Kansas – Sandy Praeger

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, Kan., physician, she has always taken the lead on health issues not only in her own state, 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 on a NAIC working group that targets long-term care.

In addition to grappling with catastrophe issues common to the Midwest, including a series of devastating winter storms that caused more than $360 million in damage, Praeger has strong views and displays leadership on a variety of issues including national catastrophe proposals, uninsured motorists, contingent commissions, rating issues, credit scoring and more.