Connecticut Senate Confirms Hershman as Insurance Commissioner
The Connecticut Senate has confirmed Josh Hershman as the state’s 34th insurance commissioner.
Hershman has served as commissioner in an interim capacity since December 2025, replacing Andrew N. Mais who retired from state service last year after nearly seven years as commissioner.
“Each day reinforces how essential our work is to Connecticut residents and businesses,” Hershman commented upon the news of his confirmation. “I remain focused on advancing solutions that improve the affordability and availability of insurance across all lines while supporting innovation that strengthens our markets and delivers better outcomes for consumers.”
Hershman is a former deputy insurance commissioner who was serving as chief executive officer of the Immigrant Life Insurance Co. of America, a Connecticut-domiciled and wholly owned subsidiary of IDT Corp., when he agreed to become commissioner. At Immigrant Life, he helped build an admitted-market life insurance carrier designed to close the coverage gap faced by immigrant families.
He also served as executive director of openIDL, a Linux Foundation project modernizing data exchange through creating data standards across the property/casualty insurance insurance industry.
From 2019 to 2022, Hershman was deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the Connecticut Insurance Department, focused on AI’s impact on insurance, data-driven regulatory modernization, and innovation across the industry.
Prior to his public service, he practiced law with a focus on complex business planning and litigation.
The Connecticut Insurance Department has about 150 full-time employees. It is funded through assessments on insurance companies; its budget for the 2025 fiscal year was approximately $35.5 million.
The department oversees 1.609 licensed companies, 107 of which are domestic insurers. According to its annual report, Connecticut’s property/casualty insurance industry ranks fifth in the nation for direct written premium. In 2025, the actuarial and P/C divisions reviewed 1,510 personal and commercial rate and rule filings.