Health Insurance Law in Georgia: The General Framework
Georgia has no separate statute devoted to health insurance. The relationship between the policyholder and the insurer is regulated entirely by the Civil Code of Georgia, which determines how the contract is concluded, whose life or health may be covered, when the insurer is released from its payment obligation, and how claims arise and expire. The United States federal health-insurance model and the insurance directives of the European Union do not apply in Georgia; they are comparative reference points only, and the sole legal foundation of your rights and obligations is the Georgian Civil Code.
A second structural point matters just as much. Within the Civil Code, health insurance belongs to the subsystem of damage insurance. Under the norm of Article 843 of the Code addressing health insurance, only the rules on monetary compensation and on the scope of compensation extend from damage insurance to health insurance. Every other question — the formation of the contract, the parties' rights, and the consequences of non-performance — is governed by the general rules of the insurance contract. In practical terms, when you review a policy, its clauses must always be read together with the general insurance regime and with these two damage-insurance rules that apply directly.
Insuring Another Person and the Written-Consent Requirement
Life and health insurance may concern the policyholder personally or another person. In practice this arises most often in group coverage, where the contract is concluded, for example, by a family member or by an organization for the benefit of its staff or partners. Article 844 of the Code imposes a strict requirement here: where a life insurance contract is concluded for the benefit of another person, the written consent of that person, or of their legal representative, is required. The absence of written consent undermines the solidity of the contract and becomes a serious risk at the moment a claim for compensation is made.
The practical conclusion is straightforward. Before taking out a policy for the benefit of someone else, obtain that person's written consent — and, where the insured person is a minor or otherwise needs representation, the consent of their legal representative. Intermediaries rarely dwell on this formality, yet it is precisely this document that determines whether the contract can be enforced when compensation is actually needed.