Georgia insurance commissioner incumbent and former state legislator face off for position
Two candidates are running for a four-year term as Georgia Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire on Nov. 3.
Incumbent John King, a Republican, is running against Keisha Waites, a former state representative and Atlanta city councilwoman.
King was appointed to the position in 2019 and elected to a full term in 2022, according to his campaign website.
The website adds that he retired from the U.S. Army as a major general and also previously served as the chief of the Doraville Police Department.
“As Georgia’s Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, General King has disrupted the status quo, put Georgia families first, and held the powerful accountable,” the website states.
King says that his office fields 10,000 complaints from Georgians per year and has recovered more than $100 million from insurance companies.
“When insurance companies try to take advantage of Georgians, we’re there,” King says on the website. “Since 2019, my office has leveled more than $22 million in fines against insurance companies, including the single largest fine in Georgia history at $5 million. Now, I’m fighting to increase the maximum initial fines allowed.”
The office has delivered tort and lawsuit reform in the state, his website claims.
“When disaster strikes, we’re there,” he says. “Over the last six years, my team has responded to natural disasters throughout Georgia, deploying teams on the ground and setting up claims villages to connect storm victims directly with providers.”
Waites previously worked as a disaster reservist/commercial loan specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Division and in several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) roles, according to her LinkedIn.
“This combination — federal disaster work, state legislation, and citywide governance — directly aligns with the mission of the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner: protecting families through fair regulation, consumer services, rate review, and oversight of insurers and agents,” Waites’ website states. “I stand on a foundation of public service and legislative victories. The people of Georgia deserve proven leadership; look at the record, look at the results.”
Waites says that the rate freeze initiative is a top priority. This includes aggressively reviewing and challenging unjustified auto and home insurance rate hikes.
She also wants to end ZIP code and credit score discrimination by investing in modern equipment and faster response times for Georgia’s rural and underserved communities.
Another of Waites’s priorities is a “Consumer Fraud Strike Force” to protect seniors and vulnerable families from predatory insurance scams.
An Insurify analysis says the next Georgia commissioner will play a key role in market oversight and consumer protection as home insurance costs continue rising in the state. It found that the state’s average annual home insurance premium increased by 25% from 2023 to mid-2026.
“Georgia recently passed a massive insurance bill imposing expanded regulations on insurers to help protect consumers and, among other things, expanding the insurance commissioner’s authority,” Insurify says. “For example, effective Jan. 1, 2027, the commissioner will be able to increase penalties and factor an insurer’s claims conduct history into rate review decisions. And the insurance commissioner elected in November will be the first to exercise the new authority.”
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