Florida Gov. Rick Scott and state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater promoted Deputy Commissioner David Altmaier to lead the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, several media outlets reported on Friday.
Altmaier succeeds Kevin M. McCarty, who has served as the incumbent in this position since 2003. McCarty announced in early January that he wished to resign by May 2. He will stay with the department for another 60 days to help with the transition, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
“Florida's insurance consumers will be in good hands under David's thoughtful and patient leadership and he will have the benefit of an exceptional team of individuals to assist him,” McCarty said in a statement.
Altmaier, 34, has been with the Florida insurance department since 2008, and most recently served as deputy commissioner for property and casualty insurance.
In this role, he provided regulatory, legislative, and policy support to the insurance commissioner, while also overseeing the Product Review and Financial Oversight business units. During his time with the department, Altmaier held various roles within the property and casualty business unit, include chief analyst and director of property and casualty financial oversight, the department said in announcing the appointment.
As commissioner, Altmaier will see his salary increase from $115,000 a year to $165,000 a year from $115,000, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.
“I am humbled by the support of the Financial Services Commission and look forward to serving the insurance consumers of Florida,” Altmaier said in a statement.
The Indianapolis-based National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies welcomed the appointment.
“In his work with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on capital adequacy, catastrophe, and other risk-based capital issues, he has proven to be a fair-minded person who brought regulators together to reach a well-reasoned consensus. Commissioner Altmaier has demonstrated a deep understanding of broad policy questions as well as technical actuarial issues, and we look forward to working with him,” said Matt Brady, the organization's director of federal public affairs.
A 2002 state law that made the insurance commissioner an appointed position requires that the governor and the state's CFO agree on an appointment, according the Miami Herald.
McCarty had been appointed before the change in the law, so this is first time the new appointment regime has been tested, the newspaper reported.
Florida's governor and CFO agreed on Altmaier after two other candidates failed to get support from the two leaders. The two other members of the state's Cabinet – the attorney general and the agriculture commissioner – also supported Altmaier, the Miami Herald said.
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