O.C.G.A. § 33-35-9 — Sale of subscription contracts

(a) Nothing contained in this Code section shall be deemed to prohibit an insurer authorized to transact casualty, life, or accident and sickness insurance in this state from selling or offering for sale in this state individually underwritten and individually issued policies of prepaid legal services insurance on policy forms which have been approved by the Commissioner pursuant to Chapter 9 of this title. (b) This Code section shall not apply to any subscription contracts negotiated and issued in accordance with Section 302C of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (87 Stat. 314, 29 U.S.C.A. Section 186(c)(8)). (c) This Code section shall not apply in the event that prior to April 1, 1976, legal services plans’ coverages are mandated by any applicable state or federal laws or court decisions. History. — Code 1933, § 56-3522, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1268, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 748, § 3; Ga. L. 2019, p. 386, § 120/SB 133. The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted ‘‘Nothing’’ for ‘‘No subscription contracts for prepaid legal services may be sold or offered for sale in this state prior to April 1, 1976, provided that nothing’’ at the beginning of subsection (a). 33-35-10. Powers of sponsors to contract for provision of legal and administrative services. (a)(1) The sponsor of any prepaid legal services plan or authorized representative of the plan may contract with any company licensed to transact casualty, life, or accident and sickness insurance in this state under which contracts the company agrees for a consideration consisting of a speciﬁed premium to assume the monetary obligations of the plan to provide or pay for the legal services covered by the subscription contracts issued under such plan upon the failure of the plan itself to meet such obligations within a speciﬁed period. The duration of the contract shall not be longer than three years and each contract shall be ﬁled with and subject to the approval of the Commissioner for the fairness of its terms and premiums. The contracts shall be deemed to be approved 90 days after the date of ﬁling with the Commissioner, unless prior to the expiration of such 90 665 33-35-11 day period the Commissioner notiﬁes the sponsor of the prepaid legal services plan in writing of the Commissioner’s disapproval. (2) Any sponsor entering into such contracts shall fairly disclose to all subscribers affected by them the nature and extent of the extra protection provided by them. Any plan having lawful access to any other source of funds besides the premiums collected, which may be used to meet the obligations of the plan under its subscription contracts, shall make similar fair disclosure to affected subscribers. (3) Any sponsor which seeks to limit its liability under its subscription contracts to the total of funds collected in premiums from subscribers shall state such limitation clearly and prominently in all subscription contracts. (b) Any sponsor of any prepaid legal services plan or authorized representative of the plan may contract with any person to provide administrative services necessary to the administration of the plan and the subscription contracts issued under such plan. The duration of the contracts shall not be longer than three years, and each contract shall be ﬁled with and subject to the approval of the Commissioner as to the fairness of its terms. The contracts shall be deemed to be approved 90 days after the date of ﬁling with the Commissioner, unless prior to the expiration of the 90 day period the Commissioner notiﬁes the sponsor of the prepaid legal services plan in writing of the Commissioner’s disapproval. History. — Code 1933, § 56-3508, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1268, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 748, § 4; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 33; Ga. L. 2019, p. 386, § 121/SB 133. The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, deleted ‘‘or any corporation organized pursuant to Chapter 18 or 19 of this title,’’ following ‘‘in this state’’ in the middle of the ﬁrst sentence of paragraph (a)(1). 33-35-11. Submission to Commissioner of underwriting rules and rates, premiums, or fees; approval or disapproval. (a) No sponsor of any prepaid legal services plan or authorized representative of the plan shall enter into any contract with subscribers unless and until the sponsor has ﬁled with the Commissioner a copy of its underwriting rules and a full schedule of the rates, premiums, or membership fees to be charged to the subscribers. These ﬁlings shall be deemed to be approved by the Commissioner 90 days after the date of ﬁling with the Commissioner, unless prior to the expiration of the 90 day period the Commissioner notiﬁes the sponsor of the prepaid legal services plan in writing of the Commissioner’s disapproval. (b) In considering whether or not to approve a given rate schedule, the Commissioner shall consider the following factors: 666 33-35-12 (1) Whether the rates are adequate to ensure that all the beneﬁts contracted for will be supplied; (2) Whether the rates are excessive; (3) Whether the rates are unfairly discriminatory; and (4) Whether the rates are otherwise contrary to the laws or public policies of this state. (c) Insurers authorized to transact casualty, life, or accident and sickness insurance in this state shall be required to comply with the requirements of this Code section if they sell or offer for sale policies of prepaid legal services insurance in this state or if they underwrite prepaid legal services plans of sponsors licensed to operate prepaid legal services plans in this state; provided, however, that nothing contained in this Code section shall be deemed to relieve any insurer authorized to transact casualty, life, or accident and sickness insurance in this state from complying with the requirements of this title and the laws of this state. History. — Code 1933, § 56-3509, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1268, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 748, § 5; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 33; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 33; Ga. L. 2019, p. 386, § 122/SB 133. The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, in subsection (c), deleted ‘‘or any corporation organized pursuant to Chapter 18 or 19 of this title’’ following ‘‘in this state’’ near the beginning and near the end. 33-35-12. Standards for advertising and solicitation.