Georgia FAIR Plan: what it covers, what it costs, who qualifies

Does Georgia have a FAIR Plan?

Yes. Georgia has a FAIR Plan: the Georgia Underwriting Association (GUA), the state's insurer of last resort, established under O.C.G.A. § 33-33-1 et seq. It writes basic property coverage for homes admitted carriers won't take and also runs a coastal wind-and-hail program. If you've been non-renewed, the GUA is the backstop.

The GUA is a non-profit risk-sharing pool every admitted property insurer doing business in Georgia must join. It is state-chartered, not state-funded; no taxpayer money runs it. That is the standard FAIR Plan structure. Two distinct programs sit under the same roof: a statewide residential program covering basic fire-and-extended-coverage perils, and a designated Windstorm and Hail Area program for wind-and-hail-only risk along the coastal counties and barrier islands. The plan does not sell direct to homeowners; a licensed Georgia agent or broker submits applications on your behalf after the voluntary market has declined to write the home.

What does the FAIR Plan cover, and what does it exclude?

The Georgia FAIR Plan, run by the Georgia Underwriting Association (GUA), writes named-peril coverage: it pays only for losses caused by perils listed in the policy, not the broader "all-risk" basis of a standard HO-3.

For homeowners, GUA offers two main personal-lines forms: a Basic Homeowners (HO-8) and a Dwelling Fire (DP-1). Both cover fire, lightning, windstorm and hail, and vandalism and malicious mischief. In eligible coastal counties, GUA also writes a wind-and-hail-only policy that pairs with a separate ex-wind primary policy you buy elsewhere (Georgia Code O.C.G.A. § 33-33-1; Georgia Underwriting Association, verified May 2026).

Optional add-ons on the GUA form: $100,000 of personal liability with $1,000 in medical payments, limited theft coverage, and limited water-damage coverage. Flood is not covered. Liability, theft, and water damage are narrower than what a standard policy gives you, and one or more may be missing unless you ask for the option.

Because the HO-8 and DP-1 are narrower than a standard HO-3, most policyholders pair them with separate coverage to fill the gaps: a stand-alone liability policy, a flood policy through the NFIP or a private flood carrier, and where needed, a difference-in-conditions wrap to bring the package closer to a standard homeowners policy. Georgia doesn't have a single named "DIC" product; the wrap is assembled. The wrap section below walks through how that's typically done.

What are the coverage limits?

The dwelling cap on a Georgia Underwriting Association (GUA) policy is reported at roughly $2 million for residential property (Georgia Office of Insurance Commissioner, verified May 2026). That figure is the ceiling, not what you'll automatically get: the specific limit on your policy reflects your home's insured value and the GUA's underwriting review. If the rebuild cost on your house is higher than the cap, the plan pays up to its limit and a separate policy fills the gap (see the difference-in-conditions section below).

The GUA hasn't published its current dwelling cap, contents-coverage limits, or any recent cap changes on the public-facing pages of georgiaunderwriting.com in a form this site has been able to confirm. A licensed agent can pull the GUA's underwriting guidelines and confirm the live dwelling cap, the contents sub-limit (typically a percentage of the dwelling amount on a Basic Homeowners or Dwelling Fire form), and how each is settled: replacement cost or actual cash value, which materially changes what you'd be paid after a loss.

Who qualifies?

If you have an insurable interest in a Georgia property and you cannot get coverage in the standard, admitted market, you meet the threshold to apply to the Georgia Underwriting Association (Georgia Code O.C.G.A. § 33-33-1, verified May 2026). A non-renewal letter from your prior carrier is the kind of evidence that shows exactly that.

Georgia does not set a fixed number of declinations in statute, which makes the rule more open than Texas, where the FAIR Plan requires two declinations before a homeowner can apply. In practice the gate works the same way: the Georgia Underwriting Association only writes risks the voluntary market refuses, so a non-renewal or a refusal-to-quote from an admitted carrier is the usual proof.

The property itself also has to meet GUA's underwriting standards: physical condition, occupancy status, and similar baseline checks. The statute opens eligibility to "any person with an insurable interest," which is broader than owner-occupied only, but the plan's own underwriting manual is where the rental-versus-owner-occupied and prior-claims specifics live, and that manual isn't published in full publicly. Confirm rental or investor eligibility, and any condition-related restrictions, with a licensed agent who writes the plan before building the application around it.

How do you get a Georgia FAIR Plan policy?

You can't apply directly. The Georgia Underwriting Association (GUA), the formal name of the Georgia FAIR Plan, doesn't sell policies to homeowners; applications go in through a licensed Georgia insurance agent, who files them on the GUA producer portal at policy.georgiaunderwriting.com (Georgia Underwriting Association, verified May 2026).

Practically, that means two phone calls. First, an independent agent who writes for several admitted carriers; they will quote the standard market first, and if those carriers decline, that same agent files your GUA application. Second, if your current agent doesn't write GUA, ask for a referral to one who does. There isn't a public consumer-facing broker-finder on the GUA site at the time of writing; the plan operates through the existing licensed-agent network rather than a separate broker channel.

What to have ready when the agent calls: your current declarations page, the non-renewal or cancellation letter with its effective date, the property address, year built, square footage, roof age and material, and any prior-claim history. If a lender needs proof of coverage by a closing or escrow date, ask the agent to issue an insurance binder as soon as GUA accepts the risk; a binder is temporary written proof of coverage that bridges the gap before the full policy issues.

GUA hasn't published a standard turnaround on its public site. Ask the agent for a current estimate; once GUA accepts, the binder is the document the lender will accept.

How much does the Georgia FAIR Plan cost?

The Georgia Underwriting Association typically costs more than the voluntary market and pays less when you claim, which is the trade-off of an insurer of last resort (Georgia Office of Insurance Commissioner, verified May 2026). Several things drive that gap.

The plan writes a Basic Homeowners form (HO-8) and a Dwelling Fire form (DP-1). An HO-8 pays actual cash value, meaning the depreciated value of what was lost. A standard HO-3 policy in the voluntary market pays replacement cost, the dollars to rebuild new. If your 18-year-old roof is destroyed, an HO-8 pays for an 18-year-old roof; an HO-3 pays for a new one.

Coverage is also named-peril. An HO-3 covers everything except what it expressly excludes; the FAIR Plan covers only the perils named in the policy form. Anything not named is not covered. Theft and water damage are typically limited or optional, and liability is excluded entirely; you would need a separate policy for those.

Coastal policies in Georgia carry hurricane percentage deductibles, not a flat-dollar deductible. A 2% hurricane deductible on a $400,000 home is $8,000 you pay before the insurer pays anything (Georgia Office of Insurance Commissioner, verified May 2026).

The plan does not publish an average premium or a recent rate-filing percentage publicly, so a head-to-head dollar comparison with the voluntary market isn't on the record. A Georgia-licensed agent can quote both the standard market and the GUA in one sitting, which is the fastest way to see your actual number. If a premium spike is what put you here, see my premium just jumped for the parallel angle.

What's changed recently in Georgia

The rule change to mark for renewal calendars: Georgia Act 277 (SB 35, signed 2025; effective 2026-01-01) extended the homeowners non-renewal notice period from 30 days to 60 days (codified at O.C.G.A. § 33-24-46) (Live Insurance News / Georgia Watch / Insurance Journal, verified May 2026). Carriers issuing notices through the 2025-2026 cycle are working under the new floor; pre-Act 277 dates still appear on older paperwork.

Rate movement has been the dominant story. Georgia homeowners premiums rose roughly 8.6 to 9% in 2025, against a national average of around 5.6%, around 24% cumulatively across 2023-2025, and about 39.7% since 2021 (Live Insurance News / Georgia Watch / Insurance Journal, verified May 2026). Carriers projected another 10% for 2026. The driver was Hurricane Helene's September 2024 landfall stacked on a heavy severe-convective-storm season; many insurers filed rate increases in late 2024 and early 2025 that hit at renewal through 2025 and into 2026.

Non-renewals spiked alongside the rate filings, and the underwriting story shifted to roof condition. New roof-age standards have become a routine declination reason in the voluntary market, which is the funnel that pushes business toward the Georgia Underwriting Association. GUA's policy count has grown with that tightening; the association does not publish a current point-in-time policies-in-force figure on its public site, so the precise count for 2025-2026 is not on the public record.

Georgia has no statutory depopulation or takeout program of the type Florida and Louisiana run for their Citizens books, so GUA's growth does not feed back into the voluntary market through a paid mechanism. Broader 2025-2026 reforms on tort and litigation may also shift carrier appetite over the next renewal cycles. The dated filings and bulletins land in the changelog as they're issued.

What is a difference-in-conditions (DIC) policy?

A difference-in-conditions policy, sometimes called a 'wrap', is a second policy that fills the gaps a narrower base policy leaves. In Georgia it isn't sold as a single named 'DIC' product. Instead, policyholders on a Georgia Underwriting Association (GUA) HO-8 or DP-1 form commonly add separate liability, theft, water-damage and flood coverage to get to roughly what a standard HO-3 would have covered (Georgia Underwriting Association, verified May 2026). On the coast, a wind-only GUA policy requires a companion ex-wind homeowners policy from a voluntary carrier.

Who writes the wrap pieces: independent agents and brokers placing the gap coverages with admitted carriers where they can, and with excess & surplus (E&S) lines carriers where they can't. There is no single rate sheet because there is no single product. Expect to pay for each add-on separately: a standalone personal-liability policy, a flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood market, and an inland-marine or contents endorsement for theft and water backup.

For a buyer with a closing date, this matters: the lender wants evidence of dwelling and (usually) liability coverage in the binder. Get the GUA quote and a separate quote for the liability/contents add-on in writing before you sign anything irrevocable, and confirm the binder dates line up with the close.

Should you try E&S or specialty carriers first?

Before going to the Georgia Underwriting Association, two other markets are worth a serious look: smaller specialty admitted carriers, and the excess and surplus (E&S) lines market. Both write homes that mainstream admitted carriers decline.

Specialty admitted carriers are insurers licensed in Georgia to write standard policies, but with appetites tuned to harder risks: older roofs, prior claims, mixed-use lots, square-footage outliers. They typically offer an HO-3 (open-perils) form with liability included, which the Georgia Underwriting Association does not. Independent agents usually quote them as a second round, after major mainstream carriers decline. Worth that round before the FAIR Plan, because the coverage is broader.

Excess and surplus (E&S) lines, also called non-admitted, are insurers not licensed in Georgia to write standard policies. They specialize in risks the admitted market won't take: vacant properties, large rebuild costs, complex liability, fire-resistive remodels in under-served ZIPs. Because they're non-admitted, they aren't backed by the state guaranty fund, so if the carrier becomes insolvent, claims aren't backstopped the way an admitted carrier's would be. They're sold only through licensed surplus lines brokers, and only after admitted carriers have formally declined. The mechanics are covered in admitted vs. surplus lines.

The working order most independent agents follow is: admitted standard carriers first, then specialty admitted, then E&S, and the Georgia Underwriting Association as the backstop if all three rounds come back empty.

What to do this week

If you've just been non-renewed by a Georgia carrier, the work breaks down into a short sequence. Take the steps in order.

1. Read the notice and mark the effective date. That date is the deadline; every step below works backward from it. If the notice is unclear, call the carrier and ask for the date in writing.
2. Call an independent agent and get quotes from at least three admitted carriers first. An independent agent shops multiple companies at once. Going straight to the Georgia Underwriting Association before exhausting the voluntary market is rarely the right move, and you usually can't apply to GUA direct anyway.
3. If the admitted market declines, have your agent submit a Georgia Underwriting Association application. GUA is the state's plan of last resort; applications go through a licensed agent, who can confirm whether your home meets the eligibility rules in Georgia Code §33-33-1.
4. Line up a difference-in-conditions (DIC) wrap to sit alongside the GUA policy. The GUA's basic homeowners and dwelling-fire forms exclude liability, theft, and water damage. A DIC wrap, written by a surplus-lines carrier, fills those gaps; ask the same agent which carriers actually write DIC in Georgia.
5. Tell your mortgage servicer in writing that you're replacing coverage. If your policy lapses, the lender force-places insurance, which costs more and protects only the lender. A short note that replacement is in motion usually buys time.
6. Keep a folder of every declination, quote, and email. Save the carrier names, dates, and quoted premiums. If you later challenge a rating issue or need to show a diligent search, that file is the evidence.

For the full walkthrough, including paperwork timelines and what to say when carriers call back, see what to do after a non-renewal notice.