Kevin McCarty has been Florida’s insurance commissioner since 2003 and has worked for the state for the past 26 years, but rumors have been spreading that Commissioner Kevin McCarty may not survive the transition into Governor Rick Scott’s second term. The media has us guessing whether there could be a resignation or whether Scott will replace McCarty with a different commissioner.

In 1992, McCarty became a point-man to implement strategies to improve the private marketplace following the devastation of Hurricane Andrew.

The Governor and Florida Cabinet announced McCarty as the first appointed insurance commissioner in January 2003.

McCarty’s work within the NAIC ensures Florida consumers and insurers have a voice on national insurance issues. He served as President of the NAIC in 2012, and achieved the organization’s key initiatives which included: approving changes to the Actuarial Guideline 38 (AG38); and the adoption of the Valuation Manual for implementing Principle Based Reserving. Florida is participating on over 50 committees, task forces and work groups in 2014. McCarty also serves as Secretary of the Non-Admitted Insurance Multi-State Agreement (NIMA) group.

He has elevated Florida’s international presence by serving as an NAIC representative on the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) Executive and Technical Committees and is the co-vice chair of the IAIS Executive Committee.

As explained in the Insurance Journal article by Michael Adams, Florida Insurance Commissioner McCarty’s Reappointment in Doubt:

The News Service of Florida reported that in a letter to CFO Atwater on Tuesday, Scott wrote that he hoped the Cabinet could ‘begin a search for new leadership’ at the Office of Insurance Regulation, the Office of Financial Regulation and the Department of Revenue.

Scott’s spokesperson Jackie Schutz said it is important for a governor to have new leaders and new ideas heading into a second term. While not addressing McCarty specifically, Schutz laid out the rationale for finding a replacement for McCarty.

‘Executive office positions are not lifetime appointments and for the same reason there are term limits in elected office, it is important to search for the best newest ideas whenever possible,’ said Schutz.

‘In regard to the Office of Insurance Regulation, we have no announcements at this time,’ said Schutz, in what some see as a signal that a change is coming.

Amy O’Connor also wrote an article about McCarty this week sharing support for McCarty by consumer group, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). CFA has reached out to the Florida Financial Services Commission in support of Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty,

Other Merlin Law Group blogs that have noted the work of Commission McCarty include:

Kevin McCarty Battles for Consumers and Against Higher Rates

Reinsurance Costs Drop But Not Florida Insurance Rates

Sinkhole Investigation Started By Office of Insurance Regulation