Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy plans to resign from his post to join the private sector in January.
Mr. Murphy, who was appointed commissioner in February 2010, will join Boston-based medical professional liability insurer Coverys as chief operating officer, effective Jan. 5, Coverys said in a statement released Monday. He will be based in Boston.
Mr. Murphy will officially resign Dec. 10. Under Massachusetts law, First Deputy Commissioner Gary Anderson will assume regulatory responsibilities until a successor is named.
Prior to his role as commissioner, Mr. Murphy was first deputy commissioner for three years. He also served as chief of staff for the joint committee on financial services and as research director for the joint committee on insurance for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, according to the statement.
In a separate statement released Monday, Massachusetts Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki praised Mr. Murphy for “helping to advance Gov. (Deval) Patrick’s efforts to bring health care cost increases under control for the Commonwealth’s small businesses and families” and overseeing “the introduction of managed competition in auto insurance.”
In a similar move last week, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi announced he is leaving his post Dec. 11 to join New York-based investment banking advisory firm Evercore Partners Inc. as a senior adviser focusing on insurance. A replacement has not yet been named.
Sanford Saito has been appointed deputy commissioner and captive insurance administrator for the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Insurance Division.