TITLE 33 INSURANCE

Section 3. Authorization and General Requirements for Transaction of Insurance, 33-3-1 through 33-3-30.

33-3-6. Requirements as to capital stock or surplus generally.

On or after July 1, 2000, to qualify for an original certificate of authority to transact one or more classes of insurance, an insurer shall possess and thereafter maintain a minimum of $1.5 million in capital stock or in surplus.
As to surplus required for initial qualification to transact one kind of insurance and thereafter to be maintained, domestic mutual insurers shall be governed by Chapter 14 of this title and domestic reciprocal insurers shall be governed by Chapter 17 of this title. Farmers' mutual fire insurance companies shall be governed by Chapter 16 of this title.

(Code 1933, § 56-306, enacted by Ga. L. 1960, p. 289, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1080, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 33; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1275, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1539, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 637, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1246, § 2; Ga. L. 2017, p. 164, § 6/HB 127.)

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, deleted the former second sentence of subsection (b), which read: "Hospital service nonprofit corporations and nonprofit medical service corporations shall be governed by Chapters 19 and 18 of this title, respectively.".

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1988, a comma was inserted following "Chapters 19 and 18 of this title" near the end of the second sentence of subsection (b).

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1990, a comma was inserted following "insurance" in paragraph (1) of subsection (a).

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 1990, p. 1275, § 7, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the 1990 amendment is "effective for purposes of application to new or newly admitted insurers on January 1, 1991, and effective for all purposes on July 1, 1992."

Law reviews.

- For article discussing restrictions on the establishment and transaction of business by a foreign insurer in Georgia with emphasis on threshold requirements for establishment by alien insurers, see 27 Mercer L. Rev. 629 (1976).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Capital requirement may not be lowered by special act.

- An amendment to the charter of a corporation by the Legislature, reducing its capital below the amount required by a general law like this section before transacting business, is invalid. Georgia Empire Mut. Ins. Co. v. Wright, 118 Ga. 796, 45 S.E. 606 (1903) (decided under former Civil Code 1895, § 2034).

A general law like this section being of force, it was not competent for the General Assembly to pass an amendment to the charter of an insurance company authorizing it to transact business without having the required amount of capital stock or assets. Such an amendment was a special law within the meaning of the Constitution in a case already provided for by a general law. Georgia Empire Mut. Ins. Co. v. Wright, 118 Ga. 796, 45 S.E. 606 (1903) (decided under former Civil Code 1895, § 2034).

The selling of stock is not transacting or doing insurance business in the sense of this section. Piedmont Life Ins. Co. v. Bell, 109 Ga. App. 251, 135 S.E.2d 916 (1964).

Regulatory provisions held applicable to funeral service contracts.

- Where undertaking business was executing contracts and issuing certificates to furnish funeral merchandise and funeral services upon death and purchasers were obligated to make installment payments, it was, for a consideration, assuming an obligation to be performed upon the death of the purchaser, namely, to furnish the goods and render the stipulated service, and the business was to be characterized as a life insurance business within the meaning of Ga. L. 1937, p. 702 (now repealed), and was subject to the legal regulatory provisions relating to life insurance generally. Harrison v. Tanner-Poindexter Co., 187 Ga. 678, 1 S.E.2d 646 (1939) (decided under former Code 1933, § 56-209, repealed by Ga. L. 1960, p. 289).

Cited in Retail Union Health & Welfare Fund v. Seabrum, 242 S.E.2d 18 (1978).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Charter application need not set minimum capital for commencing business.

- Since this section provides the minimum amount of capital with which the insurer may obtain a license and commence business, it would not be necessary to provide for a minimum in the application for a charter; it would only be necessary to set the authorized capital in accordance with the provisions of this Code section and former Code 1933, § 56-307 (see now O.C.G.A. § 33-3-7). 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 451.

If section met, all stock need not be subscribed.

- An insurance corporation may perfect its organization and lawfully obtain a license and commence the insurance business provided it meets the capital paid-in and expendable surplus requirements of this section and § 33-3-7; it would not be necessary to have the entire authorized capital stock subscribed even though the charter states no minimum with which the corporation shall begin business, since the provisions of this chapter set the minimum. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 451.

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