What laws apply to storm damage claims in Georgia?
Short answer. Storm damage claims in Georgia are shaped by your insurance policy plus a handful of rules aimed at the post-storm rush: contractors cannot waive deductibles, cannot take an assignment of your insurance proceeds within a year of a declared natural disaster, cannot negotiate your claim, and must let you cancel an insurance-contingent roofing contract if the claim is denied. Insurers, in turn, must follow the Commissioner's claim timing rules.
Rules for contractors after a storm
- Deductibles. Offering to pay, waive, or rebate your deductible is illegal in Georgia.
- Assignments. Since July 1, 2025, O.C.G.A. 10-1-393(b)(36) makes taking an assignment of insurance proceeds within one year of a declared natural disaster an unfair practice. See assignment of benefits in Georgia.
- Cancellation. O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.12 lets you cancel an insurance-dependent residential roofing contract if the claim is denied, within the window stated in your contract.
- Door-to-door sales. The federal Cooling-Off Rule generally gives you three business days to cancel a sale of $25 or more made at your home.
- Price gouging. Georgia's price gouging law applies when the Governor declares a state of emergency.
Rules for insurers
Insurers must acknowledge property claims within 15 days, explain delays in writing, and pay within 10 days once the amount is agreed. Refusing a covered loss in bad faith for 60 days after a proper demand can bring a penalty and attorney fees under O.C.G.A. 33-4-6.
Rules that come from your policy
Prompt notice of loss, protecting the property from further damage, the wind and hail deductible, and the deadline to sue are policy terms, not statutes. Read them before you need them, and see storm chaser scams in Georgia and choosing the date of loss.