Chaney to Seek Fourth Term as Mississippi Insurance Chief

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has announced he will run for re-election for a fourth term in 2019.

The 74-year-old Chaney made his announcement Aug. 1 at the Nashoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., and a spokeswoman from the Mississippi Insurance Department confirmed the news to Insurance Journal in an e-mail.

“It is my honor to serve the people of Mississippi as your Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal, a job I take very seriously. In order to be able to continue to serve the people of this state I announce that I am running for re-election as your Insurance Commissioner,” Chaney said at the Nashoba County Fair political forum held in Founders Square.

Chaney, a Republican, was reelected to a third term in the office on Nov. 3, 2015. A Mississippi native, Chaney is the state’s 11th Commissioner of Insurance and also serves as state Fire Marshal. His 2015 run was unopposed after officials removed Reform Party Candidate Johnny McLeod from the ballot because state officials couldn’t prove McLeod met the five-year state residence requirement to run for the position.

The formal filing period for the Nov. 5, 2019 election begins Jan. 1, 2019 and runs through Sept. 6, 2019, according to runforoffice.org.

Chaney’s accomplishments as commissioner since taking office in January 2008, as listed on his 2015 election website, include opening a Mississippi Insurance Department office on the Gulf Coast and spearheading a wind mitigation program for the Gulf Coast region to strengthen homes against hurricane-force winds and provide homeowners with discounts on their wind insurance premiums.