Regulators Honor TDI Staffer
Betty Patterson, senior associate commissioner in charge of the Texas Department of Insurance’s Financial Program, is one of this year’s two winners of the most prestigious award presented by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The NAIC presented the Robert Dineen award to Patterson and to Wisconsin Deputy Commissioner Randy Blumer at the NAIC’s winter meeting in San Diego, California. The NAIC established the award to recognize continuing contributions to fair, effective and efficient regulation of the insurance industry.
Patterson joined the TDI staff in 1988 as a financial analyst, became director of the Financial Analysis Division in 1992, was appointed Director of Financial Monitoring in 1994 and became head of the Financial Program in January 1999. A business graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Patterson is a certified public accountant and an accredited financial examiner.
“Betty Patterson has been a leader in a number of important solvency and market conduct efforts over the past 10 years and has been a staunch advocate of improving communication between the states to improve regulation across state lines,” said Iowa Insurance Commissioner Teri Vaughan, president of the NAIC. “Betty’s contributions to solvency and financial monitoring will have lasting effects on the system of state regulation. Her initiatives epitomize the values and best traditions of state regulators and the NAIC.”
Patterson also has received a service medal from the Federal Reserve System for her performance in directing the national Y2K examination of insurance companies and representing the NAIC on a national financial services task force chaired by the Federal Reserve Board.
In addition to awarding Patterson, the Dineen award, the NAIC announced that Texas’ financial solvency regulation program has been reaccredited for another five years.
“This is a great day for Texas,” said Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor. “Betty Patterson richly deserves the Dineen award, and the outstanding regulatory efforts of Betty and her staff paid off with re-accreditation of TDI.”
Accredited insurance departments are required to undergo a comprehensive review every five years by an independent review team to ensure they still meet the baseline standards.
NAIC accreditation standards require that insurance departments have adequate statutory and administrative authority to regulate an insurer’s corporate and financial affairs and that they have the necessary resources to carry out that authority.