|
|
|
State Insurance Commissioner Races Will Bring at Least Three New Faces
|
 |
|
|
|
| Copyright: | A.M. Best Company, Inc. | | Source: | BestWire Services | | Wordcount: | 701 |
Five state insurance commissioner offices are up for grabs in the November general election. At least three of those states will see new faces, as the incumbents are not running again.
DELAWARE
With one-term Insurance Commissioner Matthew Denn the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, this is an open seat. Democrat Karen Weldin Stewart, making her third bid for the office, is opposed by Republican John Brady, the Sussex County Recorder of Deeds. Both candidates claim experience writing state laws as aides to legislators; Stewart is also a former department employee. Tom Savage, a retired firefighter, is the candidate of the Independent Party of Delaware.
Health insurance is a major campaign theme, with Stewart advocating a single-payer plan and Brady favoring an expansion of health insurance for children and private-sector solutions for working adults. Stewart has proposed tax credits for coastal homeowners who wind-proof their properties. Brady wants to assist local insurance agents by ensuring they receive credit for online insurance purchases by policyholders.
MONTANA
Former legislators Monica Lindeen and Duane Grimes are campaigning for the seat held by State Auditor John Morrison, a Democrat who is leaving due to term limits. Lindeen, a Democrat, was a co-founder of one of the state''s first Internet providers. Grimes, a Republican, has operated several transportation-related businesses.
Both commissioner candidates want greater funding for Insure Montana, the state''s health-insurance purchasing pool for small businesses. Lindeen wants to bring greater efficiencies to the department, so it can respond to events with greater speed. Grimes said he would take a "hands-on" approach to ameliorating what he said often is considered a "harsh and extreme" regulatory approach.
NORTH CAROLINA
This seat will turn over for the first time in seven elections, as Jim Long is retiring after 24 years in office. Long''s assistant, Democratic candidate Wayne Goodwin, is seeking to fill his shoes. However, Republican John Odom, a former Raleigh councilman, says it is time for a fresh approach. Libertarian Mark McCains, who has flirted with a double-digit mark in some polls, could play a spoiler''s role.
With the state''s coastal insurance "beach plan" insurance program at risk in the event of a major storm, Odom said higher deductibles will be necessary to increase reserves. Goodwin said that may be a necessary step, and has advocated tax incentives and rate discounts for coastal homeowners who retrofit their properties. Odom wants to consider a multistate pool to spread the risk. On automobile insurance, Goodwin and Odom candidates want to make depopulating the state''s insurer of last resort a priority. Goodwin wants to modernize the rate-setting process while opposing an industry-backed file-and-use approach. Odom favors a more market-driven system.
NORTH DAKOTA
Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm, a Republican and former county prosecutor, is seeking to hang on to the position he was appointed to last year after the resignation of Jim Poolman. Opposing him is state Rep. Jasper Schneider, D-21st Dist., an attorney who is serving his first term in the Legislature.
Health insurance is a significant issue in the race, and Hamm has touted the recent growth of state programs to assist seniors with Medicare and other insurance issues, and provide them with free or discounted prescription drugs. Schneider is advocating a children''s health care plan and the expansion of an existing state program for families in need of health insurance. Both candidates have called for reform of the state''s workers'' compensation agency by placing it under control of the insurance commissioner.
WASHINGTON
Democrat Mike Kreidler is facing only token opposition in his run for a third term. This year''s race is a rematch of 2004, when Kreidler defeated Republican John Adams by a 13-point margin. In August, Kreidler placed first in the state''s "top two" open primary election. Kreidler, who previously served in the U.S. Congress and in the state Legislature, has a better than 141-1 fund-raising advantage. Adams owns a small maritime-focused insurance agency.
Kreidler wants to make health insurance reform a centerpiece of a next term. He has announced a proposal for statewide, universal guaranteed catastrophic health care coverage. In 2008, a new state law returned to the commissioner limited rate-setting power over the individual health insurance market.
(By Sean P. Carr, senior associate editor, BestWeek: Sean.Carr@ambest.com)
This is a news service of Thomson Business Intelligence Service ©2006. This content is for your personal use only, subject to Terms and Conditions. No redistribution allowed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
