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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIBJ staff Indiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt will leave his post to fill a vacancy on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ office announced yesterday.
Atterholt, a former Republican state legislator from Indianapolis, will replace Greg Server, another former legislator, who resigned after serving a four-year term.
Replacing Atterholt will be Carol Cutter, the chief deputy commissioner for health issues at the Indiana Department of Insurance. Before coming to the department, she worked 30 years in the insurance industry.
Atterholt has led the state’s insurance agency since 2005. He was popular with insurance companies and drew some early criticism for being more eager to attract insurance jobs than regulating companies. But he also intervened in multiple cases when companies or insurance agents went astray.
Most recently, Atterholt arranged an investigation of the ISTA Insurance Trust that found a huge shortfall in funding. He then publicly shamed the teachers union and its parent organization when they initially said members would have to fight in court to get their disability claims paid.
Daniels lauded Atterholt in a statement: “In both the core mission of consumer protection and the improvement of Indiana as a good environment for insurance jobs, everyone agrees that his tenure has been a spectacular success,” Daniels said.
To the utility commission, Atterholt brings a background in the phone industry; he was a lobbyist for AT&T Indiana from 2003 to 2004. He also spent some time on energy issues during his time as a congressional aide in Washington, D.C.
Atterholt and Cutter will take their new jobs on June 22.
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