Pre-Suit Settlement Demands Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-67.1: The 2024 Senate Bill 83 Framework

Section 9-11-67.1 sets the required terms for an attorney-prepared offer to settle a Georgia motor vehicle injury or death claim. After the 2024 amendment, such an offer is an offer to enter a bilateral contract, the statute lists the only material terms, and other terms are treated as immaterial unless both sides agree in writing. An insurer that meets the safe harbor by the stated dates has protection against a failure-to-settle claim. The 2024 text replaced versions that decided many earlier cases.

Which version applies

Date of the offer	Version	Why it matters
Before the 2021 amendment	Earlier text	Common-law acceptance cases
After the 2021 amendment, before the 2024 Act	2021 text	Rowland and Gomez, below
After the 2024 Act	Current text	Bilateral contract, material terms, safe harbor

The Act says it applies to offers made on or after its approval. The governor signed it on April 22, 2024. Legislative Counsel’s summary lists it as effective July 1, 2024. An offer made between those dates should be checked against the Act’s text and the Code’s editorial note. Product liability claims are outside the section.

What an attorney-prepared offer must contain

Subsection (b) applies “From the time a cause of action accrues until the filing of an answer by the named defendant”, or, with multiple defendants, until all have filed initial answers or been found in default. So despite the label, an offer does not have to come before suit.

Term in (b)(1)	Requirement
(A) Acceptance date	Not less than 30 days from receipt of the offer
(B) Amount	Amount of monetary payment
(C) Parties	Who will be released
(D) Release	Full or limited, and what the claimant will provide to each releasee
(E) Claims	The claims to be released
(F) Payment date	Not less than 40 days from receipt
(G) Sworn statement	Whether all liability and casualty insurance issued by the recipient has been disclosed, with a date not less than 40 days from receipt; the offeror may waive it

Under (b)(2), the offer must also include medical or other records in the offeror’s possession “sufficient to allow the recipient to evaluate the claim”. Under (g), it must be sent by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, must specifically reference the section, and must give an address and either a fax number or email address for acceptance.

Terms beyond the list

Under (c), a term outside the list is “an immaterial term that may be mutually agreed to, in writing, by both the offeror and the recipient”. A variance from such a term does not subject the recipient to a failure-to-accept claim if the recipient otherwise complies with the safe harbor. Under (e), no party may require another to waive or modify the section as a condition of settlement.

Accepting and asking questions

Under (d), a recipient accepts by “providing written acceptance of the material terms” in their entirety. Under (f), it may seek clarification in writing about the terms, the release, liens, subrogation, standing to release, medical bills, medical records, and other relevant facts, and that “shall not be deemed a counteroffer”. But “seeking to modify the terms” under (b)(1) is not clarification. Providing a proposed release when none came with the offer is not a counteroffer either.

Under (h), payment may be made by cash, money order, wire transfer, cashier’s check, an insurer’s draft or bank check, or electronic transfer.

The safe harbor

Subsection (i)(1) says there shall be no civil action for failure to settle where the recipient provides, on or before the dates in the offer:

1. a writing that purports to accept the material terms in their entirety, except the amount;
2. the statement under oath, if required as a material term; and
3. payment of the lesser of the amount demanded or the available bodily injury limits of the policies issued by the recipient.

Payment is part of this, so a written acceptance alone does not reach it. Under (i)(2), the safe harbor applies to any offer to settle such a claim, even one stating that the section does not apply. Under (i)(3), if the recipient does not comply in response to an offer that met (b), the safe harbor does not apply to later offers. One missed chance can therefore remove it for good.

What older decisions still teach

Decision	Version	Holding
Woodard, 300 Ga. 848 (2017)	Pre-2021	A claimant could condition acceptance on an act such as timely payment
Patrick v. Kingston, A23A1527 (2024)	Before 2021	Check with an added condition: no meeting of the minds
Gomez v. USAA, 378 Ga. App. 702 (2026)	2021	Recipient could accept statutory terms alone; extra terms bind only if both agree in writing
Rowland v. McGovern, A26A0116 (2026)	2021	Unrestricted acceptance bound the insurer to added terms, and a nonconforming check meant no settlement

These do not state the 2024 text’s result. They do explain why the amendment was written, and they govern earlier offers still being litigated. Rowland shows a practical point: an insurer’s blanket “we accept your demand” could bind it to extras. Counsel should look for decisions under the 2024 version.

How this connects to failure to settle

An offer that meets the statute does not itself create liability if refused. The common-law claim still requires what First Acceptance v. Hughes and others describe: a valid offer within limits, a judgment or settlement that creates damage, and unreasonable conduct by the standard of an ordinarily prudent insurer. In Holt, liability was clear and specials exceeded the limits. Disputed liability, and an insurer’s reasonable evaluation of it, remain arguments. Insurance bad faith has the elements, and time-limited demands covers strategy.

Drafting points for a claimant’s lawyer

• Use the statutory terms, and state each date from receipt.
• Decide on a full or limited release, and if UM coverage may apply, use one that preserves it. See underinsured motorist coverage.
• Include the (G) term, because the sworn statement is a material term unless waived.
• Send records adequate to evaluate the claim.
• Do not assume extras will bind anyone without written agreement.

Drafting points for a recipient

• Calendar acceptance and payment from the receipt date.
• Accept in writing, and do not vary the listed terms.
• Clarify in writing, without proposing changes to material terms.
• Pay as (h) allows and within the date.
• Provide the sworn statement if required.
• Keep the insured informed. Multiple claimants or insurers raise separate questions, some of them addressed in Brightman.

Sources

• Senate Bill 83, House Committee on Rules substitute (LC 48 1320S): text of § 9-11-67.1 as proposed; enactment confirmed by the Legislative Counsel summary
• Legislative Counsel summary of 2024 general acts: Senate Bill 83
• Grange v. Woodard, 300 Ga. 848
• Patrick v. Kingston, A23A1527
• Gomez v. USAA, 378 Ga. App. 702
• Rowland v. McGovern, A26A0116
• Southern General v. Holt, 262 Ga. 267

This page was last reviewed in November 2026 for general information. Laws and court decisions can change after that date. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.