Indemnification Program for Public Officers and Educator

We administer the Georgia State Indemnification Program recognizing there are hazards inherent in certain public occupations that put employees at a higher risk of injury. The program provides a financial benefit from two indemnification funds for designated public officers and public school personnel who are disabled or killed in the line of duty.

The Public Officers Indemnification Fund includes payments for permanent disability, supplemental income and death to eligible law enforcement officers, firefighters, prison guards, publicly employed emergency medical technicians, emergency management rescue specialists, state highway employees, and active members of the Georgia National Guard, when called into service by the Governor. The Public School Indemnification Fund provides payments to any public school employee who is killed or permanently disabled by an act of violence in the line of duty. This benefit is funded by revenue generated by the sale of special license plates honoring Georgia educators.

Governor Brian P. Kemp signed Senate Bill (SB) 56 into law relating to indemnification death benefits for COVID-19 related deaths. SB 56 establishes a presumption under the Georgia State Indemnification Fund Program that public safety officers who were diagnosed with and died due to COVID-19 within 14 days of the last day of duty are presumed to have died in the line of duty. This presumption makes such claims eligible for compensation under the Program. 

Eligible public safety officers include law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, emergency management rescue specialists, state highway employees, and prison guards as defined by O.C.G.A. § 45-9-81.

Typically, applications for indemnification concerning death must be submitted within 24 months of the incident. However, SB 56 allows a special application window for COVID-19-related deaths that occurred on or before April 15, 2022. Applications for deaths due to COVID-19 must be submitted between July 1, 2025, and August 1, 2025. 

Please note: If an application for a COVID-19 related death was previously submitted and denied, it must be resubmitted during the new application window to be considered for payment. To make a claim for indemnification benefits due to the death of a public safety officer, the application must be submitted by or on behalf of the surviving, unremarried spouse or eligible dependents.

Access the Georgia State Indemnification Program Application for COVID-19 Death Benefits here.