The bill was one of NFIB’s top priorities during this year’s legislative session, said Nathan Humphrey, the small business advocacy organization’s state director for Georgia.
“On behalf of our members, I want to thank Governor Kemp for signing House Bill 353 into law,” Humphrey said.
“Insurance fraud and lawsuit fraud involving staged motor vehicle accidents is a big problem that drives up insurance costs for Georgia’s small businesses,”Humphrey said.
“Insurance fraud is already illegal, but existing law doesn’t directly or specifically address the crime of deliberately causing a motor vehicle accident to collect the insurance money, and existing law doesn’t do enough to discourage people from doing it.
“Business owners, especially those with company vehicles, are at risk of having to pay out of pocket to cover fraudulent litigation fees and increased insurance rates just because of a criminal act that is not adequately defined in the code,” Humphrey said. “House Bill 353 fixes that.”
