The state of Florida is back at square one in its search for a new insurance commissioner.
Although an announcement of the next state regulator was expected Tuesday, Governor Rick Scott surprised industry members by failing to reach an agreement with Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.
Atwater had recommended the Florida Cabinet choose state Representative Bill Hager, a Republican and former insurance commissioner for Iowa, but Scott refused to second the motion.
“I’m not going to come to agreement right now,” Scott told Atwater after spending close to an hour interviewing the two final candidates.
Now, the governor hopes to reopen the application process for the $190,000 a year position through mid-April. The Cabinet would then reconsider an appointment on April 26.
Scott did say, however, that he wouldn’t rule out Hager as an option. Neither would he rule out Jeffrey Bragg, a Palm Harbor resident and Scott’s first choice for the position.
“We’ll take more applications, but I don’t think we eliminated these two,” Scott said following the Cabinet meeting. “We’ll have another conversation April 26.”
While the lack of a decision may be frustrating, some are celebrating the disagreement, including attorney Chip Merlin.
“Policyholders should breathe a short sigh of relief today and then demand the new search include candidates willing to put consumers, not the insurance industry, first,” said Merlin, who represents property owners in insurance disputes.
Filling the position of Florida’s top insurance regulator, which originally attracted 55 applicants, requires the governor and CFO to jointly recommend an applicant for the entire Cabinet to approve.
Current Florida Commissioner Kevin McCarty will step down from his role May 2.
