Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger is a seasoned player now going into her fifth year leading the Kansas Insurance Department. She was elected in 2002 to her first term as Commissioner of Insurance, and was recently re-elected in November 2006 to her second term. As the Kansas commissioner she oversees nearly 1,700 insurance companies and 65,000 agents in her state.
Married to a Lawrence, Kansas physician, she has always taken the lead on health issues not only in her own state where she pushing a plan for small businesses to have access to lower rates, but at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) where she has been chair of the Health Insurance and Managed Chair (B) Committee. Now in a leadership role as president-elect of the NAIC and unable to chair a standing committee, she continues her work in the health area through an NAIC working group that targets long-term care issues.
One of the higher priorities for 2007 is to tackle the problem of the high numbers of uninsured motorists in the state. An option Praeger is seriously considering is an identification number that can be filed with the Department of Revenue which will indicate whether or not a driver has insurance. “This identification number will be something that law enforcement can readily access and make sure that when they stop a driver, the officer can quickly access the database to confirm whether the driver has insurance,” Praeger said. In addition to the identification number the commissioner says Kansas has increased penalties for uninsured motorists, but none of the measures has resolved the problem yet. She vows to continue to work on the problem in the coming year.
On the issue of rating the commissioner says that 2007 is the year the Department will begin working with and educating the legislature about the advantages of a “file and use” rating system for personal lines insurance. Praeger believes if it passes, the new rating system will encourage more competition and that consumer protections will be in place as well.
Kansas was recently hit with a series of devastating winter storms that caused more than $360 million in damage. Commissioner Praeger’s handling of these kinds of emergencies has won the respect of her staff and the public. In addition to grappling with catastrophe issues common to the Midwest, Praeger has strong views and displays great leadership on a variety of issues including national catastrophe proposals, contingent commissions, credit scoring and more.
To watch the complete video interview of Sandy Praeger, part of Insurance Journal’s exclusive “The Commissioners” series, visit the audio/video section of Insurance Journal’s Web site at: www.insurancejournal.com/broadcasts.
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