Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Vaughan, Ph.D., has been named chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), effective Feb. 18, 2009.
Vaughan replaces Catherine J. Weatherford, who left the NAIC in July 2008. Andrew Beal, who served as acting executive vice president and CEO in the interim, has been promoted to chief operations officer. Beal also will continue to serve as the NAIC's chief legal officer.
Vaughan will serve as the association's primary representative and chief spokesperson in Washington, D.C. In addition, her responsibilities will include outreach to federal governmental entities and state government associations, as well as consumer and insurance industry representatives. She will also oversee the launch of the association's new Center for Insurance Information, which will make the NAIC information and resources more accessible to members of Congress and other federal agencies.
Prior to joining the NAIC, Vaughan was the Robb B. Kelley Distinguished Professor of Insurance and Actuarial Science at Drake University, a position she held since January 2005, following 10 years as Iowa Insurance Commissioner. The longest-serving commissioner in Iowa history, Vaughan also was an active member of the NAIC, completing a term as president in 2002.
The selection was based on the recommendation of a search committee formed last summer, which was chaired by 2008 NAIC President and Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger.
While the majority of staff members will remain in Kansas City, Vaughan's office will be housed in the association's Washington, D.C., headquarters. Vaughan will work alongside staff from the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (IIPRC). Vaughan is widely credited with being the architect of the NAIC's Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact.
Vaughan earned a Ph.D. in risk and insurance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in insurance and economics from the University of Iowa. She is a CPCU, an associate of the Society of Actuaries, an associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. She is the co-author of two college textbooks on insurance, Essentials of Insurance and Fundamentals of Risk and Insurance, the 10th edition of which was released in December 2007.