NAIC Picks 2011 Officers Amid Electoral Uncertainty

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners elected new officers for 2011 amid uncertainty over just who will still be a commissioner come January.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss will be the NAIC president, succeeding West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane L. Cline. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty advanced to president-elect and Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland to vice president. Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon will be secretary-treasurer.

On Nov. 2, voters will choose governors in 37 states. Voters will directly choose new insurance commissioners in at least two states — open seats in California and Georgia — and the Oklahoma insurance commissioner, a Democrat, is facing a competitive race (BestWire, Oct. 14, 2010). NAIC bylaws call for the election of officers at the last national meeting of the year, but the switch to thrice-annual meetings, instead of quarterly, this year put that meeting ahead of the November election.

Traditionally at the NAIC, officers advance one level each year: from secretary-treasurer to vice president, from vice president to president-elect, from president-elect to president. However, Secretary-Treasurer Holland has her election fight. In Florida, home state of McCarty, voters will elect a new governor, chief financial officer, attorney general and agriculture commissioner — the offices that jointly appoint the insurance commissioner.

NAIC President-Elect Voss has a dedicated term through 2012, so her ascendancy to head the NAIC was not in doubt. Donelon is an elected Republican with a term ending in 2011.

Some commissioners favored a waiver of the bylaws, but the consensus was to hold the officer elections. Regional zones, however, held off on choosing their leaders until after election day.

Cline said the NAIC is used to some degree of turnover and will make any adjustments as needed. "We're moving forward," she said.

Voss became Iowa Insurance Commissioner on Jan. 1, 2005. Since 1993, Voss has been with the Iowa Insurance Division. She was appointed First Deputy Commissioner for the Iowa Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce in 1999. She previously held a number of different positions with state government, including assistant attorney general for the Department of Transportation, legal counsel to the state ombudsman, counsel to the Iowa Legislature in the area of taxation and economic development and tax policy attorney for the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance.

McCarty became Florida's first appointed insurance commissioner in January 2003. He previously worked on workers' compensation issues with the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security.

Appointed insurance commissioner in 2005 to serve an unexpired term, Holland became the first woman in her state to be elected to the post one year later. She is a former businesswoman and former board member of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Oklahoma State Employees Benefits Council.

Donelon 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.