When the deputy insurance commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance describes the benefits of diversity in insurance company boardrooms, he’s not necessarily talking about adding more women or minority directors into the mix. Executive Summary Stephen Johnson, deputy insurance commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, discussed what he described as a “systemic shift” in insurance regulation—a significant and evolving part of which involves regulators reviewing corporate governance practices—during a recent insurance conference, also suggesting that carriers appoint former regulators to their board of directors to get up to speed on all the changes.
“If you’re in a highly regulated environment and you don’t have an ex-insurance regulator on your board, I think you’re missing something,” said Stephen Johnson, speaking at the Insurance Regulatory Symposium at St. Joseph’s University recently.
“Remember, boards are supposed to be diversified. It’s a good thing to have different perspectives from different angles to look at an operation,” he said. “In my opinion, boards really need to think about bringing more insurance regulators on to assist them.”