What are Georgia's homeowners insurance claim laws?
Short answer. Several Georgia laws shape a homeowners claim: the bad faith statute (O.C.G.A. 33-4-6), the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act and its claim timing rule, the ban on contractors waiving or rebating deductibles, the 2025 limit on assignments of insurance proceeds after declared disasters, and the right to cancel an insurance-contingent roofing contract if the claim is denied. Your policy's own conditions, such as notice, appraisal, and the deadline to sue, matter just as much.
Laws that govern the insurer
- Claim handling timing. The Commissioner's rule requires a property insurer to acknowledge a claim within 15 days and pay within 10 days once coverage is confirmed and the amount is settled. See the Georgia roof claim timeline.
- Bad faith. If an insurer refuses a covered loss for 60 days after a proper demand without a reasonable basis, O.C.G.A. 33-4-6 allows a penalty and attorney fees.
- Existing policyholders. In 2023 the Commissioner's office stopped a plan to nonrenew existing customers over roof age, citing O.C.G.A. 33-24-46, which limits how insurers change rules for policies already in force.
Laws that govern contractors
- No deductible waivers. A contractor may not pay, waive, or rebate your deductible. See can a roofer pay your deductible.
- Assignment limits. Since July 1, 2025, O.C.G.A. 10-1-393(b)(36) makes it an unfair practice for a contractor to take an assignment of your insurance proceeds within one year of a declared natural disaster.
- Contract cancellation. Under O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.12, you can cancel a residential roofing contract that depends on insurance if the claim is denied; your contract states the window.
- No negotiating for you. The same law bars a residential roofing contractor from representing or negotiating for you on the claim. You, an attorney, or a licensed public adjuster can.
What the policy controls
Notice requirements, your duty to protect the property, depreciation holdback terms, appraisal, and the deadline to sue all come from the policy, not a statute. Read the conditions section now, before a storm puts you on the clock.