CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois' top insurance regulator said Tuesday he's committed to working with Gov. Pat Quinn and lawmakers on pressing state issues during his last two months on the job.
Insurance Department Director Michael McRaith is leaving in June to take a post in the President Barack Obama's administration. Until then, McRaith said, he's dedicated to working with Illinois lawmakers this session on reforms to workers compensation, health insurance and financial regulations.
"My first objective is to work hard every day and be a constructive leader on insurance-related issues," McRaith said in an interview with The Associated Press.
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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced earlier this month that McRaith would head the new Federal Insurance Office created by last year's financial reform legislation. He'll be the first person to lead the new office.
McRaith, 45, said he's honored by the appointment. "I look forward to the challenges of that office when that work begins," he said, declining to say more about the new job.
In his new role, McRaith will advise Congress on state insurance regulation and help with international insurance agreements. He'll be a nonvoting member of a federal council watching out for systemic risks posed by large, complex companies.
Insurance is regulated by states, but the financial reform law sets McRaith on a course to shape the direction of the federal government's role. McRaith is required to report to Congress next year on ways to improve and update insurance regulation.
National insurance groups have greeted McRaith's appointment with approval, praising his deep knowledge of the insurance industry and experience as a state regulator.
"We expect he will serve as capably and professionally as the new director of FIO as he did as Illinois' top insurance regulator," American Council of Life Insurers President and CEO Dirk Kempthorne said in a statement.
By law, the new federal office has no role in health insurance, so McRaith is giving up his role in federal health insurance overhaul.
As Illinois insurance director and as secretary-treasurer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, he helped lead efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act. He's now spearheading legislation to give Illinois regulators the authority to approve or deny health insurance rate increases — one of the legislative issues he's staying in Illinois to address.
McRaith received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University and a law degree from Loyola University in Chicago. He worked as an attorney in Chicago before his appointment in 2005 as state insurance director.
McRaith expressed confidence that Quinn would find a capable replacement.
"Gov. Quinn knows the importance of the position, the important responsibility of the insurance regulators to make decisions in best interests of insurance consumers and the state's economy. That much we can be sure of," McRaith said.
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