Agency Name: | Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Wisconsin |
Seal: | Seal of Wisconsin.svg |
Coordinates: | 43.0748°N -89.3804°W |
Region Code: | US-WI |
Employees: | 134.83 (2021)[1] |
Budget: | $361,907,100 (2021) |
Chief1 Name: | Nathan Houdek |
Chief1 Position: | Commissioner |
Chief2 Name: | Rachel Cissne Carabell |
Chief2 Position: | Deputy Commissioner |
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Wisconsin is an independent agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for supervising and regulating the insurance industry in Wisconsin. The office licenses insurers operating in the state, examines their financial and business practices, investigates consumer complaints, ensures compliance with state laws and regulations, and provides information on the insurance industry to the public.
The Office is headquartered in the State Education Building, or GEF-3, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.[1] [2]
The insurance business was first authorized and regulated in Wisconsin in 1870 (1870 Wisc. Act 56). The original law vested insurance regulation as a power of the Secretary of State of Wisconsin. These powers were transferred to a separate commissioner of insurance by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature in 1878 (1878 Wisc. Act 214). The office was initially designed as a gubernatorial appointee, and the first insurance commissioner, Philip L. Spooner, Jr., was appointed by Governor William E. Smith. In 1881, however, a new act of the Legislature (1881 Wisc. Act 300) converted the appointed office into a state-wide elected office. This continued until 1911, when the office was converted back into a gubernatorial appointee.[3]
The senior leadership of the Office consists of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, along with the administrators and directors of the internal divisions of the Office.[4]
Separate from the ordinary organizational structure of the Office, there are a number of commissions and boards created by acts of the Wisconsin Legislature to oversee, advise, or administer certain funds.
Order | Commissioner | Took office | Left office | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Appointed by William E. Smith, then elected in 1881 and 1884. | ||||
2 | Elected in 1886 and 1888. | ||||
3 | Elected in 1890 and 1892. | ||||
4 | Elected in 1894 and 1896. | ||||
5 | Elected in 1898 and 1900. | ||||
6 | Elected in 1902 and 1904.[5] | ||||
7 | Elected in 1906 and 1908.[6] | ||||
8 | Elected in 1910. The law changed in 1911, turning the office into an appointed position. Governor Francis E. McGovern attempted to remove him in 1913, but he successfully sued the governor to remain in office. | ||||
Appointed by Francis E. McGovern, but appointment was enjoined by the court, then vetoed by the Wisconsin Senate. | |||||
9 | Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp. Resigned. | ||||
10 | Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp. | ||||
11 | Appointed by John J. Blaine. Resigned. | ||||
12 | Appointed by John J. Blaine. Resigned. | ||||
13 | Appointed by Fred R. Zimmerman.[7] | ||||
14 | Appointed by Philip La Follette.[8] | ||||
15 | Appointed by Julius P. Heil.[9] Re-appointed by Walter Samuel Goodland (1943) and Oscar Rennebohm (1947). Died in office.[10] | ||||
16 | Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm.[11] | ||||
17 | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr.[12] | ||||
18 | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr.[13] | ||||
19 | Appointed by Gaylord Nelson.[14] Re-appointed by John W. Reynolds Jr. (1963). Reached mandatory retirement age. | ||||
20 | Appointed by Warren P. Knowles.[15] Resigned. | ||||
21 | Appointed by Warren P. Knowles.[16] | ||||
22 | Appointed by Patrick Lucey.[17] | ||||
23 | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus.[18] | ||||
24 | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus.[19] | ||||
25 | Appointed by Tony Earl.[20] Resigned. | ||||
26 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson.[21] Resigned. | ||||
Acting commissioner. | |||||
27 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson.[22] | ||||
Acting commissioner.[23] | |||||
28 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson.[24] | ||||
29 | Appointed by Jim Doyle.[25] | ||||
30 | Appointed by Jim Doyle.[26] | ||||
31 | Appointed by Scott Walker.[27] | ||||
32 | Appointed by Tony Evers.[28] | ||||
33 | Current | Appointed by Tony Evers. |