Delaware DOI Begins National Search for New Captive Insurance Bureau Director

The Delaware Department of Insurance has announced that it has begun the search for a new Director of the Bureau of Captive Insurance and Financial Products once current director Steve Kinion’s contract expires April 1, 2017.

This is because the Department is transitioning the position from a contractual role to an exempt, appointed full-time state employee position. The Department has already begun a nationwide search for qualified candidates and is encouraging Kinion to apply, spokesman Vince Ryan told Insurance Journal.

“The Commissioner appreciates Mr. Kinion’s leadership, but would like to make this an exempt, appointed full-time state employee position for someone who resides in the state of Delaware. Mr. Kinion currently resides in Springfield, Illinois,” he said. “Since we are making an administrative change, we have to open it up for application. We are working with the Delaware Captive Insurance Association on this process, and they have worked with us to invite Steve to apply.”

Any candidate that were to apply and receive the position would be required to relocate to or currently reside in Delaware due to the transition, Ryan said.

The new director of the Bureau of Captive Insurance and Financial Products will be appointed by Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro, who was elected in November to succeed former Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart, winning the race against his Republican counterpart, Jeff Cragg.

“Captive insurance is an important economic asset to our state,” Navarro said in a statement. “Delaware currently ranks as the third largest domicile in the United States and the fifth largest in the world. The new director will be responsible for working to build on these achievements as I remain committed to growing and strengthening Delaware’s bureau and the state as a leader in captive insurance. I am looking forward to the bureau’s new direction. I will also work with legislators and the Delaware Captive Insurance Association to select the most qualified person for the job.”

The Department is seeking the most qualified candidates nationwide for the position. The new director will be responsible for regulating Delaware-domiciled captive insurance entities and will oversee the daily operations of the office, articulate the bureau’s goals and objectives and ensure a stable and competitive environment for captive insurance, according to a press release issued by the Delaware Department of Insurance.

The release added that Kinion has guided the Bureau for the last eight years as it has grown from less than 100 captive insurance entities to just more than 1,000.

“The Commissioner is aware that the Delaware Bureau has made strides and appreciates Mr. Kinion’s leadership,” Ryan said. “The Commissioner is committed to bolstering Delaware’s Bureau and this position’s ranking in the captive world. He wants a welcoming captive environment for Delaware, so going forward, we are planning to go about this in a way that is mindful of all of those things.”

Topics Delaware