From floridarealtors.org
You may never have heard of David Altmaier but he could have a significant impact on your life in the next few years.
After a series of public starts and stops on an appointment that consumed two Cabinet meetings, Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet members unanimously agreed to hire Altmaier as Florida’s new insurance commissioner.
The former Kentucky math teacher immediately takes over the Office of Insurance Regulation, but Kevin McCarty, the current commissioner, will stay on for two months to aid in the transition.
“I’m humbled by your support,” said Altmaier, 34, who has been with the office since 2008, mostly recently serving as the deputy commissioner overseeing the property insurance market.
“I recognize the magnitude of the position and I’m fully committed to doing the best job possible,” he said.
Altmaier’s appointment to the $165,000-a-year job is critical because of the importance of the insurance market in the nation’s third-largest state that also happens to be the state most prone to hurricane strikes each year.
He replaces McCarty, who earned high marks in his 13-year tenure for balancing consumer rights with the need to maintain a financially strong insurance market, while handling a series of crises ranging from the record 2004-05 storm seasons to the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Illustrating the challenges Altmaier will face, some officials had fretted in recent weeks about the failure to replace McCarty as the June 1 start of the hurricane season approached, only to be confronted a new crisis in Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance market.
A state Supreme Court ruling this week, which invalidated a law that capped fees for attorneys hired by injured workers, could cause a 25 to 30 percent spike in insurance rates, with a ripple effect on Florida’s ongoing economic recovery.
The ruling will have to be dealt with by the Legislature, either in the 2017 session or a special session.
And lawmakers as well as the governor and Cabinet will be looking at Altmaier and the OIR for guidance.
With less than eight years at the OIR and two years at a Tallahassee insurance agency, Altmaier has scant direct experience on workers’ comp, health, medical malpractice and life insurance.
But, as he demonstrated in his interview last month, he has a deep knowledge of property insurance.
Responding to questions from Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Altmaier said the property insurance market is better prepared to deal with advent of a major hurricane because of changes since devastating storms seasons a decade ago.
He said a minimum $15 million capital requirement to start an insurer and as well as much cheaper reinsurance rates makes many of the new companies stronger financially.
Altmaier has been involved with property insurance issues since he joined the OIR in 2008, rising to the deputy commissioner post in March 2015, where he directed the bureau charged with oversight of the property and casualty insurers.
The governor and Cabinet had the option of picking a new insurance commissioner with broader overall experience than Altmaier.
But an impasse between Scott and Atwater, who must jointly agree on the appointment, blocked that avenue.
In two prior Cabinet meetings, Scott had backed Jeffrey Bragg, who had extensive federal experience overseeing flood insurance and terrorism insurance programs. But Atwater opposed that appointment.
Atwater’s first choice was state Rep. Bill Hager, R-Delray Beach, vice chairman of the House Insurance and Banking subcommittee and a former Iowa insurance commissioner who also had extensive private insurance experience, including leading a national group involved with workers’ compensation insurance.
Atwater’s second choice was Belinda Miller, McCarty’s chief of staff and former general counsel for the OIR, who had extensive legal and regulatory experience with the Florida insurance market.
After publicly interviewing Altmaier, Richard Robleto, another OIR deputy commissioner, and Eric Johnson of the OIR on Friday, Scott did not re-nominate Bragg, instead saying it was time to move on and that he would be comfortable with either Altmaier or Robleto.
“They can start immediately and hit the ground running,” Scott said, noting both were already deputy commissioners at the OIR.
Atwater again nominated Hager and then Miller.
But when neither Scott nor the other Cabinet members voiced support, he suggested Altmaier, with the condition that McCarty, who was scheduled to leave Monday, would remain for 60 days.
The motion passed unanimously.
Asked about Altmaier’s qualifications versus the other candidates, Atwater expressed confidence in the new commissioner.
“I think David Altmaier is going to be a very impressive and a very strong leader at the OIR,” Atwater said.
Altmaier said he would rely on the extensive expertise at the OIR as he develops his experience with the full array of insurance issues, while adding he does not expect to immediately make major changes at the agency.
McCarty issued a statement saying, “Florida’s insurance consumers will be in good hands under David’s thoughtful and patient leadership and he will have the benefit of an exceptional team of individuals to assist him.”
McCarty said OIR employees Miller, Robleto and Johnson all “demonstrated the depth and breadth of knowledge” of the state agency that oversees the insurance industry in their interviews with Scott and the Cabinet members.
• Has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Western Kentucky University.
• Taught pre-algebra, algebra and geometry at a Kentucky high school, where he was also the head track and field coach.
• Moved to Florida in 2006 when his wife took a position at Florida State University.
• Worked two years at a Tallahassee insurance agency before joining the state Office of Insurance Regulation in 2008.He has held the jobs of insurance examiner, reinsurance-finance specialist, chief analyst and deputy commissioner of property and casualty insurance while at the agency.