Section 33-24-91. Use of credit information to underwrite or rate risks

   An insurer authorized to do business in this state that uses credit information to underwrite or rate risks, shall not:

   (1) Use an insurance score that is calculated using income, gender, race, address, ZIP Code, ethnic group, religion, marital status, or nationality of the consumer as a factor;

   (2) Deny, cancel, or nonrenew a policy of personal insurance solely on the basis of credit information, without consideration of any other applicable underwriting factor independent of credit information and not expressly prohibited by paragraph (1) of this Code section;

   (3) Base an insured's renewal rates for personal insurance solely upon credit information, without consideration of any other applicable factor independent of credit information;

   (4) Take an adverse action against a consumer solely because he or she does not have a credit card account, without consideration of any other applicable factor independent of credit information;

   (5) Consider an absence of credit information or an inability to calculate an insurance score in underwriting or rating personal insurance, unless the insurer does one of the following:

      (A) Treat the consumer as otherwise approved by the Commissioner of Insurance, if the insurer presents information that such an absence or inability relates to the risk for the insurer;

      (B) Treat the consumer as if the applicant or insured had neutral credit information, as defined by the insurer; or

      (C) Exclude the use of credit information as a factor and use only other underwriting criteria;

   (6) Take an adverse action against a consumer based on credit information unless an insurer obtains and uses a credit report issued or an insurance score calculated within 180 days from the date the policy is first written or renewal is issued;

   (7) Use credit information unless not later than every 36 months following the last time that the insurer obtained current credit information for the insured, the insurer recalculates the insurance score or obtains an updated credit report. Regardless of the requirements of this paragraph:

      (A) At annual renewal, upon the request of a consumer, the insurer shall reunderwrite and rerate the policy based upon a current credit report or insurance score. An insurer need not recalculate the insurance score or obtain the updated credit report of a consumer more frequently than once in a 12 month period. Prior to a consumer exercising his or her option for the insurer to reunderwrite or rerate the policy, the insurer shall notify the consumer orally or in writing that the reunderwriting or rerating of the policy may result in a higher rate, a lower rate, or other possible consequences, including nonrenewal or termination of the policy, or could produce no change for the consumer;

      (B) The insurer shall have the discretion to obtain current credit information upon any renewal before the 36 months, if consistent with its underwriting guidelines; and

      (C) No insurer need obtain current credit information for an insured, despite the requirements of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, if one of the following applies:

         (i) The insurer is treating the consumer as otherwise approved by the Commissioner;

         (ii) The insured is in the most favorably priced tier of the insurer, within a group of affiliated insurers; however, the insurer shall have the discretion to order such report, if consistent with its underwriting guidelines;

         (iii) Credit information was not used for underwriting or rating such insured when the policy was initially written; however, the insurer shall have the discretion to use credit for underwriting or rating such insured upon renewal, if consistent with its underwriting guidelines; or

         (iv) The insurer reevaluates the insured beginning no later than 36 months after inception and thereafter based upon other underwriting or rating factors, excluding credit information; or

   (8) Use the following as a negative factor in any insurance scoring methodology or in reviewing credit information for the purpose of underwriting or rating a policy of personal insurance:

      (A) Credit inquiries not initiated by the consumer or inquiries requested by the consumer for his or her own credit information;

      (B) Inquiries relating to insurance coverage, if so identified on a consumer's credit report;

      (C) Collection accounts with a medical industry code, if so identified on the consumer's credit report;

      (D) Multiple lender inquiries, if coded by the consumer reporting agency on the consumer's credit report as being from the home mortgage industry and made within 30 days of one another, unless only one inquiry is considered; or

      (E) Multiple lender inquiries, if coded by the consumer reporting agency on the consumer's credit report as being from the automobile lending industry and made within 30 days of one another, unless only one inquiry is considered.

Code 1981, § 33-24-91, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 343, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 60, § 33/HB 95.