Nevada Insurance Chief Quits; Assistant Named Acting Commissioner

Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott Kipper resigned from the Nevada Division of Insurance after less than 17 months on the job, saying, "It's just time for a change."

Kipper's resignation is effective June 2. He started work in Nevada on Dec. 29, 2008, two months after resigning as Oregon's chief insurance regulator (BestWire, Jan. 13, 2009). He served for one year in Oregon after a stint as a deputy commissioner for the Louisiana Department of Insurance. Aside from taking some time off, Kipper is uncertain about his future prospects. He said he will be seeking other opportunities as a regulator, elsewhere in the insurance business or out of insurance altogether.

Kipper praised the Nevada insurance division staff and the state's "pro-business" climate. "The environment here is very good for insurers. It made it very easy to do my job," he said. "I think we struck a good balance."

While praising his predecessors for starting the effort, Kipper said he is proud of Nevada's surge in captive registrations (BestWire, Jan. 4, 2010). The state is now the fourth-largest captive domicile in the nation "with a bullet," he said.

Prior to his Louisiana post, Kipper was senior regional director of state affairs for America's Health Insurance Plans and as a government relations manager for General Electric Capital Assurance Co. He also worked as a health analyst for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and spent 10 years in Wyoming state government and industry (BestWire, Oct. 17, 2010).

The Department of Business & Industry, which includes the insurance division, has launched a nationwide search for a new commissioner, Director Dianne Cornwall said. Chief Insurance Assistant Brett Barratt, the division's former counsel and hearing officer, will serve as acting commissioner.

Kipper succeeded Alice Molasky-Arman, the longest-serving insurance commissioner in Nevada history. Molasky-Arman joined Nevada-domiciled Western Insurance Co. as senior vice president of government relations, one month after retiring from the post she held through the tenure of three governors (BestWire, Oct. 31, 2008).

(By Sean P. Carr, Washington Correspondent: [email protected])