Governor Brian Kemp issued a State of Emergency for several South Georgia Counties due 
to active wildfires and hazardous fire conditions. The Georgia Office of Commissioner of 
Insurance and Safety Fire issued Directive 26-EX-1, Directive 26-EX-2 and Directive 26-
EX-3 on April 23, 2026 and May 8, 2026, regarding the claims handling and billing grace 
period procedures, in an effort to assist victims in affected zip codes due to wildfires. 
 

The Directive, in part states the following:

• Requires insurance companies to grant a grace period for premium payments to be paid for customers residing within the designated wildfire disaster areas.
• This includes a moratorium on policy cancellations due to non-payment of premium, and all notices of cancellation issued should be withdrawn and reissued. The moratorium is effective until lifted by the Commissioner. 

The Department Notice can be viewed by accessing the following link: Directives | Office of the 
Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire