Insurance advisory committee full of industry insiders, one notable outsider

The Treasury Department has selected 15 insurance regulators, executives and others to advise the Federal Insurance Office, the agency created by the Dodd-Frank Act to monitor the insurance industry. One of those advisers, however, is likely to stand out from the bunch.
David “Birny” Birnbaum, executive director for the Center of Economic Justice, is the sole consumer watchdog on the fledgling Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance. He brings a long history of challenging regulators and life insurers.
Indeed, Mr. Birnbaum was an ardent critic of insurance regulators’ decision to revamp the way they consider life insurers’ holdings of mortgage-backed securities following the 2008 crisis.
Thus far, he said he doesn’t have any particular priorities to bring up at the advisory panel, which is made up almost entirely of industry insiders. But he’s not cowed being the only consumer advocate on the committee.
“One way to think about it is that I’m really going to stand out,” Mr. Birnbaum said.
The new advisory committee is designed to provide input to the FIO, ranging from state regulatory perspectives the independent insurance agencies’ point of view.
The FIO, helmed by director Michael McRaith, will consider issues including systemic risk in the insurance industry and consult with the Treasury Department on domestic insurance policy issues.
Other representatives include regulators Michael Considine, insurance commissioner in Pennsylvania; Jacqueline Cunningham, insurance commissioner in Virginia; Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of financial services in New York; Thomas Leonardi, insurance commissioner in Connecticut; Monica Lindeen, commissioner of securities and insurance in Montana; Theresa Miller, administrator in Oregon’s insurance division; and Bill White, insurance commissioner in Washington, D.C.

RELATED ITEM Nine insurance mistakes clients make

Industry representatives include John Degnan, senior adviser to the chief executive of Chubb Corp.; Brian Duperreault, president and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Cos.; Loretta Fuller, CEO of the general agency Insurance Solutions Associates; Christopher Mansfield, general counsel at Liberty Mutual Group; Sean McGovern, general counsel of Lloyd’s North America; and Michael E. Sproule, chief financial officer of New York Life Insurance Co.
Scott Harrington, a professor of health care management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the insurance and risk management department, also has joined the board.
Meanwhile, Mr. Birnbaum is busy preparing for the gig. Being an industry outsider in a sea of insiders should have its advantages, he said. “My voice will probably carry disproportionate weight.”