O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 33-24-21 (2019)

Provision in accident and sickness policies for termination of group coverage of surviving spouse or as result of break in marital relationship; issuance of policy to spouse

✓ O.C.G.A. (archive.org 2024 item): print volumes of 2004-2024, per-volume vintage; older volumes partly replaced by 2019 Release 73 text; no 2025 or 2026 Acts
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) No group policy of accident and sickness insurance offered for sale in this state, other than a policy of credit accident and sickness insurance which provides coverage for hospital or medical expenses on either an expense incurred basis or otherwise, which, in addition to covering the insured, also provides coverage to the spouse of the insured, may contain a provision for termination of coverage for a spouse covered under the policy solely as a result of a break in the marital relationship except by reason of the death of the insured or of any entry of a valid decree of divorce between the parties.

(b) Every policy which contains a provision for termination of coverage of the spouse upon death of the insured or divorce shall contain a provision to the effect that, upon the death of the insured or the entry of a valid decree of divorce between the insured parties, the surviving or divorced spouse shall be entitled to have issued to him or her, without evidence of insurability, upon application made to the company within 31 days following the entry of such decree and upon the payment of the appropriate premium, an individual or family policy of accident and sickness insurance then being issued by the insurer which provides coverage most nearly similar to the coverage contained in the policy which was terminated by reason of death or divorce or any other similar individual or family policy then being issued by the insurer which contains lesser coverage. Any and all probationary or waiting periods set forth in an individual or family policy shall be considered as being met to the extent coverage was in force under the prior policy.

(c) This Code section shall also relate to blanket accident and sickness insurance policies and to policies issued by a fraternal benefit society, a health care corporation, a health maintenance organization, or any other similar entity.

History

Code 1933, § 56-3102.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1393, § 2; Ga. L. 1981, p. 640, § 2; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 33; Ga. L. 1995, p. 745, § 2.7; Ga. L. 2017, p. 164, § 15/HB 127.

Annotations

Cross references. - Contents of group or blanket accident and sickness insurance, T. 33, C. 30.

Editor’s notes. - Ga. L. 1981, p. 640, § 3, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Act shall apply to policies issued, delivered, or renewed in this state on or after July 1, 1981.