NAIC Has A New Washington Director

In a recent development, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has appointed a new Washington D.C. director to oversee its operations in the city. Ethan Sonnichsen has been picked to assume the role of Government Relations Director for the organization.

Sonnichsen’s duties will consist of restructuring the NAIC’s Government Relations Division. The goal is to make the department a common ground where the NAIC can meet with state insurance departments and federal regulators to deal with issues of policy and operations.

The new director has also been given with responsibility of preparing the relevant testimonies for those NAIC members who plan to testify before an upcoming Congressional hearing.

The chief executive officer of NAIC, Therese Vaughan, had this to say about the choice of Sonnichsen to take over as Government Relations Director. “This is an important time in the evolution of insurance regulation, and under Ethan’s leadership, the NAIC’s Government Relations Office has aggressively defended the strength and solvency of state-based regulation on Capitol Hill.”

She added, “I’m confident he will continue to assist our members as we work with Congress and the Administration to protect the safety and interests of American insurance consumers.”

Sonnichsen has been with the NAIC since 2006. During that time, he has been an active member of the organization’s government relations division. He has worked as a policy analyst as well as a manager. Before joining the group, Sonnichsen held a lead staff position with the Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council of the American Academy of Actuaries.

In the new economic climate, the status of insurance as an industry is received as much scrutiny as any other. In fact, some would say more. Government involvement and partnership with groups like the NAIC is meant to bring some order to what has become a dysfunctional system over the last several years. Sonnichsen is in a unique position to influence how the insurance industry will conduct its affairs with the federal government.