Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon to
Serve as President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has announced that Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon will ascend to the NAIC presidency effective January 1, 2013. Commissioner Donelon has been serving as 2012 President-Elect of the NAIC.
“I am pleased to have this opportunity to serve the NAIC and the citizens of Louisiana in this capacity,” said Commissioner Donelon. “Louisiana is a significant consumer of insurance in the national, and even international, marketplace. Through this position, I will be able to engage in the insurance debate on a leadership level, and place Louisiana at the forefront in the study and development of insurance regulation.”
Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, coordinate their regulatory oversight, and have a critical role in the implementation of those measures as they impact the insurance markets and consumers across the nation and beyond.
Donelon has been a member of the NAIC since becoming Louisiana Insurance Commissioner in 2006. During Donelon’s tenure one of the last Insurance Rating Commissions in the nation was abolished eliminating an impediment to companies coming to do business in Louisiana. He also championed successful legislative initiatives that limit named-storm deductibles to one per hurricane season and increased the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association coverage to $500,000 per claim (the recently adopted NAIC model provision).
For the last five years, Donelon has chaired the NAIC’s Surplus Lines Task Force, a key role for Louisiana’s high risk insurance marketplace. Louisiana is the fifth largest surplus lines marketplace in the United States behind only California, New York, Texas and Florida. Louisiana is also the fifth largest state for consumption of Lloyds of London products. Reasons for this include the state’s high risk activities including offshore oil and gas exploration, large port activity, chemical plant concentrations and high coastal property insurance exposure.
Donelon joined the staff of the Louisiana Department of Insurance in 2001 as Chief Deputy Commissioner. He became Louisiana Insurance Commissioner in February 2006 and was elected to serve the unexpired term later that year. He was re-elected to the position in 2007 and 2011. A retired State Judge Advocate with the rank of Colonel for the Louisiana Army National Guard, Donelon’s career at the Department of Insurance includes serving as both Chief Deputy Commissioner and Executive Counsel. He is also a former Parish Council Chairman for Jefferson Parish and a 19-year Louisiana State Representative where he chaired the Committee on Insurance. Donelon is a graduate of the University of New Orleans and Loyola School of Law.
