Every insurance policy shall be executed in the name of and on behalf of the insurer by its officer, attorney in fact, employee, or representative duly authorized by the insurer. A facsimile signature of any executing individual may be used in lieu of an original signature.

(Code 1933, § 56-2416, enacted by Ga. L. 1960, p. 289, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 878, § 12.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Civil Code 1895, § 2089, former Civil Code 1910, § 2470, and former Code 1933, § 56-801, repealed by Ga. L. 1960, p. 289, enacting this title, are included in the annotations for this Code section.

Requirement of written signed policy applies to cash or credit policy.

- Rule that a policy of insurance shall be in writing and signed by the insurer applies to contracts issued upon a cash basis as well as to those issued upon a credit basis, if such there may be. Nowell v. Mayor of Monroe, 177 Ga. 648, 171 S.E. 136, answer conformed to, 47 Ga. App. 665, 171 S.E. 143 (1933) (decided under former Civil Code 1910, § 2470).

Execution must be by authorized person.

- Writing in the form of a policy of fire insurance will not constitute a valid contract of insurance when the writing is not, at the time the contract therein purports to go into effect, executed by one authorized to execute contracts in behalf of the alleged insurer. Planters & Peoples Mut. Fire Ass'n v. De Loach, 113 Ga. 802, 39 S.E. 466 (1901), later appeal, 122 Ga. 385, 50 S.E. 141 (1905) (decided under former Civil Code 1895, § 2089).

Agent filling blanks need not have written authority.

- It is not essential to the validity of a policy that the company's agent, who filled blanks in the policy, should have been clothed with written authority. Smith v. Farmers Mut. Ins. Ass'n, 111 Ga. 737, 36 S.E. 957 (1900) (decided under former Civil Code 1895, § 2089).

Agent may temporarily delegate agent's authority to write policies.

- If a local agent of a fire insurance company who is authorized by the principal to procure insurance, write and countersign policies, collect premiums, and deliver the policies to the insured, directs the agent's clerk during the agent's temporary absence to issue policies and sign the name of the agent thereto and collect premiums, and the clerk follows such direction, the writing of the policy and signing of the name of the agent thereto under these circumstances will be deemed the act of the agent and binding upon the company. Atlas Assurance Co. v. Kettles, 144 Ga. 306, 87 S.E. 1 (1915) (decided under former Civil Code 1910, § 2470).

Insurer cannot complain agent writing policies also represented insureds.

- If an insurance company, knowing or from the surrounding circumstances being reasonably aware that the company's local agent is acting or assuming to act for the customers of the agency in applying for policies of insurance in the customers' names on the customers' property, and without depending on the skill, advice, or loyalty of the agent in the transaction, but acting upon its own judgment as to the desirability of the particular risks, authorizes the agent to write the policies, the company will not be allowed to complain that such local agent was also the agent of the opposite parties to the contracts, but the company will be held bound on the policies so written. Todd v. German-American Ins. Co., 2 Ga. App. 789, 59 S.E. 94 (1907) (decided under former Civil Code 1895, § 2089).

Acceptance of premium held not to estop insurer from defense execution not authorized.

- Mere acceptance by the person described in a writing in the form of a policy of fire insurance as the insurer of a sum of money as an assessment or premium will neither have the effect of rendering valid the unexecuted writing, nor of estopping the alleged insurer from making the defense that the writing was not executed by anyone authorized to act in the insurer's behalf, when it appears that the assessment or premium was accepted in ignorance of the fact that the writing was not executed by one authorized at the time of the writing's delivery to act in behalf of the insurer, and that upon the discovery of this fact the insurer promptly repudiated the act of the person who had delivered the writing and returned to the person claiming to be insured all the money which the insurer or the insurer's authorized agent had received from the alleged insured. Planters & Peoples Mut. Fire Ass'n v. De Loach, 113 Ga. 802, 39 S.E. 466 (1901), later appeal, 122 Ga. 385, 50 S.E. 141 (1905) (decided under former Civil Code 1895, § 2089).

Place for signature.

- Usual and proper place for the signature is at the end of the matter which the signature attests. But, in strict law, it will suffice if, with the intent to constitute a signing, the signature is inserted in the writing at another place. Delaware Ins. Co. v. Pennsylvania Fire Ins. Co., 126 Ga. 380, 55 S.E. 330, 7 Ann. Cas. 1134 (1906), later appeal, 130 Ga. 643, 61 S.E. 492 (1908) (decided under former Civil Code 1895, § 2089).

Syfert Injury Law Firm

2018 Georgia Code 33-24-13 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 33 INSURANCE

Section 24. Insurance Generally, 33-24-1 through 33-24-98.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

33-24-13. Execution of policies; use of facsimile signatures.