Under Georgia unfair trade practices law, coercion as an unfair method of competition includes:

Why D is correct

O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4(b)(4) prohibits boycotts, coercion, and intimidation in connection with insurance transactions. Coercion means pressuring a party through threats or intimidation to force an insurance decision, removing the free choice on which the insurance marketplace depends. The Insurance Commissioner can act against the practice because consent obtained under threat is not genuine consumer choice.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) A discount authorized in the filed rates is lawful pricing, not pressure on the customer's decision.
• B) Recommending a lower-premium policy is ordinary advice, not intimidation.
• C) Requiring the applicant's signature is standard application procedure with no element of threat.

Memory hook

Threats are not salesmanship: intimidation is coercion.

Why B is correct

Under O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4(b)(4), boycott, coercion, and intimidation encompass using threats or pressure to force a policyholder into a particular course of dealing. Threatening cancellation unless clients abandon their agents is coercion aimed at controlling how customers do business — it differs from defamation under O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4(b)(3), which is about false or malicious statements rather than threats.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) Defamation requires false or maliciously critical statements about a competitor; the insurer here made threats, not disparaging statements.
• C) Unfair discrimination concerns disparate treatment of applicants or insureds of the same class and hazard, not pressuring customers over their choice of agent.
• D) Misrepresentation involves false statements about policy terms or benefits to induce a transaction; a threat of cancellation is pressure, not a misstatement of coverage.

Memory hook

Threats coerce; lies defame — keep the two straight.