§ 33-25-5. Inclusion of Provisions Excluding or Restricting Liability for Death

1. No policy of life insurance, except as stated in subsection (c) of this Code section, shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state if it contains a provision which excludes or restricts liability for death caused in a certain specified manner or occurring while the insured has a specified status, except that the policy may contain provisions excluding or restricting coverage as specified therein in event of death under any one or more of the following circumstances:
   1. Death as a result, directly or indirectly, of war, declared or undeclared, or of any act or hazard of such war;
   2. Death as the result of aviation or any air travel or flight;
   3. Death as a result of a specified hazardous occupation or occupations;
   4. Death while the insured is a resident outside the continental United States and Canada; or
   5. Death within two years from the date of issue of the policy as a result of suicide, while sane or insane.
2. A policy which contains any exclusion or restriction pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall also provide that in the event of death under circumstances to which any such exclusion or restriction is applicable, the insurer will pay an amount not less than a reserve determined according to the Commissioner’s reserve valuation method upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rate specified in the policy for the calculation of nonforfeiture benefits or, if the policy provides no such benefits, computed according to a mortality table and interest rate determined by the insurer and specified in the policy with adjustment for indebtedness or dividend credit.
3. This Code section shall not apply to group life insurance, reinsurance, annuities, or to any provision of a life insurance policy, or contract supplemental thereto, relating to disability benefits, or to additional benefits in the event of death by accident or accidental means.
4. Nothing contained in this Code section shall prohibit any provision which in the opinion of the Commissioner is more favorable to the policyholder than a provision permitted by this Code section.

History. Code 1933, § 56-2507, enacted by Ga. L. 1960, p. 289, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 33.

Cross references.

Effect of “living will” on life insurance policy, § 31-32-9.

Law reviews.

For note, “Incontestability Clauses in Georgia Insurance Contracts,” see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 850 (1979).

For comment, “Having an Affair May Shorten Your Life: The Ashley Madison Suicides,” see 33 Georgia St. U. L. Rev. 455 (2017).