Rule 570-38-2-.05 - Required Insurance and Certificate(s) of Insurance(1) Except to the extent that an applicant is exempt from such a requirement by Georgia law, applicants for a certificate or certificates under this Subchapter shall cause to be filed as a part of their application or applications with the Department a certificate or certificates of insurance demonstrating that the applicant possesses the insurance required by law and by these Rules.(2) No certificate shall be issued or remain in effect under this Subchapter unless the applicant or holder obtains and maintains adequate insurance solely in the name of the applicant or holder and in amounts equal to or greater than the minimum amounts described in this Chapter and which conforms to the requirements established by the Department in accordance with state law applicable to that applicant or holder. No applicant or certificate or permit holder shall be allowed to utilize or rely upon insurance coverage in the name of another person or entity or coverage held jointly with another person or entity. A certificate held by a motor carrier subject to this Rule which fails to maintain the required insurance shall immediately become void at the time the motor carrier falls out of compliance with this Rule, regardless of whether the applicant or certificate holder later re-establishes compliance with this Rule. A certificate which has become void through operation of this rule shall automatically become valid upon the certificate holder's re-establishment of required insurance and compliance with this Rule, unless the Department has entered an order suspending, revoking or otherwise affecting the certificate in question, and except that the Department may later enter an order suspending, revoking, or otherwise affecting the certificate in question for failure to comply with this Rule.(3) Applicants and certificate holders shall update their certificate or certificates of insurance filed with the Department to reflect their ongoing compliance with this Rule and any updates or changes to the policy or policies of insurance held, including but not limited to renewals, revisions to policy limits, additional or reduced coverage, changes in insurance carrier, suspensions, cancellations, and reinstatements. Such updated certificates shall be provided to the Department as soon as feasible upon the occurrence of or, whenever possible, prior to any event requiring such update, upon the request of the Department, and at least once every two years.(4) Applicants and certificate holders subject to this Rule shall - to the extent possible - provide the Department with no less than 30 days' notice prior to any changes to the applicant's or certificate holder's policy or policies of insurance which would cause the applicant or certificate holder to become out of compliance with this Rule, including but not limited to any cancellation, withdrawal, or suspension of the applicant's or certificate holder's policy or policies or insurance. An applicant or certificate holder shall arrange for the applicant or certificate holder's insurance carrier to deliver notice required by this paragraph to the Department.(5) All certificates of insurance, notices, and other documents evidencing insurance coverage (collectively, "insurance forms") required to be submitted to the Department by this Rule or by Georgia law shall be subject to approval based upon factors including but not limited to the form and completeness of the document, whether the form was provided by a company legally authorized to transact business in the State of Georgia, and a review of the policy itself if required to verify that the full limits of liability required by the Department are in place. Handwritten insurance forms will not be accepted. Insurance forms shall be submitted via mail, facsimile, electronic mail, or via the National Online Registry (NOR) electronic filing database as directed by the Department.(6) The following forms prepared by the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners, when used for the designated purpose, will carry a presumption of compliance with the Department's Rules relating to certificates of insurance, notices, and other documents evidencing insurance coverage, provided that the forms are properly completed and comply with the other requirements of this Rule including paragraph (7):(a) Form E ("Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance") when used as a certificate of insurance to demonstrate compliance with the Department's insurance coverage requirements relating to bodily injury and/or property damage liability;(b) Form H ("Uniform Motor Carrier Cargo Certificate of Insurance") when used as a certificate of insurance to demonstrate compliance with the Department's insurance coverage requirements relating to cargo insurance; and(c) Form K ("Uniform Notice of Cancellation of Motor Carrier Insurance Policies") when used as notice of cancellation of an applicant's or certificate holder's insurance policies.(7) The forms listed in paragraph (6) of this Rule shall carry a presumption of compliance with the Department's Rules relating to certificates of insurance, notices, and other documents evidencing insurance coverage if and only if the following conditions are met with respect to the completed form:(a) "Georgia Department of Public Safety" is listed on the form under the field "Name of Commission," "Name of Authority," or a substantially similar field;(b) The applicant's or certificate holder's full current business name as listed on the application filed with the Department or certificate provided by the Department is listed on the form under the field "Name of Motor Carrier" or a substantially similar field;(c) The applicant or certificate holder's most recent physical address as listed on the application most recently filed or updated with the Department or certificate most recently provided by the Department is listed on the form under the field "Address of Motor Carrier" or a substantially similar field;(d) The form includes a legible policy number; and(e) The form includes a legible counter-signature.(8) To the extent that the Department is authorized or required by law to establish minimum adequate insurance amounts for an applicant or certificate holder but those amounts are not established elsewhere in this Chapter, the applicant or certificate holder shall be required to secure and have in effect a policy of insurance issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in this state, which policy provides for the protection of passengers, property, and the public against injury proximately caused by the negligence of such motor carrier, its servants, or its agents in an amount equal to or greater than the following: (a) Limit for bodily injury to or death of one person: $100,000.00;(b) Limit for bodily injury to or death of all persons injured or killed in any one accident (subject to limit for injuries to one person): $300,000;(c) Limit for loss or damage in any one accident to property of others (excluding cargo): $50,000;(d) Limit for loss of or damage to property (cargo) carried on any one motor vehicle: $25,000.00; and(e) Limit for loss of or damage to aggregate losses or damage of or to property (cargo) occurring at any one time and place: $50,000.00.(9) A certificate of insurance or other evidence of coverage required to be submitted by an applicant or certificate holder under this Chapter must be written in the full and correct business name of the applicant or certificate holder as provided on the applicant or certificate holder's most recent application for a certificate or certificate most recently provided by the Department.(10) The Department may, upon becoming aware that a motor carrier has fallen out of compliance with this Rule, suspend or revoke the certificate of any holder of a certificate under this Subchapter in accordance with Rule 570-38-2.13 or deny the application of an applicant for a certificate under this Subchapter in accordance with Rule 570-38-2-.09, or take any other action against the motor carrier authorized by law.(11) A certificate holder whose certificate has been suspended as a result of a lapse in insurance coverage will not be entitled to have their certificate reinstated until and unless that certificate holder provides acceptable proof of minimum insurance as required by this Rule. Subject to the requirements of Rule 570-38-2-.13, the Department shall be entitled to revoke without any further action any certificate that has been suspended for six months or more due to a certificate holders' lapse in insurance and continued failure to provide acceptable proof of minimum insurance as required by this Rule.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 570-38-2-.05
O.C.G.A. §§ 40-1-101; 40-1-102; 40-1-103; 40-1-104; 40-1-112.
Original Rule entitled "Required Insurance and Certificate(s) of Insurance" adopted. F. Apr. 21, 2020; eff. May 11, 2020.