Posted on 02/02/2006 9:03:34 AM PST by Thrusher
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley will not seek re-election as the chief regulator of companies that write insurance policies in the state.
Wooley said in a written statement Thursday that he will step down on Feb. 15 to work in the private sector. His chief deputy, Jim Donelon, will take over until voters can pick Wooley's elected successor, the statement said.
Wooley took over the insurance commissioner's job in 2000, after his predecessor, third-term incumbent Jim Brown, was convicted of lying to the FBI and served a six-month prison term.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Wooley, who was elected to the post in 2003, said he took pride in improving the Department of Insurance's tarnished image, calling the agency now "a place the state can be proud of.""We were able to restore confidence in our office, which helped us develop a more competitive market and increase the availability of property insurance," he said in his statement.
Wooley faced unwelcome attention last year when he used state money to acquire a $40,000 Harley Davidson-edition pickup, loaded with extras. It was his second state vehicle in two years. He later gave up the vehicle.
In response to the controversy, the Legislature passed a new law requiring statewide elected officials - such as the insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner and state treasurer - to get permission from the Legislature's joint budget committee before using state cash to buy luxury vehicles.
In Louisiana, the Insurance Commissioners have a long and distinguished history of corruption and convictions. As a result, we have some of the worst insurance rates in the country. There is no oversight of the insurance industry here that could ever be trusted. But, I don't get it. By now these idiots would understand that the Feds have a bunch of fellows sitting around waiting for them to screw up.
Jim Donelon was my former state representative. He's a Republican, and he ran against Senator Breaux in 1998. I've also read he intends to seek election to the post.
After careful consideration for my family, the employees of this Department and the voters who placed their confidence in me more than two years ago, I have decided to leave the Department of Insurance to pursue new opportunities in the private sector.
When I joined the Department in 1999 for what I figured would be a brief stint, I never imagined I would end up being Commissioner. I have always said “I am no politician,” which made my decision to run for this office then just as difficult as the decision is that I am making now.
When I took over as Commissioner, I knew I didn’t stand a chance of improving the regulatory climate without repairing the tarnished image of an office in which all public trust had been destroyed. Gradually, with the help of my chief deputy Jim Donelon and the entire Department of Insurance staff, we were able to restore confidence in our office, which helped us develop a more competitive market and increase the availability of property insurance.
By correcting the Department’s problems of the past and restoring its credibility, we were better prepared for the impending crisis of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As the first state agency to reopen following the storms, our employees were able to meet the challenge when the number of monthly consumer telephone calls increased from approximately 6,000 to 20,000.
Only 4,800 formal storm-related consumer complaints have been filed with this Department at a time when the Louisiana insurance industry is faced with nearly one million storm-related property claims. Simply put, our employees have once again gone above and beyond just getting the job done. They have demonstrated they are proud to be a part of what this Department has become.
As I officially leave public service on February 15, 2006, I am confident that under the leadership of Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon our progress will go uninterrupted and the continued reform measures aimed at improving the insurance landscape in Louisiana will be implemented by the new administration.
I sincerely thank each and every employee of the Department of Insurance for working with me over the past five years to make our office a place the state can once again be proud of.
Another RAT commisioner of insurance is out? What else is new?
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