Key Consumer Issues - Important Legislation

Below are summaries of some key bills affecting Georgia consumers, which were considered during the 2007 Georgia General Assembly and will be eligible for further action in 2008.

For example, Connie Consumer decides to purchase $100,000 of UM coverage as part of her auto insurance policy.  The coverage is supposed to pay out claims when she is hit by a driver with no insurance (uninsured), or by a driver who has a level of insurance that is less than the total of her claim (underinsured).  On her way home from work, Connie is hit by Eddie Underinsured, who ran a red light and has only $25,000 in liability insurance.  Connie is seriously hurt and has medical bills totaling $125,000.  She figures that Eddie’s $25,000 in liability coverage and her $100,000 in UM coverage will pay all her bills.  But under current Georgia law, Eddie’s policy will eat into Connie’s policy before she is able to take advantage of the UM coverage that she has been paying for.  Thus, Connie’s insurance company tells her that Eddie’s liability insurance covered the first $25,000 of her policy and they will only pay the remaining $75,000 on her $100,000 policy.  She is left with $25,000 in unpaid medical bills that she must manage on her own.

In this example, if Connie had purchased $25,000 in UM coverage, she would not be allowed to access a single penny of her UM coverage.  In fact, in order for Connie (or any other driver) to get the full benefit of a UM policy that they have been paying for, they have to be hit by a driver with no insurance whatsoever.  Getting hit by an underinsured driver means you don’t get what you pay for.  SB 276 would change the law so that Connie can access every penny of her UM policy, on top of Eddie’s liability policy, to cover her medical bills.  Her entire $100,000 in UM coverage would kick in after Eddie’s policy paid the first $25,000, allowing Connie to pay her medical bills in full.

Simply put, SB 276 gives Georgia consumers what they expect when they pay for UM coverage.  As you can imagine, this bill faced fierce opposition from the insurance industry.  SB 276 passed out of the Senate overwhelmingly but did not make it to the House floor for a vote.  It will be eligible for House action in 2008. (Summary provided by Georgia Watch, www.georgiawatch.org.)

SB 24 would make phishing a felony.  However, the bill was substantially watered down in the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.  The current version of the bill no longer gives citizens an express right of private action.  Criminal penalties remain, but employers and individuals whose computer equipment is unknowingly used by a wrongdoer to phish have been exempted from criminal liability.

SB 24 passed out of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee but never came to a vote in the House.  The bill now reverts back to the stronger version that passed out of the Senate and awaits action from the House in the 2008 session.  (Summary provided by Georgia Watch, www.georgiawatch.org.)