What I Learned As a Regulator

• Author: Therese M. Vaughan
• Published date: 01 March 2009
• Date: 01 March 2009
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6296.2009.01150.x

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Risk Management and Insurance Review, 2009, Vol.12, No. 1, 1-9

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

WHAT ILEARNED ASAREGULATOR

Therese M. Vaughan

I have thought a great deal during the past year about this address, mostly trying to

figure a way out of doing it. I once had an elected commissioner tell me that it was far

more difficult to run for office among your peers (say, for office in the legislature) than to

seek votes from the general population. I suspect the same comparison applies to giving

a Presidential Address.

I’m going to ask your permission to deviate from tradition in a couple of ways. First,

you will note that I don’t have any cartoons, pictures, graphs, or charts. I have no bullet

points. In fact, I’m not using PowerPoint at all. Instead, I just want to talk to you, and I

hope you will humor me in that request.

Second, I have given much thought to what I would talk to you about. I did the obligatory

reading of the prior presidential addresses looking for ideas, but no luck. Mary Weiss

suggested at one point that I talk about regulation, given that I spent over 10 years

doing that, and it was not that long ago. I have taken that suggestion to heart. So I’m

not going to talk about the traditional topics of the history or future of American Risk

and Insurance Association (ARIA) or of our discipline. I’m also not going to try to give

a scholarly address on regulation, or to talk to you about federal versus state regulation.

Instead, I just want to share with you some of my experiences as commissioner, what I

learned from the job, and some of my thoughts after returning to academics.

I want to start by telling you how I got into the position of insurance commissioner.

This is a story I have told before, and I know some of you have already heard it. I

apologize to those of you, but I enjoy telling it, so I’m going to do it again. In May

1994, I was on the faculty at Drake University in Des Moines. The then–Iowa insurance

commissioner—Dave Lyons—resigned suddenly at this time to take the job of director

of economic development. I had come to know several regulators over the years—

particularly financial regulators—because of some educational work I had done for

them. One of them called me to suggest I consider applying for the position. My initial

reaction was to dismiss the idea. But the seed had been planted, and I went home and

started to think about it.

Therese M. Vaughan is the Robb B. Kelley Distinguished Professor of Actuarial Science and

Insurance, Aliber Hall, Drake University, Des Moines, IA 50311-4505, and 2008 President of the

American Risk and Insurance Association; phone: 515-271-2830; e-mail: terri_vaughan@msn.com.

This was deliveredas the Presidential Address at the August 2008 annual meeting of the American

Risk and Insurance Association in Portland, Oregon.

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