Insurance Commissioner Will Not Seek Third Term

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 | 0

Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens announced this week that he will not seek a third term in 2018.

Commissioner
Ralph Hudgens

In office since 2010, Hudgens has faced criticism in recent years as car insurance coverage prices soared in the state, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

He was accused of taking a hands-off approach and having ties too close to the insurance industry, which contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his political campaigns over the years. 

In 2014, car insurance companies hit Georgia with the steepest rate increase in the nation. Hudgens issued a consumer alert when Allstate hiked its prices 25%, but he said there was nothing he could do to stop the increase. 

This was because of a 2008 law that allowed carriers to increase the rates for some types of coverage without getting state approval first. Hudgens had supported the law while he was in the Senate. 

He recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he didn't realize the law would effectively cut off his ability to stop massive rate increases. 

Read the full story here.