Insurance Commissioner: A State Executive Position

The Insurance Commissioner is a state executive position that plays a crucial role in regulating the insurance industry.

In the United States, each state has its own Insurance Commissioner, who is responsible for overseeing the insurance market within that state. The Commissioner's office is responsible for enforcing laws and regulations related to insurance.

The Insurance Commissioner's duties include investigating insurance companies, reviewing their financial statements, and ensuring they comply with state laws and regulations. This helps protect consumers and maintains fair market practices.

Some states have a Superintendent of Insurance, which is a similar position, but with slightly different responsibilities.

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The insurance commissioner plays a crucial role in maintaining fair and stable insurance markets. Their primary responsibility is to ensure that insurance companies operate in a way that protects consumers and promotes public trust.

One of the key powers of insurance commissioners is to approve insurance rates, which helps prevent companies from charging unfair premiums. This is essential for maintaining a level playing field and preventing price gouging.

Insurance commissioners also conduct periodical financial examinations of insurers to assess their solvency and financial stability. This helps ensure that companies have enough assets to cover their liabilities and pay claims.

Here's a summary of the commissioner's key responsibilities:

In the United States, the method of selecting an insurance commissioner varies from state to state. 11 states hold partisan elections for the office.

The majority of states, however, appoint their insurance commissioners. This is the case in 39 states.

The compensation for insurance commissioners varies significantly from state to state. The largest salary for an insurance commissioner was $222,804 in Oregon.

In some states, the compensation is relatively low. For example, the lowest salary for an insurance commissioner was $86,003 in Kansas.

To give you a better idea, the compensation figures are compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States.

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The duties and powers of an insurance commissioner are multifaceted and crucial to maintaining a fair and stable insurance market.

One of the key responsibilities of an insurance commissioner is to approve insurance rates, ensuring that they are fair and reasonable for consumers.

Approval of insurance rates is a critical duty, as it affects the cost of insurance premiums for millions of people.

Insurance commissioners also conduct periodical financial examinations of insurers to assess their solvency and financial stability.

These examinations help identify potential risks and vulnerabilities that could impact the insurer's ability to pay claims.

In addition to rate approval and financial examinations, insurance commissioners are responsible for licensing companies, agencies, agents, and brokers.

This licensing process helps ensure that only qualified and trustworthy individuals and companies are involved in the insurance industry.

Monitoring and regulating claims handling is another important duty of insurance commissioners.

This involves overseeing the process of handling and resolving insurance claims to ensure that they are handled fairly and efficiently.

Here are some of the key powers granted to insurance commissioners by each state:

In 2020, four states held elections for insurance commissioner. Delaware, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Washington all participated in these elections.

One notable aspect of 2020's insurance commissioner elections was the number of states involved. This is a significant increase from previous years, indicating growing interest in the role of insurance commissioner.

Here are the four states that held elections for insurance commissioner in 2020:

The current crop of insurance commissioners in the United States is a diverse bunch, with individuals serving in various states. Mark Fowler is the current Alabama Commissioner of Insurance, a position he's held since January 16, 2023.

A nonpartisan approach is taken by many commissioners, with notable examples including Lori Wing-Heier in Alaska and Barbara Richardson in Arizona. These individuals have been serving as insurance commissioners since 2014 and March 6, 2023, respectively.

Here is a list of some of the current insurance commissioners in the United States:

These individuals are just a few examples of the many people serving as insurance commissioners across the country.

Michael Humphreys was named Insurance Commissioner on February 28, 2022, and confirmed unanimously on June 27, 2023.

Michael Humphreys has a Master's in Public Administration from Bowling Green State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University at Buffalo.

Before being appointed, Humphreys served as the Chief of Staff for the Insurance Department since September 2019, and before joining the PID, Humphreys served as Assistant Commissioner for Insurance at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI).

Humphreys has taken immediate steps to make mental health and substance use disorder parity a reality in the Commonwealth, strengthening the review of mental health and substance use disorder coverage in 2024 health plans and launching a new round of market conduct examinations targeting insurer compliance with parity laws.

Pennsylvania is the fifth-largest insurance market in the United States, in terms of premium volume, and the 14th-largest insurance market in the world.

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As Insurance Commissioner, Humphreys is responsible for regulating the Commonwealth's insurance marketplace, overseeing licensed agents and insurance professionals, monitoring the financial landscape of companies doing business in Pennsylvania, educating consumers, and ensuring residents are treated fairly.

Here are some of the key areas that Humphreys oversees as Insurance Commissioner:

As of my knowledge cutoff, there are 50 state insurance commissioners in the United States, each responsible for overseeing the insurance industry in their respective states.

The current commissioner of Alabama is Mark Fowler, who assumed office on January 16, 2023.

In Alaska, the director of insurance is Lori Wing-Heier, who has been in office since 2014.

The Arizona director of insurance is Barbara Richardson, who took office on March 6, 2023.

Alan McClain is the Arkansas commissioner of insurance, having assumed office in 2020.

The California commissioner of insurance is Ricardo Lara, a Democrat who took office on January 7, 2019.

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Colorado's commissioner of insurance is Michael Conway, a nonpartisan who has been in office since January 1, 2018.

Andrew Mais is the Connecticut commissioner of insurance, having taken office in 2019.

Delaware's insurance commissioner is Trinidad Navarro, a Democrat who has been in office since January 3, 2017.

Florida's commissioner of insurance regulation is Michael Yaworsky, a nonpartisan who took office on March 13, 2023.

Georgia's insurance and safety fire commissioner is John King, a Republican who took office on July 1, 2019.

Hawaii's director of commerce and consumer affairs is Nadine Ando, a nonpartisan who took office on May 2, 2023.

Idaho's director of insurance is Dean Cameron, who has been in office since June 15, 2015.

Illinois' director of insurance is Ann Gillespie, who will take office on April 15, 2024.

Indiana's commissioner of insurance is Holly Lambert, who will take office on October 16, 2024.

Iowa's commissioner of insurance is Doug Ommen, who has been in office since 2016.

Kansas' commissioner of insurance is Vicki Schmidt, a Republican who took office on January 14, 2019.

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Kentucky's commissioner of insurance is Sharon Clark, a nonpartisan who took office on January 6, 2020.

Louisiana's commissioner of insurance is Tim Temple, a Republican who took office on January 8, 2024.

Maine's superintendent of insurance is Robert Carey, who will take office on February 28, 2024.

Maryland's commissioner of insurance is Marie Grant, who will take office on October 1, 2024.

Massachusetts' commissioner of insurance is Michael Caljouw, who will take office on November 4, 2024.

Michigan's commissioner of insurance is Anita Fox, who has been in office since 2019.

Minnesota's commissioner of commerce is Grace Arnold, who has been in office since September 11, 2020.

Mississippi's commissioner of insurance is Mike Chaney, a Republican who has been in office since 2008.

Missouri's director of insurance is Mick Campbell, who will take office on January 1, 2025.

Nebraska's director of insurance is Eric Dunning, who has been in office since April 19, 2021.

Nevada's commissioner of insurance is Scott Kipper, who took office on February 27, 2023.

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New Hampshire's commissioner of insurance is David Bettencourt, who took office on September 20, 2023.

New Jersey's commissioner of banking and insurance is Justin Zimmerman, who will take office on November 8, 2024.

New Mexico's superintendent of insurance is Alice Kane, who took office on July 6, 2023.

New York's superintendent of financial services is Adrienne Harris, who took office in 2022.

North Carolina's commissioner of insurance is Mike Causey, a Republican who has been in office since January 1, 2017.

North Dakota's commissioner of insurance is Jon Godfread, a Republican who has been in office since January 3, 2017.

Ohio's director of insurance is Judith French, a Republican who took office on January 19, 2021.

Oklahoma's commissioner of insurance is Glen Mulready, a Republican who took office on January 14, 2019.

Oregon's commissioner of insurance is Andrew Stolfi, who has been in office since 2018.

Pennsylvania's commissioner of insurance is Michael Humphreys, who took office on June 26, 2023.

South Carolina's director of insurance is Michael Wise, who took office on May 11, 2023.

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South Dakota's director of insurance is Larry Deiter, who has been in office since January 8, 2015.

Tennessee's commissioner of insurance is Carter Lawrence, who took office on November 12, 2020.

Texas' commissioner of insurance is Cassie Brown, who took office in 2021.

Utah's commissioner of insurance is Jon Pike, who took office on February 4, 2021.

Vermont's commissioner of financial regulation is Kevin Gaffney, who took office on July 8, 2022.

Virginia's commissioner of insurance is Scott White, who has been in office since January 1, 2018.

Washington's commissioner of insurance is Patricia Kuderer, a Democrat who will take office on January 15, 2025.

West Virginia's commissioner of insurance is Allan McVey, who took office on September 22, 2021.

Wisconsin's commissioner of insurance is Nathan Houdek, who took office on January 3, 2022.

Wyoming's commissioner of insurance is Jeff Rude, who has been in office since 2019.

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