John C. Thomson, a veteran of the insurance industry and a former division chief of the Connecticut Insurance Department, was recently named the department”™s deputy commissioner.
To date, his activities have focused on the burgeoning captive insurance industry and streamlining the department”™s business office via its so-called LEAN initiative.
Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade made the announcement. Thomson is already in place as deputy commissioner.
Thomson joined the department in 2012 to develop a new captive insurance unit. In those three years, the unit has licensed eight captive insurers and registered more than 180 risk retention groups.
Thomson has also managed the operations of the department”™s business office. As LEAN coordinator, he oversaw “the integration of efficient, cost-saving procedures,” the department said in a statement.
Before joining the department, Thomson was the editor for the Dallas-based International Risk Management Institute, the publisher of Captive Insurance Company Reports. He also was the chief operating officer for energy industry captive Oil Casualty Insurance Ltd. and has held leadership positions with General Electric, Aetna, Cigna and Hartford risk management firm Towers Perrin/Tillinghast.
Each year, the department returns an average of $100 million to the state”™s general fund in license fees, premium taxes, fines and other revenue sources to support various state programs, including childhood immunization, according to the statement. Additionally, on average, it returns $4 million annually to consumers for wrongful charges.
