Georgia insurance candidates debate healthcare, hurricane policies

(The Center Square) - Candidates for Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner discussed relief for victims of Hurricane Helene, a recent roller coaster death and healthcare during a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.

Incumbent Republican Commissioner John King and Democratic candidate Keisha Waites addressed the investigation of a man’s death on Monday at Six Flags Over Georgia. The police identified 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem as the man who died while riding Goliath, an attraction at the theme park.

King said the insurance commission is investigating the incident. He assured the public that his office conducted thorough investigations of amusement parks throughout the state ahead of the season.

King said he would not make a definitive statement before the investigation was complete when pressed on whether a previous inspection was faulty.

“We're going to conduct an incredibly thorough review working very closely not only with Cobb County, but Cobb County Fire, Cobb County Police, working very closely with our partners, and we're going to interview everyone,” King said. “We're going to go with this where the facts take us.”

Waites agreed that a thorough investigation would need to occur in the aftermath of the amusement park death. She called for an inspection of all rides in the amusement park before the planned reopening on Friday.

“I would ensure that all of the amusement park rides have been inspected thoroughly in addition to making sure that this will never happen again in the state of Georgia,” Waites said.

Waites criticized the response to Hurricane Helene by the commissioners office. She said Georgia residents have lost out on the chance to appeal insurance denials since the hurricane.

“I'd like to restore this office to its original intent and that is to protect Georgia consumers because Georgia consumers have no chance against a trillion dollar industry that lawyers up and basically does nothing to support the everyday consumer,” Waites said.

Hurricane Helene caused 37 deaths across the state of Georgia in 2024, the National Hurricane Center reported. The University of Georgia calculated the state’s agricultural and timber losses to be as much as $5.5 billion due to the hurricane and around $1.5 billion in direct property damage.

She called for implementing a Consumer Protection Unit in the Insurance Commissioner’s office to communicate with customers whose claims are denied.

King warned against allowing artificial intelligence to determine insurance policies and allow customers to get scammed from fake products. He touted his efforts to recover more than $100 million for insurance consumers since 2019.

“[That is] more than all insurance commissioners put together in Georgia's history,” King said. “We have results, we have the proof. We want to continue that.”

The candidates also disagreed over subsidies for healthcare in Georgia. More than 300,000 Georgia residents lost healthcare coverage after the Affordable Care Act subsidies were not renewed by Congress in 2025.

King said private health insurance has stepped up in its place and given residents more access to care than before.

“We have close to a million Georgians with private health insurance and the key there is to go and hold insurance companies accountable. And we've done that,” King said.

Waites said many Georgia residents are still face unequal access to healthcare and property insurance, exacerbated by the federal cuts and the failure to extend subsidies. She also called for credit scores and ZIP codes to be left out of consideration for assessing property insurance rates in Georgia.

“I am interested in working with my former colleagues in the General Assembly to ensure that credit scores and ZIP codes are not a factor in terms of assessing rates in the state of Georgia,” Waites said. “That is something that I look forward to doing on day one as the new insurance commissioner.”

Early voting in Georgia began on Tuesday and will continue until Oct. 30. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. For more information, visit the Secretary of State, at sos.ga.gov. For results on Election Day, visit thecentersquare.com/georgia.