Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Steps Down

Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan has resigned from his position as the Nutmeg State’s top insurance regulator.

Sullivan, a former executive at The Hartford, was appointed as the state’s commissioner in 2007 by outgoing republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The insurance department, and Sullivan in particular, had over the last year become an increasing target of consumer and advocacy groups as well as some Democratic politicians who charge that the department acts as a rubber stamp for insurance carriers – specifically health insurer Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield – in approving dramatic, annual rate increases.

His resignation came barely a week after a coalition of advocacy groups, The Citizens for Economic Opportunity, called on Rell to replace Sullivan as commissioner.

In March, a state senator said he would introduce legislation to make the commissioner’s job an elected position, rather than an appointed one.

In his three years as commissioner, Sullivan ushered in a number of efficiency improvements and other changes at the department. Among them: faster approval of rate filings and paperless licensing for out-of-state agents and brokers. He also began making insurers’ market conduct reports more easily accessible to the public.

With elections over, insurance departments in several states nationwide are expected to see shakeups over the next few months, particularly in states like Connecticut, where a new governor from the opposing party – in this case, Democrat Dannel Malloy, who was elected this month – is coming in.