Farmer Confirmed As South Carolina Insurance Commissioner

The South Carolina Senate voted 29-1 to confirm a retired insurance lobbyist as the state’s new insurance commissioner.

Raymond Farmer was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as director for the South Carolina Department of Insurance last November to fill the vacancy created when David Black, former CEO of Liberty Life, resigned after less than a year in the post. Farmer has been serving as interim commissioner since Dec. 4.

For 32 years, Farmer worked for the American Insurance Association (AIA), a trade group for property/casualty insurance companies, most recently serving as Southeast vice president. He retired from that post last December before assuming the interim commissioner post.

Farmer’s nomination faced some questioning by a local consumer activist and several members of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee before being confirmed. During the process, Farmer promised to make the high cost of home insurance for coastal residents a priority.