The New York State Insurance Department (NYSID) was the state agency responsible for supervising and regulating all insurance business in New York State.[History, About Us, New York State Department of Financial Services, retrieved on March 5, 2012, at http://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/history.htm New York State Department of Financial Services website] It was regarded in the industry as one of the most state-of-the-art insurance regulatory agencies.

Continuing education for insurance professionals is regulated by each state's Department for Insurance, although there are commonalties across the states. See Insurance Continuing Education.

Effective October 3, 2011, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature consolidated the New York State Insurance Department and the New York State Banking Department and created the New York State Department of Financial Services.Part A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 2011

History Until 1849, insurance companies doing business in New York State were chartered by special acts of the New York State Legislature. In 1849, the Legislature passed a law requiring prospective insurance companies to file incorporation papers with the New York Secretary of State. The law also vested regulatory power over insurance companies with the State Comptroller, who was authorized to require the companies to submit annual financial statements and to deny a company the right to operate if capital securities and investments did not remain secure.

In 1859, the New York State Legislature created the New York State Insurance Department, and assumed the functions of the Comptroller and Secretary of State relating to insurance. The department began operations in 1860 and William F. Barnes was the first Superintendent of Insurance. The Home Life Insurance Company based in Brooklyn, New York was the first life insurer to be authorized by the newly formed New York State Insurance Department in 1860. Superintendent Barnes supervised the filings of 155 fire insurance companies and 16 life insurance companies during his first year in office.

By the 1870s, each state regulated insurance in some manner and most had an insurance department or agency. However, because different state requirements led to confusion in the insurance industry, New York State Superintendent George W. Miller, in 1871, invited the heads of insurance departments or agencies from other states to meet in New York to strive for more uniform regulation. Eighteen states met that year for the first session of what is now the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC").

Mismanagement in the life insurance business, including exorbitant salaries and questionable investments, resulted in a 1905 investigation led by Charles Evans Hughes. The investigation, known as the "Armstrong Investigation", led to the passage of a law that set forth a series of reforms, including mandatory periodic examinations of all life insurers.

During the Great Depression, the Insurance Department promoted new rules clarifying insurer investment requirements, setting more equitable determination of cash surrender values and forfeitures, and recognizing up-to-date values and improvements in mortality tables. They also carried out liquidations, such as the 1934 liquidation of the Consolidated Indemnity and Insurance Company."Liquidation Is Ordered", The New York Times, May 30, 1934, pg. 31.

After World War II, the Insurance Department pioneered many consumer protections, including comprehensive mandated health insurance benefits, open enrollment, and prohibitions against insurers arbitrarily dropping an individual's health insurance coverage.

The New York State Insurance Department was the first insurance department or agency in the United States to establish a capital markets group to examine and measure the risks in insurer investment practices, and was the first state to recognize the importance of segregating multiple lines insurance from financial guaranty insurance as a means of preventing systemic risk.

In 2001, New York was the first state to establish an Insurance Emergency Operations Center ("IEOC"), which was designed to accelerate disaster assessments and expedite claims payments to disaster victims. The IEOC helped New Yorkers recover from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

During the 2008 financial crisis, the Insurance Department helped stabilize financial guaranty insurers and worked with federal regulators to ensure that AIG did not collapse when it experienced a liquidity crisis.

In 2011, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature consolidated the New York State Insurance Department and the New York State Banking Department and created the New York State Department of Financial Services. James J. Wrynn was the fortieth and last Superintendent of Insurance.James J. Wrynn, Deputy Superintendent of Financial Services, Leadership, About Us, New York State Department of Financial Services, retrieved on March 5, 2012, at http://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/staff_bios/jwrynn.htm Following the creation of the New York Department of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky (2011–2015) and Maria Vullo (2016--) were each appointed and confirmed as Superintendent of Financial Services thereby assuming the powers and duties formerly held by the Superintendent of Insurance.

List of superintendents

Superintendent Took office Left office Party NotesWilliam Barnes Sr.January 12, 1860February 5, 1870 Republicantwo termsGeorge W. MillerFebruary 4, 1870May 12, 1872George B. ChurchMay 13, 1872November 28, 1872Orlow W. ChapmanNovember 29, 1872January 31, 1876William SmythFebruary 1, 1876February 20, 1877John F. SmythFebruary 21, 1877April 26, 1880Charles G. FairmanApril 27, 1880April 22, 1883John A. McCallApril 23, 1883December 31, 1885Robert A. MaxwellJanuary 1, 1886February 11, 1891 DemocratJames F. PierceFebruary 12, 1891February 10, 1897 Democrattwo termsLouis F. PaynFebruary 11, 1897February 1, 1900 Republicanone termFrancis HendricksFebruary 2, 1900May 16, 1906 Republicantwo termsOtto KelseyMay 17, 1906January 13, 1909 RepublicanHenry D. AppletonJanuary 14, 1909February 17, 1909William H. HotchkissFebruary 18, 1909February 18, 1912William T. EmmetFebruary 21, 1912April 1, 1914Frank HasbrouckApril 2, 1914June 30, 1915Jesse S. PhillipsJuly 1, 1915October 31, 1921Henry D. AppletonNovember 1, 1921November 30, 1921Francis R. Stoddard Jr.December 1, 1921June 30, 1924James A. BehaJuly 1, 1924December 31, 1928Albert ConwayJanuary 1, 1929July 30, 1930Thomas F. BehanJuly 1, 1930February 16, 1931Henry A. ThellussonFebruary 17, 1931March 4, 1931George S. Van SchaickMarch 5, 1931March 10, 1935Louis H. PinkMay 10, 1935January 31, 1943Robert E. DineenSeptember 23, 1943June 30, 1950Alfred J. BohlingerJuly 1, 1950January 31, 1955Leffert HolzFebruary 3, 1955March 15, 1958Julius S. WiklerMarch 17, 1958January 26, 1959Thomas ThacherJanuary 27, 1959October 2, 1963Samuel C. CantorOctober 3, 1963January 27, 1964Henry Root SternJanuary 28, 1964December 31, 1966Richard E. StewartJanuary 1, 1967December 31, 1970Benjamin R. SchenckJanuary 1, 1971March 10, 1975Lawrence W. KeepnewsMarch 18, 1975April 21, 1975John P. GemmaMay 8, 1975June 23, 1975Thomas A. HarnettJune 24, 1975July 20, 1977John F. LennonJuly 21, 1977January 4, 1978Albert B. LewisJanuary 5, 1978March 7, 1983James P. CorcoranMarch 9, 1983January 26, 1990Wendy CooperJanuary 27, 1990July 1, 1990Salvatore R. CurialeJuly 1, 1990December 31, 1994Edward J. MuhlFebruary 14, 1995December 29, 1996 RepublicanNeil D. LevinApril 1, 1997April 5, 2001 RepublicanGregory V. SerioMay 9, 2001January 17, 2005 RepublicanHoward Mills IIIMay 18, 2005December 31, 2006 RepublicanLouis W. PietroluongoJanuary 1, 2007January 28, 2007Eric R. DinalloJanuary 29, 2007July 3, 2009 DemocratKermitt J. BrooksJuly 4, 2009August 18, 2009 DemocratJames J. Wrynn20092011 Democrat

References