing, on a form approved by the Commissioner, executed in duplicate”; titled “Public Adjuster Contract”; conflict-of-interest statement in minimum 12-point font; a “WE REPRESENT THE INSURED ONLY” notice in 12-point boldface. Subsection (c) voids terms restricting attorney contact, permitting fees before the insured is paid, or requiring checks payable to the adjuster alone.
- Rescission — three days, with return of value within 15 business days.
- Solicitation — § 33-23-43(c)(6) bars soliciting during an active loss-producing occurrence. Also barred: attorney referral compensation, promising to pay deductibles as an inducement, and charging where the insurer pays limits within three business days.
- Records — five years, § 33-23-43.5, “maintained in this state”, itemized down to recoveries, compensation and disbursements.
Records for everyone else: five years OR the contract term, whichever is greater§ 33-23-34(b) — “All records as to any particular transaction shall be kept for a term of five years beginning immediately after the completion of the transaction or the term of the contract, whichever is greater, provided that records of losses adjusted by an independent adjuster may be kept at the office of the insurer for whom the adjuster acted.” It is not a flat five years, the record must include “a statement of any fee, commission, or other compensation received or to be received,” and the independent adjuster gets a practical concession on where the files live.
Georgia has three sets of fee figures in three documents, and only one set is what leaves your bank account.
Its own two regulations disagree about the course length. And a widely-quoted workers’ compensation rate belongs to a bill that died in committee.
Its own two regulations disagree about the course length. And a widely-quoted workers’ compensation rate belongs to a bill that died in committee.
✅ The passing score IS answerable
Rule 120-2-3-.09: “The passing grade on examinations for licenses shall be seventy percent (70%).” Pearson confirms the method: “You need to answer 70% of questions correctly,” on a “scale of 0%–100%.” RAW, not scaled. Seventy of the hundred scored questions; the five pretest items count neither way.
🚫 Three fee documents, three answers
Pearson’s handbook (rev04/2026): $67. OCI’s licensing page: still $63. § 33-8-1: $100 license, $25 exam, $15 application. You pay $67 to Pearson and $120 to OCI. Neither statutory figure is real money.
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Georgia’s own regulations contradict each other on the prelicensing hours
Rule 120-2-3-.08: “All agent and adjuster prelicensing courses must contain a minimum of eight (8) hours of instruction per major line of authority.” Across Property and Casualty that is 16 hours — exactly what OCI publishes and administers.
Rule 120-2-3-.25(1)(d) and (2)(c): “All prelicensing courses must contain a minimum of twenty (20) hours of instruction per major line of authority.” Read literally, 40 hours.
Both sentences are in the current regulations, and the twenty-hour figure was confirmed across two independent renderings — it is not a transcription error. Book the 16-hour course OCI describes, keep the certificate, and do not be thrown when a provider quotes the higher number.
Rule 120-2-3-.25(1)(d) and (2)(c): “All prelicensing courses must contain a minimum of twenty (20) hours of instruction per major line of authority.” Read literally, 40 hours.
Both sentences are in the current regulations, and the twenty-hour figure was confirmed across two independent renderings — it is not a transcription error. Book the 16-hour course OCI describes, keep the certificate, and do not be thrown when a provider quotes the higher number.
| Clock | Georgia |
|---|---|
| Course → examination | 12 months |
| Examination → application | 12 months — miss it and “will be required to retake the examination” |
| Retake after attempts 1 and 2 | 14 days |
| Retake after attempt 3 and every one after | 60 days |
| Attempt cap | NONE — “There is no limit on the number of attempts” |
| License term | Biennial, last day of your birth month |
| Late renewal window | 15 days + late fee |
| Reinstatement penalty | $150 |
| New fingerprints required | reinstating 6+ months late |
| Full reapplication + all prelicensing again | 1 YEAR LAPSED |
Continuing education has TWO tiers, and one license is exempt from ethicsRule 120-2-3-.15. Licensed less than 20 years: 24 hours per biennium including 3 ethics. Licensed 20 years or more: 20 hours, still including 3 ethics. Most summaries report only the first row. And the carve-out almost nobody quotes: “If licensed as a workers’ compensation adjuster ONLY, the ethics requirement does not apply.” Add a second Georgia adjuster license and the ethics hours attach.
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The $875 workers’ compensation maximum is a bill that DIED
A large volume of current law-firm and calculator content states $875 per week as Georgia’s maximum TTD rate. It is wrong. HB 1355 (2026) would have raised it, was introduced in February 2026, reached House Second Readers — and died in committee. The session has adjourned. The operative maximum is $800.00, set by 2023 Ga. Laws 259, and it is keyed to date of injury, so several tiers run at once: $800/$533 on or after 7/1/2023, $725/$483 for 7/1/2022–6/30/2023, $675/$450 for 7/1/2019–6/30/2022. Anyone teaching $875 is teaching a bill that never passed.
Residency has two limbs and people miss the second§ 33-23-5 requires that you “reside and be present within this state for at least six months of every year” or maintain your principal place of business here. Then § 33-23-25 separately requires every licensed adjuster to keep “a place of business accessible to the public” — in Georgia, or in your state of domicile if you are a nonresident licensee. Fingerprinting is required for every adjuster type through Identogo, and Georgia publishes no fee for it — so this material does not quote one.
Georgia’s claim deadlines live in a regulation titled for property — that covers only cars.
And the statute they supplement contains exactly one number in sixteen enumerated acts.
And the statute they supplement contains exactly one number in sixteen enumerated acts.
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Rule 120-2-52 is MOTOR-VEHICLE ONLY despite its title
The chapter is captioned “Fair and Equitable Settlement of First Party Property Damage Claims.” But Rule .02 (Purpose) confines it to claims “arising under personal private passenger motor vehicle policies,” and its authority is § 33-34-8 — the Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act. The remaining rules confirm it: .04 Vehicle Repairs · .05 Aftermarket Crash Parts · .06 Total Loss Vehicle Claims · .07 Loss of Use.
⚠ Georgia’s own drafting makes the trap worse: Rule .03 sets a 60-day liability-determination clock “for losses arising from fire or extended coverage” — inside a chapter Rule .02 limits to private passenger auto. Treat Rule .02 as controlling. Until 1 January 2027, Georgia’s numeric first-party claim deadlines do not reach non-auto property at all.
⚠ Georgia’s own drafting makes the trap worse: Rule .03 sets a 60-day liability-determination clock “for losses arising from fire or extended coverage” — inside a chapter Rule .02 limits to private passenger auto. Treat Rule .02 as controlling. Until 1 January 2027, Georgia’s numeric first-party claim deadlines do not reach non-auto property at all.
| Duty — Rule 120-2-52-.03 | Clock | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledge receipt of notice of claim | 15 days | notification of claim |
| Provide proof of loss forms | 15 days | notification of claim |
| Determine liability — motor vehicle | 15 days | completed PROOF OF LOSS |
| Determine liability — fire / extended coverage | 60 days | completed proof of loss |
| Complete coverage investigation (no proof of loss required) | 30 days | communication of the claim |
| Tender payment | 10 days | coverage confirmed and amount determined, not in dispute |
| Notify claimant more time is needed | 5 BUSINESS days | after the limitation has elapsed |
| Outside cap | 60 days | from notification of claim |
| Claim forms on request — § 33-6-34(11) | 15 calendar days | the request |
All calendar days except one — and that is the reverse of some statesEvery clock in Rule 120-2-52-.03 is a calendar day except the 5 business days to tell the claimant more time is needed. Several states in this course count every claim clock in business days. An adjuster moving between jurisdictions has to re-learn the convention, not just the numbers — and getting it backwards moves a deadline by about a week in whichever direction hurts. Separately, Rule 120-2-53-.03 deems mailed notice received on the fourth calendar day after mailing.
There is NO all-lines prompt-payment or interest statute in GeorgiaGeorgia’s prompt-pay provisions — § 33-24-59.5 and § 33-24-59.14 — are health benefits only. There is no general property-and-casualty prompt-payment statute and no statutory interest on late claim payment. Do not teach one, and do not import a neighbouring state’s.
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What Changes on 1 January 2027 — and the Trigger Everybody Will Miss
HB 1344 · 2026 Ga. Laws Act 635 · signed 12 May 2026
- New § 33-3-28.1 finally puts claim clocks into a statute and extends them past auto to all property — acknowledge 15, affirm or deny 15 (motor vehicle) or 60 (all other property), coverage investigation 30, payment 10, all calendar; 5 business days for a more-time notice; 60-day cap.
- ⚠ BUT READ THE TRIGGER. § 33-3-28.1(c): “After a catastrophic event occurs in this state, the Commissioner is authorized to issue a directive requiring every insurer to comply with the following requirements.” These are catastrophe-contingent and require a Commissioner directive — they are NOT freestanding all-lines deadlines. On an ordinary non-catastrophe homeowners claim in 2027, the section does nothing unless a directive has issued.
- New § 33-24-59.37 bars a first-party property suit limitation shorter than two years from the date of loss — and carries its own second date: the Act is effective 1 January 2027, but the floor applies to policies “issued, delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed… on and after July 1, 2027.”
- Penalties rise sharply. § 33-6-8 goes from $1,000 to $5,000 per act, and from $5,000 to $25,000 for knowing violations; § 33-6-9 from $10,000 to $15,000.
Georgia does not require a general business practice. One flagrant act is enough.
And the qualifier is not in the section you would open to look for it.
And the qualifier is not in the section you would open to look for it.
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The qualifier is in § 33-6-33, and it is DISJUNCTIVE
Open § 33-6-34 expecting the general-business-practice test and you will not find it. The section opens: “Any of the following acts of an insurer when committed as provided in Code Section 33-6-33 shall constitute an unfair claims settlement practice.”
The qualifier is one section back, and read the conjunction — § 33-6-33: “(1) Is committed flagrantly and in conscious disregard of this title or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this title; OR (2) Has been committed with such frequency so as to indicate a general business practice…”
⚠ A SINGLE FLAGRANT ACT COMMITTED IN CONSCIOUS DISREGARD IS ACTIONABLE BY THE COMMISSIONER. NO PATTERN REQUIRED. If you were trained on the NAIC model — where a single act is never enough — that “or” is the word that changes your exposure.
The qualifier is one section back, and read the conjunction — § 33-6-33: “(1) Is committed flagrantly and in conscious disregard of this title or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this title; OR (2) Has been committed with such frequency so as to indicate a general business practice…”
⚠ A SINGLE FLAGRANT ACT COMMITTED IN CONSCIOUS DISREGARD IS ACTIONABLE BY THE COMMISSIONER. NO PATTERN REQUIRED. If you were trained on the NAIC model — where a single act is never enough — that “or” is the word that changes your exposure.
📜 Sixteen acts — a coincidence
§ 33-6-34 enumerates 16. The number matches the NAIC model by coincidence: items (15) and (16) are Georgia-specific, covering the Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act and emergency services, added in 2020 and 2022. Item (11)’s “15 calendar days” to provide claim forms is the ONLY number in the entire section.
🚫 No private right of action — by STATUTE
Many states reach this through case law. Georgia legislated it. § 33-6-37: “Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to create or imply a private cause of action for a violation of this article.” Enforcement runs only through § 33-6-35, which is two subsections and borrows §§ 33-6-7 to 33-6-11 wholesale — and carries a public-interest precondition on top of reason-to-believe.
Who the article actually binds — and why adjusters are not primary violatorsHold two provisions side by side. § 33-6-32 defines “person” to include “agents, brokers, counselors, and adjusters,” and § 33-6-35 lets the Commissioner proceed against “any person.” But § 33-6-33 — the operative prohibition — reaches only “any domestic, foreign, or alien INSURER transacting business in Georgia.” So the unfair claims settlement practices are things an insurer commits, and independent adjusters are not primary violators of § 33-6-34. Contrast states where the prohibition itself runs against “any person” and sweeps the adjuster in directly. On adjuster personal liability generally, Georgia has NO controlling authority — this material teaches the structure and stops rather than inferring an answer.
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§ 33-4-6 — the 60-Day Demand and a Penalty That Cuts Both Ways
Plus § 33-4-7, the third-party statute most summaries omit
- The demand is a CONDITION PRECEDENT, and only the policyholder can make it. Refusal to pay “within 60 days after a demand has been made by the holder of the policy” plus a finding of bad faith. No demand, no statutory penalty, however egregious the conduct — and a third-party claimant cannot trigger it.
- The penalty has a ceiling AND a floor. “not more than 50 percent of the liability of the insurer for the loss or $5,000.00, whichever is greater,” plus all reasonable attorney’s fees. On a $4,000 loss the penalty is $5,000 — more than the loss. On a $200,000 loss it caps at $100,000.
- A step practitioners forget: within 20 days of bringing the action, the plaintiff must mail the Commissioner a copy of the demand and complaint by first-class mail, in addition to ordinary service.
- The standard, and its mirror. Bad faith is “any frivolous and unfounded refusal in law or in fact to pay” (King, 279 Ga. App. 554) — and no penalty lies “where the insurer has reasonable grounds to contest the claim” (Lavoi, 293 Ga. App. 142). Limitations: six years.
- § 33-4-7 is a SECOND, third-party statute aimed at motor vehicle liability insurers: an “affirmative duty to adjust that loss fairly and promptly,” breached where “liability has become reasonably clear and the insurer in bad faith offers less than the amount reasonably owed.” Same formula, same 60 days.
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Holt without Hughes is the 2019 trap
Southern General Ins. Co. v. Holt, 262 Ga. 267 (1992) requires an insurer to give the insured’s interests “the same faithful consideration it gives its own interest.” That has been the headline Georgia failure-to-settle case for thirty years.
But it was significantly limited seven years ago. First Acceptance Ins. Co. of Georgia, Inc. v. Hughes, 305 Ga. 489, 826 S.E.2d 71 (11 March 2019) holds that an insurer “does not have a duty to settle a claim within policy limits unless and until there is a valid offer from the claimant to do so” — and that offer must be rejected before liability attaches. Holt is not overruled; it is bounded by a bright-line offer-and-rejection requirement. Material citing Holt alone is stating the rule as it stood before March 2019. Related and inseparable in practice: § 9-11-67.1, amended 2021 and 2024, makes the material-term list for time-limited demands exhaustive and requires a payment date not less than 40 days from receipt.
But it was significantly limited seven years ago. First Acceptance Ins. Co. of Georgia, Inc. v. Hughes, 305 Ga. 489, 826 S.E.2d 71 (11 March 2019) holds that an insurer “does not have a duty to settle a claim within policy limits unless and until there is a valid offer from the claimant to do so” — and that offer must be rejected before liability attaches. Holt is not overruled; it is bounded by a bright-line offer-and-rejection requirement. Material citing Holt alone is stating the rule as it stood before March 2019. Related and inseparable in practice: § 9-11-67.1, amended 2021 and 2024, makes the material-term list for time-limited demands exhaustive and requires a payment date not less than 40 days from receipt.
Three Georgia rules decide real dollars: add-on UM by default, stacking permitted, and a duty to ASSESS diminished value nobody has to claim.
Plus the 2025 tort reform — which did not do what nearly every summary says it did.
Plus the 2025 tort reform — which did not do what nearly every summary says it did.
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UM/UIM defaults to ADD-ON — and the insured elects OUT
§ 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)(I) states the excess form as the rule: the vehicle is uninsured “to the full extent of the limits of the uninsured motorist coverage … and such coverages shall apply in addition to the amounts payable under any available bodily injury liability and property damage liability insurance coverages … available as additional insurance coverage in excess of” them. Subdivision (II) — the reduced-by form — applies only where “an insured may reject the coverage referenced in subdivision (I) … and select in writing” it. This is the reverse of many states.
$100,000 UM · $25,000 tortfeasor · $150,000 damages: add-on gives $125,000 available; reduced-by gives $100,000. Same limits, $25,000 apart, and the insured’s election decides it. Created by 2008 Ga. Laws 801, effective 1 January 2009.
⚠ THE EROSION RULE APPEARS IN BOTH SUBDIVISIONS AND ADJUSTERS GET IT BACKWARDS. “Available coverages” means the tortfeasor’s limits less amounts already paid on other claims. If the $25,000 has eroded to $10,000, the reduced-by offset shrinks to $10,000 and the reduced-by UM rises to $90,000. The offset tracks what is actually left, not the declarations page.
$100,000 UM · $25,000 tortfeasor · $150,000 damages: add-on gives $125,000 available; reduced-by gives $100,000. Same limits, $25,000 apart, and the insured’s election decides it. Created by 2008 Ga. Laws 801, effective 1 January 2009.
⚠ THE EROSION RULE APPEARS IN BOTH SUBDIVISIONS AND ADJUSTERS GET IT BACKWARDS. “Available coverages” means the tortfeasor’s limits less amounts already paid on other claims. If the $25,000 has eroded to $10,000, the reduced-by offset shrinks to $10,000 and the reduced-by UM rises to $90,000. The offset tracks what is actually left, not the declarations page.
Stacking is permitted — on authority the statute gives no hint ofSearch § 33-7-11 for “stacking” and you will not find it. No stacking section, no “other insurance” clause, no priority-of-coverage provision. A researcher who stopped at the statute would conclude Georgia has no rule. The answer is in the official O.C.G.A. annotations: “The 1980 amendment to the definition of ‘uninsured motor vehicle’ in subparagraph (b)(1)(D) now allows an insured to ‘stack’ his multiple policies of uninsured motorist coverage where the tortfeasor is minimally insured, and use of word ‘policy’ rather than ‘policies’ in the amendment does not affect this result” — State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Hancock, 164 Ga. App. 32, 295 S.E.2d 359 (1982). ⚠ The singular/plural argument has already been made and lost. The wider lesson: when a statute is silent on a question this large, the silence is a prompt to read the annotations and the case law — not a finding that the state has no rule.
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Diminished value — a duty to ASSESS that runs without any claim
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Mabry, 274 Ga. 498, 556 S.E.2d 114 (2001) is the most consequential first-party auto decision in the country on this point. The holding: the policies “obligate it to compensate its policyholders for that loss of value, notwithstanding repairs that return the vehicle to pre-loss condition in terms of appearance and function.”
And the sentence that creates the operational duty: “Nothing in the insurance policy requires the insured to assert a right to recover any particular element of damage… the policy does not require a separate claim for diminution in value.”
⚠ YOU MUST ASSESS FIRST-PARTY DV AS PART OF ORDINARY CLAIM HANDLING WHETHER OR NOT THE INSURED ASKS. This is not a rule about paying DV when claimed — it is a rule about evaluating it unprompted. Overruling check: not overruled, and EXTENDED to first-party real property by Royal Capital Development v. Maryland Casualty, 291 Ga. 262 (2012). Third-party DV is recoverable but must be PROVEN (Perma Ad Ideas, 158 Ga. App. 707 (1981) — and note a common survey miscites it as “(Ga. 1981)”; it is Court of Appeals).
And the sentence that creates the operational duty: “Nothing in the insurance policy requires the insured to assert a right to recover any particular element of damage… the policy does not require a separate claim for diminution in value.”
⚠ YOU MUST ASSESS FIRST-PARTY DV AS PART OF ORDINARY CLAIM HANDLING WHETHER OR NOT THE INSURED ASKS. This is not a rule about paying DV when claimed — it is a rule about evaluating it unprompted. Overruling check: not overruled, and EXTENDED to first-party real property by Royal Capital Development v. Maryland Casualty, 291 Ga. 262 (2012). Third-party DV is recoverable but must be PROVEN (Perma Ad Ideas, 158 Ga. App. 707 (1981) — and note a common survey miscites it as “(Ga. 1981)”; it is Court of Appeals).
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SB 68 (2025) — What It Did, and the Two Things It Did NOT Do
2025 Ga. Laws Act 9 · signed and effective 21 April 2025 · Titles 9, 40 and 51
- Default applicability is RETROACTIVE. § 9: “all other provisions of this Act shall apply to causes of action PENDING on the effective date…” with only Sections 6 and 7 carved out as “causes of action arising on or after.” Note the drafter wrote causes of action, not actions filed.
- New § 51-12-1.1 — medical special damages. Evidence of reasonable value “shall include both the amounts charged … and the amounts actually necessary to satisfy such charges … regardless of whether the health insurance has been used,” and the section “abrogates the common law collateral source rule to the extent necessary.” Letters of protection are discoverable, including the price a third party paid for the receivables. It does NOT cap recovery at the paid amount — both figures go in and reasonable value is for the trier of fact.
- Seat belt non-use is now admissible on negligence, comparative negligence, causation, assumption of risk, apportionment “or for any other purpose” — still not for cancellation or rating.
- Bifurcation on demand — § 51-12-15. Any party may demand it before the pretrial order; the court may refuse only on an opposing motion and only where the claim involves an alleged sexual offense or the amount in controversy is under $150,000.
- ⚠ WHAT SB 68 DID NOT DO. It never touched § 51-12-33 — so it changed neither apportionment nor the comparative negligence bar. The single-defendant apportionment fix was HB 961, 2022 Ga. Laws 876, effective 13 May 2022, applicable to “all cases FILED after the effective date” — a different test. Alston & Bird v. Hatcher Management Holdings, 312 Ga. 350 (2021) was never overruled; it was superseded prospectively and still governs cases filed on or before 13 May 2022.
- ⚠ AND THE SEAT-BELT APPLICABILITY IS ITS OWN TRAP. SB 68 and SB 69 both amended § 40-8-76.1 on the same day. SB 68 would have applied it to pending causes; SB 69 § 5(c)(2) overrides: it “shall not apply to causes of action pending on the effective date… shall apply only to causes of action commenced on or after.” Prospective only.
📏 The bar is AT 50%
§ 51-12-33(g): no damages if the plaintiff is “50 percent or more responsible.”
A plaintiff 49% at fault recovers 51%. A plaintiff at exactly 50% recovers nothing.
Minimums 25/50/25 — and the mandate chains through three sections, only § 33-7-11 printing the numbers.
No-fault repealed 1991. No PIP mandate, no med-pay mandate.
🚫 The invented 75% threshold
§ 40-3-2 defines salvage by “two or more major component parts” or insurer payment of a total loss.
No percentage of value appears anywhere in the section. Rule 120-2-52-.06 sets valuation methods, not a trigger.
Multiple references publish a “Georgia 75% total loss threshold” with a real-looking cite attached. The cited section was read. The number is not in it.
When a source gives you a number AND a pin cite, read the cited section. It is the cheapest check there is, and nobody does it.
Property: a four-state form whose suit clause says TWO YEARS§ 33-32-1 commands a standard fire policy; Rule 120-2-19-.01 IS the form — the numbered 165-line document captioned “Standard Fire Insurance Policy for Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.” Lines 157–161: no suit “unless commenced within two (2) years next after inception of the loss.” Because Rule 120-2-20-.02 bars any limitation “less favorable to the insured than that specified in the ‘Standard Fire Policy’,” Georgia’s first-party property suit floor is ALREADY two years — today. ⚠ Every national reference says twelve months, and the error compounds: it leads people to describe HB 1344’s coming floor as doubling one year to two. It does not. The number is not new — the instrument and the reach are. Other form clauses: proof of loss 60 days · repair/replace option on 30 days’ notice · loss payable 60 days · mortgagee interest cancelable on 10 days, mortgagee’s own proof of loss 60 days · appraisal: 20 days to name an appraiser, 15 days deadlock then a judge appoints, award of any two controls. And per McGowan, 281 Ga. 169 (2006), Georgia appraisers determine VALUE only — causation belongs to the court.
Guaranty, fraud and comp — four inversions in one panelIt is a POOL, not an association. Searching Title 33 for a P&C guaranty association lands you on Chapter 38, which is life and health. The Georgia Insurers Insolvency Pool is §§ 33-36-1 to -20. Cap $300,000 — and workers’ compensation is EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED from it, so comp claims are paid to policy limits, uncapped. The claim deductible is $50, not the NAIC $100. · Insurance fraud (§ 33-1-9) is a FLAT FELONY — 2 to 10 years, up to $10,000, no misdemeanor tier and no dollar threshold — while workers’ compensation fraud (§ 34-9-19) is a MISDEMEANOR, and it reaches false statements made to DENY benefits, not just to obtain them. Adjusters routinely get this backwards. · Georgia requires NO fraud warning statement and no SIU or antifraud plan — but reporting by licensees is MANDATORY with no deadline, and the 90-day clock in § 33-1-16 runs the other way: it binds the prosecutor, not you. · § 34-9-201(f): fail to maintain and post a compliant panel — six physicians, one orthopedic surgeon, no more than two industrial clinics — and “an employee may select ANY physician to render service at the expense of the employer.” Employer control of medical is earned, not automatic.
Ten scenarios — each one a place Georgia departs from the national rule, or from what a confident secondary source will tell you.
Read the fact pattern before the options. Several carry a plausible wrong answer that is simply what most published Georgia material says.
Read the fact pattern before the options. Several carry a plausible wrong answer that is simply what most published Georgia material says.
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Top Exam Tips — Georgia Adjuster Regulations
1. FOUR licenses, and TWO have no exam. Workers’ comp rides on CWCP, crop/hail on a CAPP card. Public adjuster has its own exam, 12-GA-20.
2. Staff adjusters are OUTSIDE the definition, not exempt. The insurer registers them — $50 + $5, each March 1–31.
3. Passing score 70%, RAW, set by Rule 120-2-3-.09. $67 exam (OCI’s page still says $63). Two 12-month clocks bracket course → exam → application.
4. CE has two tiers — 24/3 under 20 years, 20/3 at 20+ — and WC-only adjusters owe no ethics hours. Records: 5 years or the contract term, whichever is greater.
5. TWO 60-day catastrophe routes. GEMA permit (insurer files) or § 33-23-29(b) with no declaration, on prior written notice through a Georgia-licensed employer.
6. § 33-6-33 is DISJUNCTIVE — a single FLAGRANT act in conscious disregard is actionable. Sixteen acts, and only item (11) has a number.
7. No private right of action — § 33-6-37, by express statute. And § 33-6-33 binds insurers, so adjusters are not primary violators.
8. § 33-4-6: 60-day demand BY THE POLICYHOLDER, a condition precedent. Penalty is 50% of the loss (ceiling) or $5,000 (floor), whichever is greater. Notify the Commissioner within 20 days of suit.
9. Claim clocks are in Rule 120-2-52 — AUTO ONLY, CALENDAR days. 15 acknowledge · 15 deny · 10 pay · 5 BUSINESS days for a more-time notice. No all-lines prompt-pay statute exists.
10. UM defaults to ADD-ON; the insured elects reduced-by IN WRITING. Stacking is permitted (Hancock). Comparative bar is AT 50%, and SB 68 never touched it.
11. Mabry: assess diminished value WITHOUT a claim. No total-loss percentage — reject the “75%.” Betterment capped at 20%.
12. Standard Fire Policy suit clause: TWO YEARS, not twelve months. Guaranty $300,000 with comp EXEMPT, $50 deductible. Insurance fraud FELONY, comp fraud MISDEMEANOR. Max TTD $800 — NOT $875.
2. Staff adjusters are OUTSIDE the definition, not exempt. The insurer registers them — $50 + $5, each March 1–31.
3. Passing score 70%, RAW, set by Rule 120-2-3-.09. $67 exam (OCI’s page still says $63). Two 12-month clocks bracket course → exam → application.
4. CE has two tiers — 24/3 under 20 years, 20/3 at 20+ — and WC-only adjusters owe no ethics hours. Records: 5 years or the contract term, whichever is greater.
5. TWO 60-day catastrophe routes. GEMA permit (insurer files) or § 33-23-29(b) with no declaration, on prior written notice through a Georgia-licensed employer.
6. § 33-6-33 is DISJUNCTIVE — a single FLAGRANT act in conscious disregard is actionable. Sixteen acts, and only item (11) has a number.
7. No private right of action — § 33-6-37, by express statute. And § 33-6-33 binds insurers, so adjusters are not primary violators.
8. § 33-4-6: 60-day demand BY THE POLICYHOLDER, a condition precedent. Penalty is 50% of the loss (ceiling) or $5,000 (floor), whichever is greater. Notify the Commissioner within 20 days of suit.
9. Claim clocks are in Rule 120-2-52 — AUTO ONLY, CALENDAR days. 15 acknowledge · 15 deny · 10 pay · 5 BUSINESS days for a more-time notice. No all-lines prompt-pay statute exists.
10. UM defaults to ADD-ON; the insured elects reduced-by IN WRITING. Stacking is permitted (Hancock). Comparative bar is AT 50%, and SB 68 never touched it.
11. Mabry: assess diminished value WITHOUT a claim. No total-loss percentage — reject the “75%.” Betterment capped at 20%.
12. Standard Fire Policy suit clause: TWO YEARS, not twelve months. Guaranty $300,000 with comp EXEMPT, $50 deductible. Insurance fraud FELONY, comp fraud MISDEMEANOR. Max TTD $800 — NOT $875.
O.C.G.A. § 33-23-1(a)(1)
Defines adjuster by compensation, then excludes salaried insurer employees adjusting losses under policies the insurer issued. Staff adjusters were never inside it.
Rule 120-2-3-.24
Staff adjuster registration — a duty on the INSURER. $50 + $5, window March 1–31, $15 late fee, changes in 30 days.
Rule 120-2-3-.09
“The passing grade … shall be seventy percent (70%)” — RAW. Retakes 14 / 60 days, no attempt cap. Exam waivers: CPCU, UCC.
Rules .08 vs .25
8 hours per major line (=16) against 20 per major line (=40). Both are in the current regulations. OCI administers 16.
Rule 120-2-3-.15
CE: 24/3 under 20 years, 20/3 at 20+. “If licensed as a workers’ compensation adjuster only, the ethics requirement does not apply.”
O.C.G.A. § 33-23-34(b)
Five years OR the contract term, whichever is greater — and an independent adjuster’s files may be kept at the insurer’s office.
O.C.G.A. § 33-23-29(b)
The 60-day catastrophe exemption that needs NO declaration — but does need a Georgia-licensed employer and prior written notice.
O.C.G.A. § 33-23-43.3
Public adjuster fee cap — “shall not exceed 33.3 percent of the amount of the insurance settlement,” and barred entirely where limits are paid within 72 hours.
O.C.G.A. § 33-6-33
The disjunctive qualifier — “flagrantly and in conscious disregard” OR “frequency … general business practice.” One flagrant act suffices. Binds insurers.
O.C.G.A. § 33-6-37
“Nothing … shall be construed to create or imply a private cause of action.” A statute, not a case.
O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6
60-day demand by the policyholder · 50% ceiling / $5,000 floor, whichever is greater · all reasonable fees · notify the Commissioner within 20 days of suit.
O.C.G.A. § 33-4-7
The second, third-party statute — motor vehicle liability insurers owe an “affirmative duty to adjust that loss fairly and promptly.”
First Acceptance v. Hughes
305 Ga. 489 (2019) — no duty to settle unless and until a valid within-limits offer is made and rejected. Bounds Holt.
Rule 120-2-52-.02
The Purpose rule that makes the whole chapter motor-vehicle only despite its property title. Authority: § 33-34-8.
§ 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)
(I) add-on is the DEFAULT; (II) reduced-by only on written election. “Available coverages” = limits less amounts already paid — the erosion rule.
State Farm v. Hancock
164 Ga. App. 32 (1982) — the 1980 amendment allows stacking, and “policy” rather than “policies” does not affect this result.
State Farm v. Mabry
274 Ga. 498 (2001) — “the policy does not require a separate claim for diminution in value.” A duty to ASSESS. Extended to real property by Royal Capital (2012).
O.C.G.A. § 40-3-2
Salvage = “two or more major component parts” or insurer total-loss payment. No percentage anywhere in the section.
Rule 120-2-19-.01, lines 157–161
The Standard Fire Policy suit clause — “within two (2) years next after inception of the loss.” Not the national twelve months.
O.C.G.A. § 33-32-5
Valued policy law — fire only, wholly destroyed only, 1–2 family residential, natural persons, with a 30-day actual-loss window and four exceptions.
McGowan v. Progressive
281 Ga. 169 (2006) — “An appraisal clause can only resolve a disputed issue of value.” Causation belongs to the court.
O.C.G.A. § 33-36-3(4)
Pool cap $300,000 — “other than a workers’ compensation claim”, which is therefore uncapped. Deductible $50, not $100.
§ 33-1-9 vs § 34-9-19
Insurance fraud is a FLAT FELONY (2–10 years, no threshold). Workers’ compensation fraud is a MISDEMEANOR — and reaches statements made to DENY benefits.
O.C.G.A. § 34-9-201(f)
Fail to post or maintain the panel and “an employee may select ANY physician to render service at the expense of the employer.”
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