Kentucky – Julie Mix McPeak

Julie Mix McPeak cares about the health insurance crisis facing small businesses in Kentucky and in response to the problem she helped to implement the “I-CARE” initiative.

About 90 percent of businesses in Kentucky qualify as small businesses and the program stipulates that the state reimburse employers a certain amount per employee based on the coverage. A high cost condition in the group would trigger a higher reimbursement, McPeak said.

With “firm but flexible regulation,” McPeak says her state also has much to offer captives.

“We’re proud to say that we have about eight captives approved in the state right now, but we have probably twice that many applications in various stages of completeness,” McPeak said.

In regard to recent contingent commission debates, McPeak said she is not opposed to agents disclosing to consumers what they might be paid for a certain transaction.

“I always have a concern that we are fair and reasonable to the agent and are not asking for something that is extraordinary or difficult for them to comply with,” she said. If appropriately disclosed and appropriately administered, McPeak said she is not opposed to the idea of contingent commissions, and believes they should not be “banned outright.”