People Moves: Lara Appoints California Statewide Advisory Board Members
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara made several appointments and reappointments to the California Department of Insurance’s statewide governing boards.
These include naming newly appointed members Andrea Hecht and Jim Taylor to the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) Board of Governors and Don Hofer to the California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) Governing Committee.
The reappointed members include Nona Tirre to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP) Advisory Committee; Thomas Connell (T.C.) Wilson and Ophir Bruck to the California Organized Investment Network Advisory Board; Janise Graham to the Curriculum Board; and Alycia Anderson, Kelly Huang, Pradip Khemani, Jose Plascencia, Vikita Poindexter, and Marquita Thomas to the Insurance Diversity Task Force.
The governor and state Legislature created CAARP to provide auto insurance for motorists unable to obtain coverage in the private market due to their driving records or other extraordinary circumstances. One program within the plan (the California Low Cost Auto Program) aims to provide affordable liability insurance to income-eligible good drivers by assigning them to private insurers based upon the companies’ share of the auto insurance market. The CAARP Advisory Committee provides policy advice to the insurance commissioner on matters affecting the operation of its programs.
The CIGA board of governors oversees the guarantee association’s general operations and management in order to protect policyholders in the event of an insurance company insolvency. Established in 1996 by the governor and state Legislature, CIGA comprises all insurance companies admitted to sell homeowners, workers’ compensation, automobile, and other specified property and casualty lines of insurance in California.
The California Organized Investment Network (COIN) was established in 1996 within the California Department of Insurance to help guide insurers on making financially sound investments that yield environmental benefits throughout California and social benefits within the State’s underserved communities. The COIN Advisory Board provides guidance to the Commissioner and the COIN program to meet its mission and chief priorities.
The Curriculum Board oversees the development of pre-licensing and continuing education curriculum for agents and brokers to uphold professional standards that protect consumers. This Board also develops standards for providers and instructors who offer courses and other training to licensed agents and brokers.
The Insurance Diversity Task Force advises the Department’s nationally-recognized Insurance Diversity Program (as part of the Office of Insurance Diversity and Innovation), which encourages insurers to expand access and economic inclusion with diverse business owners, such as a woman-owned, veteran-/disabled veteran-owned, historically disadvantaged community-owned, people with disabilities-owned, or LGBTQ+-owned businesses, as well as advance diversity of insurance company corporate boards. T
The WCIRB Governing Committee sets policy, oversees WCIRB management, and reviews all issues involving pure premium rates, classifications, rating plans, rating systems, manual rules and policy, and endorsement forms. The WCIRB is a private organization licensed by the department for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and compiling rating data, with funding coming from assessments of its insurance company members. All workers’ compensation insurance companies in California are required by law to be members of the WCIRB.
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