NAIC Picks New Leaders in Wake of Electoral Defeat
December 15, 2010 by Sean P. Carr
| Copyright: | (c) 2010 A.M. Best Company, Inc. |
| Source: | A.M. Best Company, Inc. |
| Wordcount: | 422 |
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners tapped Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon as its next vice president and Illinois Insurance Director Michael McRaith as secretary-treasurer in a conference call meeting made necessary by the outcome of the Nov. 2 elections.
Insurance regulators had elected Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland as vice president at the close of their fall national meeting in October. They also had elected Donelon secretary-treasurer at the same meeting (BestWire, Oct. 21, 2010). However, Holland lost her re-election bid, leaving the NAIC with a leadership vacancy (BestWire, Nov. 3, 2010).
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss will become NAIC president when the new officers take their posts Jan. 1. The Iowa governorship will transfer from a Democrat to a Republican in 2011, but Voss is serving a dedicated term through 2012. She has said she has the support of Gov.-elect Terry Branstad.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty will be the NAIC president-elect in 2011. In November, Florida voters elected a new governor, chief financial officer, attorney general and agriculture commissioner — the offices that jointly appoint the insurance commissioner.
“Florida Insurance Commissioner McCarty is working with newly elected leadership and their respective transition teams,” Florida Office of Insurance Regulation spokeswoman Brittany Benner said. “Commissioner McCarty intends to continue serving in his appointed role as Florida Insurance Commissioner.”
Attempts to reach Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott’s office for comment were unsuccessful.
Donelon, a Republican with a term ending in 2011, is the sole elected insurance commissioner among top NAIC officers. He joined the staff of the Louisiana Department of Insurance in 2001 and was appointed commissioner in February 2006. He won election to an unexpired term later that year and was re-elected in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, he served in the state House of Representatives, eventually serving as chairman of the insurance committee.
McRaith spent 15 as an attorney practicing commercial litigation, specializing in regulated institutions and the insurance industry, prior to joining the administration of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich as director of the division of insurance. He later served as secretary of financial and professional regulation before the insurance functions were split into a separate cabinet-level department in 2009. He also serves on the board of directors for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Chicago Chapter.
“The insurance sector, insurance consumers, and the insurance regulatory community deserve strong leadership, and I am proud to be a member of a great NAIC team,” McRaith said in an e-mail.
(By Sean P. Carr, Washington Bureau Manager: sean.carr@ambest.com)
